Rose Colored Contacts

"I want to be kind to everyone, for that is right, you see.
So I say to myself, remember this, kindness begins with me"

Or so the song goes. I have a habit of thinking the best of everyone. I want to be as complimentary to everyone as I can. Unfortunately, sometimes I'm just plain wrong. For example, there's a personal project I'm involved with that on Friday I thought was making some good progress. Unfortunately, that's not necessarily the case, I found out today. I have no desire to embarass the people involved, so suffice it to say that my interpretation on a situation was ultimately incorrect. Sigh. I'll know better next time.

In other news, being a missionary in the Philippines for two years, I learned the art of pleasantly disagreeing with someone you think is wrong. You don't get red-faced. You don't get mad. I usually don't argue because I feel that argument is unproductive. Let me clarify: a healthy discussion is good. Exploring other people's viewpoints is good. Argument, in particular contentious argument, is bad. It leads people to emotionally invest even more in their own side, and ultimately convinces no one. No matter how good your argument is, if you're arguing, you've already lost. And you gain no one's support. You may strengthen your base a little, but that's about it.

Having said that, and thinking the best of everyone in general, there are a couple of exceptions. Ted Rall, for instance, who was chastised on air by... Alan Colmes! The liberal half of Hannity and Colmes chastised Ted Rall for alienating people from the Democratic party! Hannity (who for some reason reminds me of Napoleon - can't really say why) called him a despicable human being, which wasn't surprising, but to see Alan Colmes jumping on Ted Rall, well, that just reinforced my belief that Ted deserves this rare exception to my usual policy of thinking the best of everyone. ^.^