There
are two kinds of people in the world…
You
can actually finish that sentence with unlimited possibilities.
I’ve had several in mind, some from experience, some I just thought
might be funny, and a handful that include some universal truths.
But the more you think about the idea, the more it expands and
proves itself virtually limitless. Watch…
There
are two kinds of people in the world, those that love dogs and
those that love cats.
…those
that drink coffee and those that drink tea.
…those
that put the cap back on the toothpaste and those that don’t care.
…those
that put mustard on their hot dogs and those that are wrong.
Everything
from the contents of your refrigerator to the direction you set
the roll when replacing toilet paper comes with a decision of
some type and usually a personal preference. And the reality is,
absolutely none of it matters.
Sure,
I may question virtually everything about you and likely won’t
be clearing my schedule that often for us to get together if you
don’t love dogs. But that won’t raise either of our property taxes.
Your
approach to toothpaste in your home does not make the grass grow
more quickly in my yard. How you feel about coffee won’t improve
my car’s miles-per-gallon.
And
that’s where the weird things begin. See, toss aside the humor
and keep the fundamentals in place… somehow there are things in
the world that others do that never change my savings account,
have no bearing on the yard work I’ll be dealing with, and in
no way reflect upon me or change anything at all within the walls
of my house. I’ve still got yellow and spicy brown as options
from my fridge regardless of what you have in yours to put on
your hot dog. Still…
People
are getting angry and mad and bent out of shape. They emotionally
turn the dog and cat debate into an us against them referendum
on everything, taking issues to levels they consider sacred and
significant.
Us
against them.
Might
just be the ugliest three words you can put together.
Sure,
it’s fun when you have something like a sporting event. Your favorite
team is playing for a championship, with your friend’s favorite
team taking the field as the opponent. But realistically, even
when you prefer Marvel movies and your significant other dives
deep in loving the DC offerings, as a couple you can still go
to see the films created by both. (And maybe even smile and enjoy
them when you do. Stunning, I know.)
There
are people out there that want to tell me I need to be more aware
of what’s happening and less naïve. To that, I would say
such folks need to shut up and get out of the way. Regardless
of the significance, the reality remains… there are an awful lot
of people that want to tell others what to do even though they
have absolutely no reason to.
I’ll
be honest, I may judge you up, down and sideways for not liking
puppies. But if what you’re doing doesn’t change my life in any
way… heck, chances are good I may not even know you’re doing it…
that judgement should be polite, respectful, and just about always
kept to myself.
That
doesn’t mean we can’t share our opinions. Doesn’t mean we can’t
attempt to exchange information and try to improve. That’s great
stuff.
Instead,
this us against them thing is dragging us in reverse and fueling
hatred rather than moving us forward and improving our communities.
There are more than two kinds of anything. Far more. And it’s
pretty fantastic having those differences, those options, those
unique features.
So,
the next time something upsets you, do everyone a favor. Shut
up. Take a deep breath. Think. If it’s not changing anything you
need, experience or do, let it go. There are better things to
spend your time on.
(Unless
you’ve got a couple of hot dogs and you’re reaching for the ketchup.
That’s just madness.)