An illustration of my most recent post:
My wife Becca tells the story of meeting a young LDS liberal at an Institute social when she was a single adult living in Seattle. The 2008 presidential election was a little over a year away, and political tender spots slipped in and out of the conversation as the evening wore on. At one point, this young man came and sat at their table, an acquaintance of an acquaintance to Becca. The topic of immigration law had just bubbled up, and the young man immediately steamed:
"I have such strong feelings about that. It's so ridiculous how callous and closed-minded some people are. It really, really gets to me."
Surprised, Becca pushed him to explain. She didn't feel incredibly passionate about either leaning and wanted some tangibles. His response was passionately absurd: he said he "couldn't talk about it" because he "felt so strongly" about it. His gutsy "open-mindedness" left him emotionally overwhelmed and rhetorically paralyzed. He said nothing more. Becca left the conversation unchanged, unpersuaded, and slightly amused.
My wife Becca tells the story of meeting a young LDS liberal at an Institute social when she was a single adult living in Seattle. The 2008 presidential election was a little over a year away, and political tender spots slipped in and out of the conversation as the evening wore on. At one point, this young man came and sat at their table, an acquaintance of an acquaintance to Becca. The topic of immigration law had just bubbled up, and the young man immediately steamed:
"I have such strong feelings about that. It's so ridiculous how callous and closed-minded some people are. It really, really gets to me."
Surprised, Becca pushed him to explain. She didn't feel incredibly passionate about either leaning and wanted some tangibles. His response was passionately absurd: he said he "couldn't talk about it" because he "felt so strongly" about it. His gutsy "open-mindedness" left him emotionally overwhelmed and rhetorically paralyzed. He said nothing more. Becca left the conversation unchanged, unpersuaded, and slightly amused.
2 comments:
Jon. This is Ellen from London Study Abroad. I've been reading your blog lately and i found this other blog i thought you might find interesting. I've never heard anything like this about gay marriage. I hope i made your day. that's always fun to do. http://queerkidssaynomarriage.wordpress.com/
I'd never heard anything like that either! It's certainly a bold perspective on the issue, one with lots of interesting ramifications. Thanks for sharing it (it did make my day), and thanks for reading!
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