RANT: We’ve forgotten how to argue!

This is such a prevalent problem in modern society that I’m not even sure where to begin. (In other words, expect this to be a long and rambling rant.)

First, if I disagree with you, and show that your position is not logically sound, no matter how attached to your position you are, no matter how much you like your views or how many years you’ve spent “thinking about it,” my disagreement with your position is not a personal attack on you. My disagreement is not a personal judgment against you beyond the obvious fact that I am judging you to be wrong on that issue.

Second, my disagreement with you does not entitle either of us to resort to ad hominem attacks. Do I really need to say more on this issue?

Third, your credentials, your experience, and your intuition, are all useless against logic. Your experience is not a universal. Your intuition is not infallible. Furthermore, my insistence on the importance of an argument being logically sound (that is, both valid and true) does not mean you can dismiss my argument as vanguardist or part of the “academic patriarchy.” Such dismissals are, by nature, anti-intellectual and do not directly argue for your case or against mine.

Fourth, your opinion is of no use to me or anyone else. If I’m ordering a pizza, I’ll ask for your opinion. Your opinion has no place in rigorous debate.

Finally, I will never “agree to disagree.” If I’m right, I will not concede for polite society or for the sake of others’ feelings. If I’m wrong, then I hope I’m humble enough to admit so, learn from my mistakes, and move on. I’m human; I’m bound to be wrong sometimes, but that is no excuse for being slothful in the pursuit of the truth, or for clinging to a comfortable lie.

I’ll return to this, expound on it, and build it into a full article. I just had to get some things off my chest now.

Too much net-surfing, not enough time

The Internets are ruining my life. I’m on sites I never dreamed I’d be on. I’m on friggin’ MySpace, FFS! I’m also on other forums and networking sites. I spend way too much time wondering why people haven’t responded to friend requests yet. It’s so silly, I forget that people have better things to do, including myself.

I went to yet another church last Sunday, this time it was a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The service was nice, albeit a little boring. They had a fellowship dinner following the service. I explained I’m a vegan and don’t go to any meals where meat is served. So I went home. I can’t stand to be in the presence of people as they’re eating flesh. I can barely stand to be in the presence of vegetarians as they’re eating eggs or dairy. Why do people find it so difficult to extend basic compassion to those outside their own species? I think most people would go vegan if they had to do the dirty business of “food” acquisition themselves.

My PC is on the fritz. I need to replace the heatsink. It’s easy enough to do once I can get around to getting the replacement part. In the meantime, I’m on an old Mac iBook. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so slow and the touchpad wasn’t so friggin’ sensitive. Every time I’m typing something, the cursor will jump to wherever the pointer is, and I get annoyed.

Christmas day I’ll be flying back up North to see my friends and family. I haven’t seen them since moving down here in August. It’ll be nice to see everyone, but I’m going to miss my husband, who is staying home because he can’t handle the cold.