Be firm, and be exact, but don’t be rude. Rely on truth and not persuasion. Rely on and expect inherent consistencies in yours and others arguments, and not an anger, emotion and rhetoric. Do not give in to fear or intimidation. If you lose a friend, they weren’t a friend in the first place.

At the end of the day, no one likes conflict, not face to face.  And so much of our conversation has reverted to online comments and retorts.  This is unfortunate.  Argumentation has been a cornerstone of civil progress and will save us from ourselves if used properly.  if we choose to use it properly.

Arguments are often defined as a yelling match, or simply agreeing to disagree (an unfortunate and misleading phrase at best).  It is not.  When an argument presents itself rudeness is not necessary, but sometimes courage is.  What bolsters courage is knowing your stance and the reasons you consider it to be the best, the most true.  This is important.

If someone is being rude, just tell them so and just ask them why.  You are not in an argument at this point.  Let them know.  If they simply rely upon rhetoric rather than logical processes, point this out.  If they don’t know what a logical process is, explain it.  If they are apathetic, ask them why they don’t care.  Use their ignorance against them, not yours.

There is no reason to use logic against someone who isn’t interested, but there is a reason to explain the process to someone who doesn’t understand it.

We have become, perhaps we have always been, a society that is nothing if not emotional and rhetorical but we can strive for more, and we must, when we are after that illusive concept Truth.

Logic is worth the trouble, and lies are worth the time to point them out.  It’s high-time that we stand up against those that don’t know and those that don’t care.