Ramblings of a Heated Debate

I love to debate. Not argue, not fight, yell with curses and threats. Debate. I probably should have been on the debate team in high school, but I didn’t care back then. Healthy debates can teach you so much. At least they teach me things. Especially when the person I’m debating is so highly different than I am. Our ideas are so far removed from each other. I love to hear how people came to their conclusions and I love to explain to them why I think the way I do. This also makes me understand what I believe so much more. The best way to deepen something you believe in, is to debate it with someone who is polar opposite to you. I love trying to rearrange the way I view things in an attempt to understand where they are coming from. Sadly, a lot of people are stubborn and refuse to even admit they can understand what I mean, even if they disagree. And even more people end up getting upset rather than agreeing to disagree. So many of my old friends are like that. If you disagree with them on one topic, you are a complete moron and have nothing to offer anymore.

Remember those little tests back in elementary school, where you had to decide if the statement was a fact or an opinion? They carry through to the SATs too. Anyways, I often think people forget those little lessons. Especially when it comes to music. I love to debate music. I love explaining to people why I love a certain song, or why a certain group doesn’t appeal to me. And I like hearing why they enjoy their music and why they don’t like that song. Some people have no reasons behind it. They grew up listening to country and so that’s what they like to hear. And that’s ok. Justification, or lack thereof, does not make an opinion a fact. Just because millions of people enjoy listening to the Beatles, doesn’t mean everyone has to love them. And just because some people don’t adore the Beatles, doesn’t mean they have no musical taste. True fact, the Beatles had a large impact on pop culture. Complete opinion, the Beatles are the opitome of good music.

I strongly believe that debates are just the exchange of opinions. There may be facts to back up the opinions, but in the end they are still opinions. You can love the Beatles and think the world revolves around listening to their music. Just because millions of people happen to agree with you, doesn’t make it any more true.

It really upsets me when people tell me I have absolutly no musical sense or taste because I am not really fond of the Beatles. Frankly, I really don’t like them. Some of their stuff is alright and I do like the song Yesterday. I have listened to most of their albums as well (credit to my college roomie). But they did not appeal to me. Their lyrics don’t seem to apply directly to my life the way Brand New and A Second Chance seem to.

I like a healthy debate. I like finding new facts for myself, and I like finding new facts from other people. I like hearing different people’s opinions and how they came to those decisions. Sometimes it makes me rethink my own opinions. But don’t call me a bitch for having a different opinion than you. Don’t tell me I’m uneducated because I don’t read the newspaper cover to back every day. My opinions are based on what I know. Ask me to defend them, and I’ll tell you what I know. I might even actually do some research to to help explain why I believe them. And maybe while doing that research, my opinions change. It is my perogative, not just because I’m a woman, but because I’m human. I’m open to learning and trying new things. But don’t say I’m an asshole because I disagree with your views on the war in Iraq.

One of my favorite things about America is my right to my opinion. And my right to speak my opinion. There are places where you would be shot on sight for looking wrong at a picture of the leader. I can make faces at a picture of the President. I can write letters to the White House, telling them what I think. I can print pamphlets and newspapers stating my opinions of the government. And it is my right. I can debate politics, religion, music or child-raising technics and I will not be put in jail. And you can call me a bitch for not liking the Beatles. And you can call me a backwater redneck American for loving my country. That is your right. But is that really mature?

Are there really any facts out there at all? Or is everything just an opinion we all agreed on?

Bones, sinking like stones,
All that we fought for,
Homes, places we’ve grown,
All of us are done for.

And we live in a beautiful world,
Yeah we do, yeah we do,
We live in a beautiful world,

Bones, sinking like stones,
All that we fought for,
And homes, places we’ve grown,
All of us are done for.

And we live in a beautiful world,
Yeah we do, yeah we do,
We live in a beautiful world.

Here we go,
Here we go.

And we live in a beautiful world,
Yeah we do, yeah we do,
We live in a beautiful world.

Oh, all that I know,
There’s nothing here to run from,
Cos yeah, everybody here’s got somebody to lean on.

Don’t Panic ~ Coldplay