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Can we be a society with an all-or-nothing mindset?
“I don’t understand.” Marissa shook her head at me. “I want to understand but I don’t, and I guess that makes me a terrible person?”
“I don’t think you’re terrible and to be honest, I don’t fully get it either.”
Marissa and I are doing my favorite friend activity — having drinks at the local coffee shop — and somehow our conversation has swerved into…well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure. We started out discussing summer vacation plans and complaining about the non-stop rain and humidity, but it turned into a conversation about our neighbor who has decided she wants nothing to do with any of our friends anymore.
She sent out a group text telling us that our beliefs offend her and they demonstrate lack of moral integrity. It was a strange text given that my friends span the political and social issue spectrum, and she didn’t specify which beliefs offended her, just that we, as people, offended her.
The only thing Marissa and I can come up with is that our group often has friendly ‘debates’ about social issues, and the group is usually split. This friend has been steadily becoming more irate with anyone who thinks differently than her. She’s also upset with those who agree with her but listen to what the other…
