Walk Home Together

This is a tinfoil hat. My oldest son, he of the bone-dry humor, quietly made it one night when we were having a spirited debate around the kitchen island. I won’t tell you whose head he put it on, but it wasn’t mine. At least not that night. 

To say that the members of my family like to argue is like saying Alabama in July is a bit warm. Both Will’s and my father were lawyers, so it’s probably to be expected. Hashing out where we all stand on current events is our love language. I can’t speak for Will (I mean, I try not to) but a willingness to debate is probably the most valuable skill I learned from my own Dad. We might not be able to reach complete agreement, but assuming everyone is being honest and acting like a grown-up, we can *almost* always find some common ground. 

Opinions are great, but facts, sometimes infuriatingly, are still facts. Hence the tinfoil hat. Sit around our kitchen island and make whatever proclamations and assertions you like, but best be prepared to back them up. Don’t expect an echo chamber and woe be unto those who spew broad generalizations and assumptions. Start in on a rumor or a conspiracy theory and watch the phones come out. We gonna Google it up and see what’s what. Not to shut down the conversation or prove someone right or wrong, but to establish the facts so we can go from there. Agreed-upon reputable sources only, ofc. 

Attitudes and outlooks have been known to shift. Phrases like “Ok, you got me there” “Fair enough” and “I’ll defer to you on that” have even occasionally popped up. That’s not losing; that’s integrity. 

Look, my family is far, VERY FAR, from total harmony. Some of the things we continue to disagree on have kept me awake at night for weeks on end and still do. But, we four love each other. Two of us chose each other for life and the other two we made from scratch. We want to make sense of the questions and issues of the day, together, while keeping each other honest and accountable. When it’s my turn to wear the (metaphorical, sometimes) tinfoil hat, I’ve worn it. We all have.