before i get started, let's take a moment to appreciate the title of this post. i'm quite proud of it. there are only a few titles that make me particularly proud. this is one of them. "catchphrasing" and "orating" are also up there.
that being said... i say "that being said" way too often. that and "anyway/who/how", "so/but yeah", and "side note". that's what happens when you're tangent-prone like me.
anyw- er, at any rate, let's get back to the prompt.
so, how do i approach this? do i talk about controversial stories in my life? discuss some controversial stories i've heard about? give a brief overview of controversial stories and explain my opinion on them?
well, the last option seems like the most steven santos-y of the three. so i'll do that, dangit!!
so what defines a controversial story? well, a controversy is something that polarizes people's opinions - creating a dichotomy, you might say. (roll credits!)
how do you know something's controversial? here's an easy test - if people don't agree on whether or not it's controversial, it's a controversy!! bada bing bada boom!!
controversies span a wide variety of subjects, including (but not limited to) politics, religion, education, films, music, technology, tv shows, and the pronunciation of the term "GIF" (it's a soft g. don't @ me). so basically anything and everything. isn't that neat? isn't that great? isn't that cool?
likewise, a controversial story will cover one or more of these topics. in what may be perhaps the most simple and general case, a person will do something that people either agree or disagree with. in more complicated cases, there will be multiple sides to the story and numerous lines of evidence that make it hard to gain a clear picture of the situation.
so what's my take on the whole shebang? is there a purpose to controversial stories?
yeah, to some extent. (ooh, a controversial answer!!)
the world would be boring if everyone had the same opinion on things. controversies are opportunities for different viewpoints to be presented and debated. it's a great chance to hear the thoughts and experiences of others. so, of course, this can all take place through calm/rational discussion, right?
would that it were the case. people these days are usually quite desperate to cling to their ideas and ideals and are loath to give them up to hear out others. in particular, social media has made it very easy to give people platforms where they can remain surrounded by accordant ideas in their digital echo chambers. if you ask me, a lot of problems today are caused not only by a lack of communication but also an unwillingness to communicate. if people listened more instead of trying to sledgehammer their opinions into others, things would be positively groovy. i'm not saying world peace would be achieved overnight or anything, but i definitely think it would help. communication is key. talking things out may not solve all problems, but it sure as heck couldn't hurt.
i should probably acknowledge that there are varying degrees of controversy. should all of them be discussed?? er, yeah. to some extent. (man i'm so controversial right now!) obviously, stories that are super fricked up should only circulate for so long. if they linger for too long then they start to do more harm than good. ideally, the process would be to discuss, come to some consensus, and move on. there's a lesson to be learned in any situation. even the most fricked up ones.
side note: frick. i said something about lesson learning two days ago. i swear i try to avoid being repetitive. might as well put that in "catchphrasing pt. 3"...
so. yeah. controversies are good and bad. but what really matters is the insight you receive from them, and how you can use that to make the world a better place.
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