{"id":534,"date":"2015-05-18T12:58:38","date_gmt":"2015-05-18T12:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/?p=534"},"modified":"2015-05-18T12:58:38","modified_gmt":"2015-05-18T12:58:38","slug":"oh-yea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/?p=534","title":{"rendered":"Oh Yea?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Argumentative, contrary, combative, confrontational, quarrelsome, cantankerous, scrappy \u2014 these words all describe people that are quick to argue. We all know people that one or more of these words would describe. Some people just like to argue and trying to have a conversation with a person that just enjoys arguing or who believes they are always right can be, at the very least, frustrating. I know several people that just seem to enjoy an argument and a couple that must always be right. After a rather frustrating \u201cdiscussion\u201d recently, I started to think about why some people are that way and how I usually handle my interaction with them. And then I got to thinking \u2014 how <em>should<\/em> I handle the situation(s) \u2014 what\u2019s the best way?<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s an old saying \u2014 never discuss politics or religion at dinner. Well, those subjects certainly are hot buttons for disagreement, but my philosophy is it\u2019s usually not good to discuss <em>any<\/em> controversial subject during meals. But when you\u2019re around certain people, just about any subject can become controversial. There are some obvious actions (and non-actions) that you can use to help control the situation. Keep calm \u2014 getting angry is of no benefit. Consider why you\u2019re arguing \u2014 is it even worth arguing about? Consider your relationship with the person \u2014 is it worth losing a friend over? Events change every day, but good friendships should be lifelong. Listen well \u2014 really listen to the other person, maybe they do have a valid argument.<\/p>\n<p>One of the things that I haven\u2019t mastered, but I\u2019ve gotten better at is my willingness to walk away from arguments. It can be difficult to walk away from things when someone you care about disagrees with you on an important issue. I read somewhere that a peaceful silence is always preferable to a contentious victory. As I\u2019ve aged, I\u2019ve come to realize that friendship is more important than agreement.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve learned to take people in pieces \u2014 I enjoy being with some people some of the time and I accept that some subjects will do nothing but set them off on an emotional argument. So I\u2019ve become very careful who I argue with. Someone said it best \u2014 discussion is an exchange of knowledge; an argument an exchange of ignorance.<br \/>\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Argumentative, contrary, combative, confrontational, quarrelsome, cantankerous, scrappy \u2014 these words all describe people that are quick to argue. We all know people that one or more of these words would describe. Some people just like to argue and trying to &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/?p=534\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":535,"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions\/535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}