Differentiations

Every person is different. You mean when you hear someone like your mom talking about someone else and she wants to be nice so she says “well, they’re just different”… no, not like that… well, maybe. Everyone is created differently and uniquely and it’s those simple variations that make “the world go ‘round”, right?
Richard Hugo explains in the first chapter of his book The Triggering Town, which is entitled “Writing off the Subject” on the matters of learning to write to a supposed inexperienced audience. As Ricky is bit brash and forward in his tactics, I still managed to find a principle from which I’ll glean. Going back to the “everyone is created differently” idea, Ricky states “Every moment, without wanting or trying to, telling you to write like me. But I hope you learn to write like you.” He accepts that teaching does not involve infringing your own ideas on lower, less important subjects, but helping them to find their own and nourish them for further development. As people differ so do their writing styles, opinions and the way they view the world. If every teacher could adhere to that belief, we’d probably have a world full of new, fresh ideas… well, newer, and fresher anyway.
And on the other hand, one comment Ricky made which I did not agree with was his opinion on the incapability of arguments to make for productive formulations of ideas. “Don’t start arguments. They are futile and take us away from our purpose… If you don’t agree with me, don’t listen.” I believe it is by listening to ideas that we don’t agree with that we can better understand our own. Through arguments and contradictions we advance our capacity to learn and hold stronger to our styles and opinions and therefore make greater distinctions between ourselves and others; complementing the uniqueness of this world. Blah. Over and Out.