MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST, 2021

 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST, 2021

WELCOME TO NOVEMBER!!  Following last week’s notes, today is All Saints Day (following “All Hallowed Eve”).  

TALES FROM GERMAN DUOLINGO COURSE

I’ve been on the Duolingo language app (and website) since 2014.  I’m learning (or honing) my German language skills.  In the research literature learning a second language seems to help ward off dementia and helps to keep the mind sharp.

In Duolingo, there are regular vocabulary lessons - spelling, ear training, understanding, and grammar, but there are stories as well.  Dialogue and story analysis are good ways to learn a language.

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MY FIRST GERMAN TALE IS CALLED “BLACKBEARD”.

Synopsis:  A lady is in an art museum admiring a painting of a pirate ship.  A man (with a black beard) comes behind her also admiring the painting.  He comments that this is his favorite painting (“Das ist mein Lieblingsgemälde”).

The two interact looking at the picture. The lady comments that a pirate’s life must have been fun.  There are three crew members in the picture.  One of the pirates attracts her attention as he has a large stein of beer (“bier”).  He has a potbelly and a big smile.

The man says he disagrees with her and points out from the painting the scary storm clouds in the background, and the huge waves buffeting the ship.  (“wie stürmisch der Wind ist”. - how stormy the wind is)

They agree to disagree on this issue (he comments “ich muss widersprechen” - I must disagree).  

She comments that the pirate ship looks old and decrepit (“in schlechtem Zustand” - in bad condition). He comments that pirates don’t want their ships to look too nice or it might attract other pirates - so looks are deceiving. 

She comments that they can look at the same picture and see two different things  (“Wir können uns dasselbe Bild ansehen, aber zwei verschiedene Dinge sehen”).

Eventually while analyzing which of the three crew members would be the captain, that the man with the black beard pops up in the painting - as Blackbeard the pirate captain.

(After all, it is fiction to help learn a language)

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To me, the story suggests that people can disagree without being disagreeable. 

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Lately, I’ve been exposed to more political rhetoric that is divisive. The Blackbeard story shows that people can have opinions without being enemies, but the comments I seem to be hearing are angry and unwilling to compromise.

“My way or the highway” 

“America, love it or leave it”

“The President is an idiot” 

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Getting along:

“The world has become a very divided place. Especially on social media, you find people with very strong opinions and you just know that there’s no room for discussion. If you disagree, insults eventually fly, and usually, anyone with an opposing view is personally degraded. That’s what happens when people truly believe that their opinion is superior to everyone else’s and they cannot entertain that there may be any other point of view. Ultimately, poor you, you just don’t get it.”

In my research, I found some suggestions on how to agree to disagree.

BE OPEN-MINDED

Don’t go into an argument with the concept of “winning”.  “I’m going to convert this person to my point of view”.  Maybe more like “Can you help me understand why <topic> is so important to you?” 

If you are already firmly attached to a particular viewpoint and are unwilling to change, then maybe you shouldn’t be in a discussion.  One source said this, “People often rush into a discussion with different points of view and beliefs ready to counter anything that’s said that’s opposed to their point of view and opinion. If there’s no room for change in your thinking, then what’s the point of having a discussion at all?”

[Aside - last year’s election hasn’t ended.  The riots on January 6 (now ten months later) are still a hot topic. And, people don’t want to be open-minded but get retribution/revenge]

From the 1960s Buffalo Springfield sang “For What it’s worth”

“There's battle lines being drawn

And nobody's right if everybody's wrong”

Be open-minded - you might learn something that strengthens your viewpoint, or something that makes you challenge your viewpoint!!!

(MORE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS)

LOVE WINS

SMILE AT EVERYBODY

IF YOU CAN BE ANYTHING - BE NICE

Karen