The blunt truth
Mar. 9th, 2016 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mtbcI enjoyed watching
On the one hand I am curious about what my life would become if I habitually told people how things seem to me, and on the other I wonder how society would function if everybody did. Elements of such questions have made their way into much fiction.
I am quite conscious of
My typical approach has been to not have much to conceal in the first place, which may be more about keeping my life simple than any natural honesty, and to avoid attempting to persuade people that they are wrong and why. Still, I have admired friends who are more forthright, not in a nasty way or to court conflict, but if anything are acting in pursuit of being helpful or seeking objective truth. My increasing sense of intolerance may make it easier for me to care less about offending others in doing likewise.
Given my increasing intolerance, despite my advice to my children I find the play increasingly tiring to perform. Political correctness hasn't helped. While I am behind the sentiment that the default position should be to generally view people as individuals, instead of allowing their demographic attributes to dominate one's internal conception of them, it is also true that there seem to be many (or few loud) people who are terribly thin-skinned, from being offended where it is clear that no offense was meant, to not being able to deal with anything reminding them of some past trauma. It is as if their right not to feel upset outweighs our ability to discuss anything without dancing around eggshells.
In case I am being too vague here, I cite Harvard University's retirement of the title of
Still, I wonder if part of the attraction of rural America for me (not New England) is decreased interaction with others so that I may simply do what I like on my own terms with less thought of others' feelings. I don't have to be so polite and considerate if there are typically few people around me in the first place, then I don't have to worry about avoiding bothering them.
House MD: while I found some aspects tedious, even the worst episodes are actually fairly good, and that's rare in a long-running series. What initially attracted me was the exploration of the effects of stating the blunt truth to people regardless of politeness. Rather more recently I was listening to David Mitchell on BBC Radio 4 and heard the proposition that,
there has to be lying and hypocrisy for manners to function.
On the one hand I am curious about what my life would become if I habitually told people how things seem to me, and on the other I wonder how society would function if everybody did. Elements of such questions have made their way into much fiction.
I am quite conscious of
playing a partin society. I don't resent it, it's like a communal game to keep things running smoothly. I have been consistent with my children in helping them to understand that the thoughts and opinions we may honestly share among ourselves at home are not always appropriate in polite society.
My typical approach has been to not have much to conceal in the first place, which may be more about keeping my life simple than any natural honesty, and to avoid attempting to persuade people that they are wrong and why. Still, I have admired friends who are more forthright, not in a nasty way or to court conflict, but if anything are acting in pursuit of being helpful or seeking objective truth. My increasing sense of intolerance may make it easier for me to care less about offending others in doing likewise.
Given my increasing intolerance, despite my advice to my children I find the play increasingly tiring to perform. Political correctness hasn't helped. While I am behind the sentiment that the default position should be to generally view people as individuals, instead of allowing their demographic attributes to dominate one's internal conception of them, it is also true that there seem to be many (or few loud) people who are terribly thin-skinned, from being offended where it is clear that no offense was meant, to not being able to deal with anything reminding them of some past trauma. It is as if their right not to feel upset outweighs our ability to discuss anything without dancing around eggshells.
In case I am being too vague here, I cite Harvard University's retirement of the title of
house masteras a recent example of the trend that wearies me. There are many serious problems in society but fusses like that seem to me to be irrelevant trivia that distract from anything that actually matters.
Still, I wonder if part of the attraction of rural America for me (not New England) is decreased interaction with others so that I may simply do what I like on my own terms with less thought of others' feelings. I don't have to be so polite and considerate if there are typically few people around me in the first place, then I don't have to worry about avoiding bothering them.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-13 08:29 pm (UTC)