My Own Mind

You’ve heard the idiom “Preaching to the choir” before. In case you haven’t, it means you're wasting your time trying to convince people who already agree with you instead of going out and talking to the people who need to be convinced.

When I was in college, oh so many years ago, I worked a summer job painting dorm rooms. We worked in two-person teams. My teammate would bring a boombox with her for us to have something to listen to while we painted. She always listened to Rush Limbaugh. Not because she liked him, but because she disagreed with him. She felt it was important to know what the other side was saying.

In a debate, it is important to know the two (or more) sides of the argument. Too often we just listen to those that agree with us.

Listening to the other side is something I find very difficult to do. My conservative newspaper and conservative family members and co-workers make sure that I do hear their side.

I do my best to make up my own mind about the current issues of the day. And then I let those that I disagree with know where I stand. Because frankly, preaching to the choir just annoys the choir.