Last night, a friend of mine introduced me to Hamilton, a musical about Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the American Revolution. I found the story compelling and the music catchy. There are many clever rhymes and rhyming patterns. However, if you look into it, I should warn you that many of the songs are laced with strong language and some of them address adult topics. If that sort of stuff doesn't bother you, I'd recommend looking it up, though I've only heard the music of the musical; I can't give any review about the rest of the play.
Anyhow, at one point, Alexander Hamilton tells Aaron Burr that he'd "rather be divisive than indecisive," and I couldn't help thinking that that's kind of a false dichotomy. I believe that a person can disagree with someone else about something, and disagree firmly, without necessarily driving a wedge between themselves and the other person.
Of course, that may just be wishful thinking on my part. Like Rex from Toy Story, "I don't like confrontations," but at the same time, I believe that it's morally important for a person to stand by their principles. I certainly hope that a person can stand by their principles without causing a confrontation. People can agree to disagree, can't they?
Maybe some people can, about some things, but it also depends largely on the other person. If I make the decision to support a politician or political ideology (or any ideology, really) which you absolutely despise, you can terminate our friendship, and there'd be nothing I could do to prevent it. And the same thing is true in reverse. No matter how nice you are about it, if I decide I can't be friends with you because of some choice you've made, there's not much you can do about that.
Of course, that's not going to happen. I believe in bridges, acceptance (or at least tolerance), and open communication. Even when two people firmly decide on opposing ideologies or candidates, I think it's possible for them to keep the channels open and their friendship alive. One doesn't have to sever ties with those who disagree with them. Hamilton may be right in thinking that it's better to be divisive than indecisive, but I believe that a person doesn't actually have to be either.
1 comment:
Yes, absolutely. At least most of the time. We can and should be able to disagree without becoming disagreeable. There are a couple of things that would be deal breakers for me, but for the most part we just have to respect that we are not all going to agree or think alike all the time or sometimes even much of the time.
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