Listening while spinning

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I think having compression waves turn into electrical impulses is genius.  Whoever designed the ear really knew what He was doing.

Think of it, a way for us to say what we are thinking, and potentially have others understand in THEIR HEADS what is going on in our heads.  Amazing.  Almost as good as telepathy, but it takes effort on the part of the giver and receiver (speaker and listener).

From the website that I referenced that image, I see a list of symptoms of hearing loss.  Let's have a look:

Symptoms of Hearing Loss:

1. Hearing but not understanding
2. Turning up the volume on the TV
3. Must lip read to understand speech
4. Cannot hear environmental sounds such as game calls, traps releasing, crickets, etc.
5. Strained personal relationships, denial
6. Social withdrawal
7. Fatigue and stress

Now you ask, why do I bring this up on voting day instead of posting an "I voted" sticker like all the other bloggers today?  Have you ever noticed that some people are bent on taking a person's words and crafting it into what they want to hear?   They "listen" with a SLANT on what is really said.  I call it "Middle School Banter" because I remember playing that game where you take someone's words completely out of context and then ridicule them for it.  Middle school was rough.  I've repented of going to middle school.  I promise to never go again. Well, I was reminded of that recently when I read a blog post where the author used the word Gringa to refer to herself in a very benign way as a white girl living in Mexico, and a commenter thought the word was incindiary/hateful/inappropriate.  I thought that was a bit out of context for what the author had intended.  

In the run up to voting day, we have seen similar tactics to incite constituents to become incredulous about "the other guy's" foibles.  Honestly-- attach to spin or cast doubt on E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G the other speaker is saying?  Does someone have an over-active cochlea, and that spiral doo-hickey is just making the words SPIN on their own?  Calm down people!

Even still, I recognize that when I send a quick email, there is not always intonation or inflection for people to "hear" my voice in the written word to know what I'm intending. (Emoticons, anyone, to cure abruptness? :-)) A friend once suggested always including a compliment or praise with typed communication, because it can knock off the rough edges of poorly written emails.  I write dozens of emails every week, so I should spend more time praising.  

I know that when people are in disagreement, their brains already are trained to listen for the weak spot of the opposition, highlighting differences.  This, to me, is highly evident in the advertisements for campaigns over the last several months, and I see this in heated web conversations.  We could reprise the "Symptoms of Hearing Loss" and turn it into "Symptoms of Poor Listening" based on what we've heard this campaign season, I think:

Symptoms of Poor Listening:

1. Hearing but not responding to the moderator's or other candidate's questions.
2. Turning up the volume on your voice to speak over the other guy.
3. Giving "lip service" to people's probing questions before changing the subject to your prepared talking points.
4. Cannot process environmental context of what the speaker meant when he said something to a specific audience on a specific date.
5. Personal relationships only to initiate skepticism of the other candidate.
6. Party-specific social withdrawal, unwilling to compromise "across the aisle".
7. Fatigue and stress from defending, then attacking.

My approach is that 
1. Everyone is entitled to have a bad day now and again, and say something stupid.
2. Some people will never be eloquent, and will say things that are easily taken out of context.
3. Just because a person says something doesn't mean that it is right/true/accurate/unchangeable.
4. There are very few people in this world who are "out to get you".

So instead, consider this: what were they trying to say?  Instead of assuming the worst, assume the best in everyone.  Then everyone gets a pass and you never feel grumpy for very long.

And for the record: at the time of writing this, I still don't know who I'm going to vote for.  It's tough to see through the bickering of two people who want to be diametrically opposed sometimes.  I'd more likely vote for the person who's a centrist, wanting to bring us all together for the G.G.-- you know, the greater good.