Knowing When to Shut Up

Most of you who know me are probably thinking, "Well, she sure doesn't know much about this blog topic..." Alas.

In law school, you are surrounded by a very similar group of people who have some distinct similarities. The majority are trained to debate issues and use critical thinking skills. And most really like it. In our free time during law school we would go out and have heated debates about social problems and political issues over beers (likely many beers). This was thought to be a "fun Friday night." Now, being an adult in normal society, this kind of intellectual stimulation is not so readily available. Most people don't want to talk about politics, and challenging someones' critical thinking skills is seen as confrontational and rude.

Where does that leave those of us who really appreciated the intellectual debate of law school both in and out of the classroom? I think it leaves us trying to learn when to shut up.

I have been reading a couple of thought provoking books lately, and it has heightened my interest in dialogue with others about interesting current social topics. For the past two weekends, I have been involved in "political" discussions that ended with me feeling it would have been better to have never engaged in them to start with.

I have found that most intellectual conversation makes people uncomfortable, and regardless of how impersonal your arguments, people take them personally. From now on, I am going to work on cultivating my opinions, but keeping them to myself. I am going to work on learning when to shut up.

Wish me luck.