Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Vinegar vs Honey


This morning I awoke with an ear worm; which is not unusual for me. An ear worm is a song, or a line or two from a song, that plays over and over in your mind. Some of my ear worms drive me almost crazy (I know: short trip); but most are relatively peasant, like today’s.
There was a folk group in the 60s and into the 70s—25 or 30 high school kids. They dressed alike (neat and well-groomed) and they had guitars and drums (all acoustic) and they traveled around, sharing their considerable talent and uplifting message.
Their theme song has been my ear worm this morning:
“Up, up with people; you meet ‘em wherever you go!
Up, up with people; they’re the best kind of folks we know!
If more people were for people, all people everywhere, 
There’d be a lot less people to worry about, and a lot more people who care!
Contrast that uplifting message with today’s put-down culture. A standup comic is more likely to get a laugh from a put-down joke than from other kinds of humor. Remember Don Rickles?
On Facebook there are a lot of kitten and puppy photos and cooking videos. There’s a lot of poetry and inspiration and prayer requests and plenty of positive, uplifting content.
Sadly, however, when the topic is politics or economics or morality, the put-down pundits come crawling out from under the woodwork. One might not know what these vermin are for; but they leave no doubt about what they’re against. And the primary thing most of them are against is anyone who disagrees with them!
They’re easy to recognize. Their posts will be saturated with disrespectful, insulting put-downs of anyone who dares disagree with them (about anything!), and their vocabulary will be peppered with words like “idiot” and “stupid.”
I’m not an expert on modern marketing and advertising strategy; but it seems evident to me that if your intention is to promote something, be it a product, a service or an ideology, the more effective strategy would be to lift up the positive aspects of whatever you’re promoting or selling. Convince me of its value and why I should buy it.
On the other hand, I am something of an expert on my own feelings and responses, and I know for iron-clad certain that if you disrespect me, insult me or put me down, there’s not the proverbial snowball’s chance that I’ll be buying whatever you’re selling. Your strategy is counterproductive.
A Facebook friend (a friend since high school days) and I are on opposite ends of the political and economic ideological spectrum, and yet, we carry on discussions for days on Facebook. Never once has either of us insulted the other; as a result, our discussions have broadened my own perspective, helped me better to understand his ideology (if not agree with it), and even have convinced me of the validity of some of his arguments. 
It is possible to disagree with respect, and for both parties to benefit!
I could wax theological and biblical here (which is my other area of relative expertise); but, hopefully my comments speak for themselves. So, here’s my question for today: given its counterproductive outcome, what is to be gained, what possible benefit accrued, using the disrespectful, insulting, put-down approach?
Just wondering.
That’s the way I see it through the Flawed Glass that is my World View. 
Together in the Walk,
Jim

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