Friday, February 18, 2011

Just Listen To Me With Objectivity

I used to be a reporter and of course a reporter should always try to be objective in their reporting and I certainly tried to do just that - to hear and report the story in a non judgemental, objective manner.
I too want to be heard objectively. I don't want to be judged or ignored because of my age, my religion, my status in life or my race. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person. Although I am now "older" I keep up with the world around me. In fact I do a better job of it now because I have more time available to me. I read all kinds of literature except trashy, trite stuff that is a waste of my time and brain. I enjoy a lot of different music genres including classical, folk, pop, light rock, worship, bluegrass and a bit of western. I keep up with local and world events. I keep up with current movies, concerts and theatre even though I may not enjoy them all. I love to study and learn new things and because of that have changed many of my views over the years. I try to keep up with the newest in technology or at least know about what is out there (some is not relevant to my life at present). My experiences in life have taught me much and I think they could help others on their journey. I also do not think I have learned it all and am still learning from people of all ages.
I like to engage in challenging conversations with people from any race, age, social or economic status (I have always wanted to engage the queen in conversation and would feel quite comfortable doing so).
I honestly love to have my ideas challenged which may or may not cause me to change them. I am not just engaging in conversation so that I can make others change their opinions. I like to challenge and be challenged because that is how I learn and grow and share my life's experiences and knowledge. We are never too old to learn or teach and hopefully we are never too young to learn or teach (I learned an amazing truth from a grandson recently).
But, can we really be totally objective as we listen to each other's opinions? Probably not. When I look back to my reporting years I realize that I could never have been 100 percent objective because the slant I put on the story would be done from my perspective.
I guess what I am asking for in my quest to be heard objectively is just to be listened to and respected as a person who has something worthwhile to say because of my age, status in life, religion, or race.