NEW NOTES from the HILLTOP

 

 Will the Lion Lie Down with the Lamb?

I live in a retirement community with a monthly newsletter. This month, the editor is seeking opinion pieces "about something - anything non-controversial." (Underline is his.)

A friend perused the list of possible topics and frowned. "There’s nothing non-controversial on this list," she said.

  

Here’s the list:  "Your opinion

                        about (town’s name’s) weather,

                        about the anticipated demise of newspapers,

                        about computers,

                        about seniors having pets,

                        about the impact of television on society,

                        or any subject about which you are passionate."

Initially I thought the first item was probably safe, but my friend pointed out the opening for discussions of global warming. I confess that this friend is a specialist at detecting opportunities for argument, but still... The last three defy any excuse I can imagine to say they're free of controversy.

As it happens, our community forbids pets in apartments. Some people agree ferociously with this policy, and others think it cruel and unnecessary, and point out statistics to prove increased longevity for the humans, and repeatedly refer to how they miss their pets. Non-controversial?

How many Luddites and how many geeks are among your friends and relatives? You can almost see neon lights around the word COMPUTER. Very few people are on the fence; most either love and depend on computers or hate and mistrust them.

Impact of television? Where’s the foregone conclusion there? From polluting public morals to assisting with early reading and informing the public, the arguments would take up volumes.

Finally, the very descriptive adjective "passionate" almost guarantees conflict. How passionate is the human animal about something (if there is anything) about which everyone agrees? Unanimity almost guarantees lack of passion.

Writing what my English teacher used to call “personal” essays is something I do often, not just on this blog. Except for the weather, in every one of these I see a subject for, if not a rant, at least a statement, complete with all kinds of qualifiers on varying sides of each of these non-controversial topics. I can’t wait to see what turns up in the newsletter’s In box!