Troglodytes
Often when I read an editorial in the newspaper or hear a talking head make a comment with which I disagree, I will call them a pejorative name, like a troglodyte. Troglodyte is a noun that means someone who lives in a cave. It is supremely satisfying for me to exclaim, "what a troglodyte!" when I'm offended by another person's opinion on an important issue. I frequently scream "troglodyte!" at my computer screen in today's hyper-divided and politically polarized society.
Some people will say I'm childish and insecure. I can only riposte with a predictably immature response like: "everybody does it," because everybody does. It seems like typical human nature to bark insults at people with whom we disagree.
But troglodyte also means a person who lives in solitude, which vaguely describes me. It is a thought-provoking hint that troglodyte can work for both my perceived adversaries and me. Could I have more in common with the people I disparage than I might initially recognize? What if, in addition to being troglodytes, we also share other similarities? Maybe I should look for the common ground between us before casting out inflammatory comments and engaging in name-calling. Wouldn’t it be something if this became a mass epiphany in our world?
But that’s just the sort of woke thinking with which the troglodytes will never engage!
I just can’t help myself. I’m only human.
Monte