Sunday, April 29, 2012 – Inevitable Disagreement
If we are all in agreement on the decision – then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about. ~ Alfred P. Sloan
There is nothing more likely to start disagreement among people or countries than an agreement. ~ E. B. White
Thus, we see that one of the obvious origins of human disagreement lies in the use of noises for words. ~ Alfred Korzybski
The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
The great mind knows the power of gentleness, only tries force because persuasion fails. ~ Robert Browning
No man lives without jostling and being jostled; in all ways he has to elbow himself through the world, giving and receiving offense. ~ Thomas Carlyle
The worthless and offensive members of society, whose existence is a social pest, invariably think themselves the most ill-used people alive, and never get over their astonishment at the ingratitude and selfishness of their contemporaries. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
In theory it is easy to convince an ignorant person; in actual life, men not only object to offer themselves to be convinced, but hate the man who has convinced them. ~ Epictetus
He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of a diplomat. ~ Robert Estabrook
In the course of my observation, the disputing, contradicting and confuting people are generally unfortunate in their affairs. They get victory sometimes, but they never get good will, which would be of more use to them. ~ Benjamin Franklin
The last sound on the worthless earth will be two human beings trying to launch a homemade space-ship and already quarreling about where they are going next. ~ William Faulkner
Convincing yourself does not win an argument. ~ Robert Half
We may convince others by our arguments, but we can only persuade them by their own. ~ Joseph Joubert
Persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should be adopted to influence the conduct of men. The opposite course would be a reversal of human nature, which is God’s decree and can never be reversed. ~ Abraham Lincoln
A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man; it is what he wants and must have to be good for anything. Hardship and opposition are the native soil of manhood and self-reliance. ~ John Neal
Before you try to convince anyone else be sure you are convinced, and if you cannot convince yourself, drop the subject. ~ John Henry Patterson
Opposition inflames the enthusiast, never converts him. ~ Johann Friedrich Von Schiller
A long dispute means that both parties are wrong. ~ Voltaire
To constitute a dispute there must be two parties. To understand it well, both parties and all the circumstances must be fully heard; and to accommodate the differences, temper and mutual forbearance are requisite. ~ George Washington
Democrats never agree on anything, that’s why they’re Democrats. If they agreed with each other, they would be Republicans. ~ Will Rogers
A good listener tries to understand what the other person is saying. In the end he may disagree sharply, but because he disagrees, he wants to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with. ~ Kenneth A. Wells
Thinking isn’t agreeing or disagreeing. That’s voting. ~ Robert Frost
A demagogue is a person with whom we disagree as to which gang should mismanage the country. ~ Don Marquis
Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree. ~ Terry Pratchett
Falsehoods not only disagree with truths, but usually quarrel among themselves. ~ Daniel Webster
If two men on a job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, then both are useless. ~ Darryl F. Zanuck
The only things Mick and I disagree about is the band, the music and what we do. ~ Keith Richards
It’s no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favorite films wouldn’t even speak to each other if they met at a party. ~ Nick Hornby
To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity. ~ Oscar Wilde
It is impossible to persuade a man who does not disagree, but smiles. ~ Muriel Spark
I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don’t always agree with them. ~ George H. W. Bush
I’m sorry. If you were right, I’d agree with you. ~ Robin Williams
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree. ~ Charles Baudelaire
We all agree that pessimism is a mark of superior intellect. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith
One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people’s minds. ~ Frank Zappa
Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness. ~ John Heywood
Just Above Sunset 