If you’ve read my blogs over the years here at Meatingplace, you know that I like to mix it up. I enjoy talking about a wide variety topics that relate directly or indirectly to my experiences selling meat products.

I’ve discussed cooking methods, meat cuts, carcass utilization and dozens of different topics related to producing and selling meat. Now and then, I like to discuss the bigger issues that are important to our industry and to the consumers that eat the products we produce. I like to address what I feel are the ‘elephants in the room,’ some of which are uncomfortable for some to discuss because they are potentially contentious.

For example, I’ve blogged about antibiotic use in animals, feeding animals genetically modified grains, sustainability definitions, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommendations and other industry issues that generate some strong opinions on both sides.

Up until recently, I’ve not tackled anything as hotly politicized as my current topic on global warming and climate change. And in researching this, as an interest and a hobby, I’ve come to find out that with this topic, it’s often difficult for those with opposing views to have a civilized conversation without resorting to name calling, insulting the intelligence of those with an opposing view or expressing outright anger and frustration over the stupidity of those in opposition.

I’ve been wondering why our great nation can no longer, it seems, have the types of civilized, objective debates and conversations that made us all better. What happened to those great Lincoln/Douglas types of long civilized debates? I know that few of us have the patience any longer to sit through a three or four-hour debate, so that’s one big obstacle. But it’s hard to get to the marrow of an issue with short, 30-minute talks or by limiting speakers during a debate to just a few minutes to answer a question.

Disagreeing with others used to be an ‘iron sharpens iron’ essential part of helping us objectively think through our preconceived suppositions, identify our hidden biases, and help us to grow in our broader understanding of important life issues.

I think there’s a variety of reasons why we have such a difficult time as a society now with this.

Primarily, I blame social media. True, there are some positive things to say about the benefits of social media, but overshadowing all those good things are the negative aspects of the platforms that make it all too easy to humiliate, condemn, make fun of and shame others who hold to conventions different from our own.

Secondarily, I think we’ve just grown cold in our communication skills and in the ability to express our feelings with a solid level of emotional maturity. Many can no longer use words effectively to express themselves without getting frustrated. We resort to name calling, making fun of, unfriending, unfollowing, cancelling, and shutting down the voice of the opposition simply because we disagree.

It’s much more difficult to insult someone when you are sitting across from them in person, at the table and looking into their eyes. It’s also more likely you’ll get a chance to listen to them explain at length why they believe what they believe.

I live in a neighborhood with an HOA. Our HOA has some contentious issues that come up every few years, such as a zoning change or how to best manage the neighborhood park. I’ve observed that when we try to sort through the facts, opinions, and ideas to reach a consensus for moving forward on an issue, it’s very hard to do this through emails and group texts. When we try to resolve concerns about a topic in these impersonal ways, the opposing sides become even more polarized. But when we take the time to get together as neighbors to have in-person meetings, we can more effectively communicate our concerns and ideas while talking face-to-face.

What other reasons can you think of as to why we have such difficulty in our current culture with resolving our differences about contentious topics?

In the meantime, I’m continuing my research on global warming and climate change. I’m reading through the long UN report by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the newest info from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). I’ll blog on these reports next time.

Engaging in civilized discussions with contentious topics

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