GETTING BY
Seeking enrichment in a polarized world
Seeing eye to eye on everything has never been an expectation, or even a wish
In Real Life, I have — and have always had — a wide variety of friends and acquaintances with different lifestyles and views. Seeing eye to eye on everything has never been an expectation, or even a wish. I focus on those qualities of the person that I most appreciate, and on those areas of interest that we share. The process of personal enrichment that follows is mutual. Of course there can be conflict, too, but I tend to steer away from that, because why bother? People are people, and changing them is none of my business. I can always distance myself if something gets to be too much. This whole perspective and process I just described isn’t intellectual, political or ethical for me — it’s just an MO that feels right.
Who I read is like this too. It’s a wide range, and many of them are controversial in some way. Like my friends and acquaintances, I don’t expect to see eye to eye on everything, nor do I wish for it. There’s more than one writer who both deeply inspires me and deeply offends me, depending on the topic, so I focus on what enriches my understanding, and set the rest aside.