- 2 November, 2006 -

Everybody's angry. Or so it seems. Perhaps it's the current election cycle that sensitizes one to this sorry state of affairs, or perhaps recurring election cycles actually instigated it. For the past several weeks ? it feels like months ? we've been exposed to non-stop electioneering in town halls, local barbershops, and media of every kind, with anger and opponent-vilification constituting major portions of the content. For the most unadulterated display of anger, you have to tune into the "talk" shows hosted by the cable television news networks. It seems we have lost the ability to listen to one another ? let alone talk. Once the "discussion" gets underway, you're lucky if you're able to count to "three-Mississippi" before the shouting and the interruptions start. The only thing participants appear able to agree on is that volume is the most persuasive argument. Buried somewhere beneath all this rudeness there is some substance to be found I'm sure ? but they certainly make you dig for it! Is this where we take our cue? Do politicians and television pundits prod our own crude and unrestrained behavior toward those who disagree with us or who we sense have done us wrong? Where does all this rage come from? Recently, outside our office building, I was startled by the sudden but insistent sound of an auto's horn. About fourth in line in a row of cars waiting to turn left at the intersection, a little old lady was having a tantrum in her car. Apparently, someone ahead of her was not moving as fast as she wanted. Her windows were closed, so I could not hear her, but her mouth was working furiously at the silent screams, her face contorted in anger, and her fists alternately holding down the horn and wildly waving in the air. Mercifully, she remained inside her car. I pity the poor ref on the playing field who is wholly exposed to the violent disagreement of soccer dads and soccer moms. Every car wash and fast-lube operator has had the unsettling experience of facing an angry customer. Most realize that, whether justified or totally unreasonable, such wrath is most effectively defused by patient listening and kind words. Many will agree that had the customer approached the perceived problem with less acrimony, a satisfactory solution might have been found more quickly and certainly much more pleasantly. Having been on the receiving end of customers' ire should be an incentive to exercise restraint in disagreeing amongst ourselves. It's disheartening to see in our midst the inability to simply disagree, the need to be outraged, and the impulse to color critique with intemperate language. Rather than stick to a discussion of the merits or shortcomings of a viewpoint, an ad hominem attack is launched on the holder of that viewpoint, calling into question his motives and casting aspersions on his integrity. While that may play well in a political campaign, it is not how we move forward. We are all part of one industry. We all play on the same team. We all want what is best for the customer, and we all want to make customers of those elusive driveway washers. We can't always agree on how to make that happen, but we can disagree constructively.

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