WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021 COMMUNICATION SNAFUS

 WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021 COMMUNICATION SNAFUS

With computer communications, if something isn’t right we have to check the various settings.  One of my “important” teaching points (humor) was to know how to blame others and point fingers.

Scene - The system isn’t working!!!

Hardware people:  It is a programming (software development) problem; it is NOT a hardware problem (pointing to the others)

Software people:  It is a hardware problem, they need to change settings; it is NOT a software problem (pointing to the others)

Hardware AND software people:  It’s the network that is wrong.  It’s dropping bits and bytes

Network people:  Huh?  It is NOT a network problem!!  (pointing to the others)

And … management - I don’t care, get it back online as-soon-as-possible (ASAP).

*****

With human communications, the issues are more varied.  The word “Good” as said by a human might be a question “Good?  You call that good?”; or with various emphasis “GOOD”, or “good”.  It might be a denial “Yes, I’m good”. (because if somebody asks me how I am doing, by default I said I am ‘good’ - even if I am somehow hurting - because I don’t really want to bother people with my problems - after all that’s what I do in my blog!!!  [I hope that is taken as humor!!!]

*****

Sending and receiving messages.

The more we have ‘real’ communication one with another, our communication gets better.  

““What we've got here is failure to communicate.”  is a famous line from the Paul Newman movie classic, Cool Hand Luke.  Some people are harder to talk to.  They have ‘security systems’ set up along with walls with razor wire (figuratively).  

I know people that can have powerful communication in a look. The “evil eye” stare can cause the receiver to flinch and fall into line.  

*****

Sometimes there are historical biases.  White people and black people have historical biases; Israelis and Palestinians have eon long historical clashes.  At the current time, Israel is fighting with its Palestinian neighbors - including bombing.  At times, it seems like the only solution is to say “We agree to disagree”.  

Likewise, the United States Supreme Court has agreed to review an abortion case - and it seems that “We agree to disagree” on that issue as well!!!  

Sometimes compromise just isn’t possible - and that is too bad.  

*****

Let’s come at this from the other direction.

There has been a major pandemic and there are two people left on Earth.  One is a Hebrew/Jewish/Israeli, and the other is a Muslim/Arab/Palestine.  Can they somehow find a middle ground?

Or one is a Strong Trump, anti-abortion, white, conservative, evangelical Christian male; and the other remaining person is an anti-Trumper, pro-choice, liberal, agnostic, female.  Can they find a middle ground?.  

*****

I was reminded of an older movie ‘Driving Miss Daisy’, where an elderly Jewish white woman and an elderly Christian white man have a relationship that is not marred by religion or race.

Can you imagine a world without conflict, a world of peace, of people who can agree to disagree without being disagreeable?  (Although I’m not sure of the specifics, I might call it “heaven”!!!)

My 60s rock people tried to describe this:

People talking without speaking

People hearing without listening

Or this:

But the fool on the hill

Sees the sun going down

And the eyes in his head

See the world spinning round

It seems like we don’t WANT to hear what others are saying, “My mind is made up”.  We have talked of democracy as a place of the sharing of opinions and values.  (But, are we only going to listen to one side of things?  Be careful, you might hear something that you don’t want to hear!!!)

Yes, garbage in is garbage out - we need to filter when we hear.  BUT, how do we know what is gold and what is garbage?  

And, (my rule), LOVE WINS trumps everything - Love covers a multitude of sins.  (I Peter 4:8).  

How can we be lovers in an agape sense in terms of our communications?

LOVE WINS!!!

HUGS!!!

Karen