“Ideas on Earth were badges on friendship or enmity. Their content did not matter. Friends agreed with friends, in order to express friendliness. Enemies disagreed with enemies, in order to express enmity.”
This is a quotation by novelist Kurt Vonnegut, through the character of science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, in the novel Breakfast of Champions. It is an accurate observation of our society.
If someone criticizes another person for one reason or another, it’s implied that the author of the opinion has something against the individual they’re criticizing.
This isn’t necessarily the truth. It’s okay to disagree with friends. It would be a pretty uninteresting situation if everyone agreed with everyone all the time.
I think the spray park being installed at Centennial Park is a waste of money, and is counterproductive to the town’s goal of becoming more “green” a community. This doesn’t mean I dislike the town’s elected officials. In fact, they’re all very nice and pleasant individuals who I agree with on a large majority of issues.
People can disagree with my opinion with regard to the spray park, but that (hopefully) doesn’t mean that they dislike me.
The charismatic and nice tend to become the leaders of the communities they live in.
This is not necessarily a good thing, as the loudest or friendliest voice is not necessarily the correct one. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, either. It’s the decisions they make, and only the decisions they make, that truly matter.
This idea is exemplified through a dog that appears briefly in Breakfast of Champions. He’s incapable of wagging his tail, so ends up getting into fights because he can’t show other dogs how friendly he is.
An unrelated thought: Those that believe in socialism should act on their beliefs right now, and make a donation to a charity or cause of their choosing. Those that do not do this either aren’t actually socialists, or don’t have disposable income at this time.
