Jackson Free Press

I've had a pretty prosperous 2007 so far—getting called an "idiot" by a right-wing fanatic while co-hosting the Kim Wade Show; blogging back and forth with a few independent thinkers on the JFP Web site; winning a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Martin Luther King Banquet; and doing some much needed reading. Yes, guys, rappers read!

But as I watch my country descend further and further into complete lunacy, I can't help but think: Is anybody really listening?

We do a great deal of talking and an even greater amount of complaining, but do we ever take the time out to actually listen? Do we actually read between the lines to see someone else's point? Do we put ourselves in their shoes? Or do we just continue to "debate" back and forth, never really getting anything accomplished, all the while telling those on the other side that they are wrong?

If you look deep enough, we all want the same thing: safer streets, better health care, better schools, better wages for workers, a better quality of life. Not necessarily in that order, but you get the picture. Sometimes, we get so lost in rhetoric or partisan thinking that we can't see the proverbial forest for the trees. The type of understanding we need can only come from listening. A person is not wrong simply because you disagree with them. They just have a different thought. Solutions come when you stop to ask why. Why do you feel that way? We will always have disagreements, but it's how we work through those to compromise is what is key.

It's at times like these, when I think no one is listening, that I attend an event like JFP's Best of Jackson 2007 party and find out that some of us are listening. My frustration turns to optimism. My despair turns into impatience for what the near future might bring. I see folks who don't give a damn about bickering and would much rather be partying together than arguing. To me, that's what life is all about. And if we start respecting the positions of others, no matter how far-fetched they may sound, we may just be on to something

My thanks go out to my good buddy Jeff Good over at Bravo! who suggested I read "Leadership" by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani. Though I didn't agree with him on a lot of points, it was a good book, and I learned a lot. It helped me see into how some Republicans think. Now, I'm reading Barack Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope." I'm sure I won't see eye to eye with him, either, but I pledge to take all of the finer points of both and develop a better common-sense mechanism.

Both sides can be fanatical at times. Far-right wingers can be crass, and left-wing liberals can be obnoxious. But remember, this isn't rocket science, people. It's good old-fashioned common sense that makes for the best solutions. And if you guys would stop yelling and acting like 5-year-olds, you may just get something accomplished. And that's the truth ... sho-nuff.

Previous Comments

ID

74308

Comment

this is RIGHT ON, Kaze (can I call ya that?). Seriously, the degeneration of America's values has occured when we cannot even have an intelligent conversation with someone else just because they don't see things our way. America is supposed to be about ideas and if we can get better at listening to the substance of someone's idea rather than jumping to judge we will do much better.

Author

Izzy

Date

2007-01-25T14:38:08-06:00

ID

74309

Comment

Well said. Very well said. Especially about just talking and not doing.

Author

Doc Rogers

Date

2007-01-25T22:30:15-06:00

ID

74310

Comment

Very good column. I applaud you for having the gall or whatever it takes to read a book about Fooliana. I also like the fact that you don't limit yourself to learning, growing and evolving. Perhaps I'll too one day read this book. The Rusk Limpbaughs, Jessie Lewis Peterson and the likes have cause me to write most of the righwingers completely off. They have more nuts than the Planters Peanut Company.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-01-30T09:58:49-06:00