What you see here is me with a rare happy face. When I took this picture I had just finished a long walk talk with Linda Lou.
Talking with Linda Lou is what I imagine a visit to a therapist of the psychiatrist sort must be like. Only with Linda Lou the therapy session is vertical, not horizontal on a couch.
I have known Linda Lou all but about five years of my existence on the planet.
Behind me in that picture is the Lucy Park pool. Currently closed, and without water. The temperature being 85 at the time I was near the pool, it would have been a perfect take a cooling dip degree.
Among the things Linda Lou and I talked about today was how one deals with getting to know someone, and then coming to a point in getting to know a person when the person reveals something about something which renders them instantly to seem woefully ignorant, and with me unable to think of anything to say which could possibly wise up the person.
In both my experience, and Linda Lou's, when you try to reason with such a person, asking something relatively simple, like, why do you think that? The answer only compounds the ignorance, digging a deeper hole, harder and harder to climb out of.
Or the person may say they are entitled to their opinion. Or we have free speech in this country. Again leaving me vexed, thinking where do I start with this? Is it worth it to even try? Do I really want to explain that while you are entitled to your own opinion, you are not entitled to make up your own facts.
Facts are facts. You can't say something like "I don't like Joe Biden because he isn't a real American. He was born in Kenya." These type things are just impossible to try and be reasonable about. Leaving the only sane response being to say something like that is a ridiculous thing to think, let alone say out loud.
And that free speech argument is so annoying. How one goes through 12 years of school and graduates not knowing that freedom of speech, as mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, has nothing to do with any fool can say any fool thing he wants to say. Freedom of Speech has to do with the government being prohibited from restricting citizen's freedom to say what they want about any subject they want to say something about.
Freedom of Speech does not mean you are free to scream fire in a crowded theater. Or slander the President of the United States by saying he is senile.
Talking to Linda Lou today I came to the conclusion that if one has to deal with someone who is ignorant, as in, a relative, a co-worker, or someone you live with, whose good outweighs the bad, then you just let it go with a 'You are being so silly again".
But, if it is someone you don't have to deal with, not directly connected to your life, well, the best thing to do when they reveal their character to you, is to realize this is who they are, and then cut them off....
And that free speech argument is so annoying. How one goes through 12 years of school and graduates not knowing that freedom of speech, as mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, has nothing to do with any fool can say any fool thing he wants to say. Freedom of Speech has to do with the government being prohibited from restricting citizen's freedom to say what they want about any subject they want to say something about.
Freedom of Speech does not mean you are free to scream fire in a crowded theater. Or slander the President of the United States by saying he is senile.
Talking to Linda Lou today I came to the conclusion that if one has to deal with someone who is ignorant, as in, a relative, a co-worker, or someone you live with, whose good outweighs the bad, then you just let it go with a 'You are being so silly again".
But, if it is someone you don't have to deal with, not directly connected to your life, well, the best thing to do when they reveal their character to you, is to realize this is who they are, and then cut them off....
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