floonine

I like to consider myself a listener, especially with my girlfriend who's english skills aren't as developed as mine are (she's japanese). I have to spend more time than usual listening to what she is trying to say sometimes, but I don't have any problems doing so. Of course, thinking that I am a good listener and being one are two different things.

I think we talk too much in general, or at least Americans do anyway, but I think a lot of that is trying to keep from insulting someone in a very sensitive era. It would be easier to just say "that dress makes you look fat" instead of saying "I don't know honey, you can wear whatever you want and I will still love you. However, if you are worried about how the dress fits you specifically, I would say that you own articles of clothing that better accent your body's natural beauty."

That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but its possible, and if someone saw through the over-elaborate, then they would probably want to listen to the other person less often.
If everyone acted like that, I don't think I could blame anyone for not caring to listen.

Maybe its because we take oral communication for granted. Maybe we should all just shut up and try getting along without talking for a decade or two... I think if we would impathize a little more as a society, we could probably get more accomplished in less time... Maybe that's just me.

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Political arguments do not exist, after all, for people to believe in them, rather they serve as a common, agreed-upon excuse. Foolish people who take them in earnest sooner or later discover inconsistencies in them, begin to protest and finish finally and infamously as heretics.