Think About It

         “Stop being argumentative!”   I can’t tell you the number of times I heard my mother tell me this.   When I was younger I thought her objection was to me disagreeing with her, but that wasn’t the issue.   Her admonition was for me to stop harping on a point.   I think she loved me enough to allow me to have a point of view, but I wasn’t wise enough to speak my peace and move on.           Argumentativeness isn’t a disagreement, it is continually rehashing what has already been stated.   It isn’t providing new evidence, it is merely replowing old ground – often with more emotion and less restraint than the time(s) before.             I still haven’t learned this lesson as well as I should, but I am beginning to see the futility of harping on a point.   If I haven’t convinced someone in the first couple of attempts, saying it a half dozen more times probably won’t make a difference.   Sure, as long as there is give and take there might be value in continuing to discuss thi