Listen Up People

I can't listen to people talk anymore. Let me be more specific. I can't listen to people argue anymore, or debate, or "discuss," or any of that nonsense. It hurts my ears and my brain in the same way hearing Nickleback kills my soul. I can't hear either of those two horrific things without wanting to physically harm the participating members or myself.

Here's an example of old-timey people listening. Isn't it nice?

This will sound pompous or naive, I can't decide which, but I loathe today's rhetorical wrestling because we, and by we I mean humans, have 6 billion people who love to talk but cannot listen. Ok lets cut that to 5 billion with the other 1 billion being children unable to speak, the speaking impaired, and those with a vow of silence (thank you).

I don't care under what circumstances people participate "discourse" (though in my mind it isn't discourse without someone listening). I'm generalizing this to cover everybody because we all do it sometimes and many people do it way to much. PEOPLE DON'T LISTEN. We speak ... and speak and speak and speak until we risk homicide by boredom with the next word. Then, when the time comes for us to play audience, we tune out because we believe our job is done. We've forwarded whatever agenda we spoke out to forward, be it animal rights, health care reform, or a playoff for college football (come on it's time people).

Listening is the lost art of humanity, and it's a shame. Our inability to listen is only making us dumber, less informed, more conflicted, and increasingly isolated. If people stop listening their ideas stop evolving; their morality, personality, and social self become stunted. Anyone can tune into CNN and see Congress men and women throwing haymakers to scar their opponents without listening to a word they have to say for a perfect example of people fine with letting their ideas remain in their infancy. Consequently, these people work against the will of their constituents, whom they must also ignore because all this country is asking for right now is for its representatives to work together. You can't do that if you can't listen. Don't like CNN? Switch over to ESPN or Fox and watch people do the same thing. Go outside and see your neighbors, golfing buddies, local exotic dances, they all do it.

I spend a lot of time in high school classrooms, and I'm telling you, we have a generation of non-listeners on the way. Not just people who don't listen to authority, they don't even listen to each other. This situation isn't their fault; they've grown up watching the deterioration of communication in every walk of life: politics, the home, the work place, schools, etc. Kids today would rather stare at a blank wall for 20 minutes than listen to an idea that doesn't perfectly aligned with their understanding of the world.

I understand why it happens. Human beings are competitive which leads to our struggle with listening, but from now on lets make a concerted effort to better ourselves and our society by opening our ears and minds to new ideas and experiences. The great paradox facing those who only talk is that listening would greatly strengthen whatever they have to say. If knowledge is power, listening is its vehicle. Those who refuse to partake only condemn themselves to weakness.