Right in the centre - Disagree if you wish, but don’t be disagreeable

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Published on Friday, June 10, 2022

By Ken Waddell

Neepawa Banner & Press

With over 1,700 of my columns having now gone to print, I thought maybe it’s time to list some of the things I don’t agree with. Some will come as a surprise to readers, others, perhaps not so much.

As you read the list, if you choose to do so, rest assured you don’t have to agree with me. Even more importantly, whether it be trivial stuff or big issues, we must always remember that we while we may disagree, we don’t have to be disagreeable. That’s the biggest problem we have today, in families, in communities and in the world in general. It is so bad that if we don’t agree, we are somehow compelled to hate the person who disagrees with us.

Let’s start with the trivial stuff. I am not a big fan of the now stylish ripped jeans. Sorry, I just don’t like them. I know my long departed mother would not have liked them either. She hated sending her kids to school with holes in their clothes. 

I don’t like the man-bun hair style. Not a huge deal, I just think they look silly. If people like them, that’s up to them.

Boiled cabbage, not my favourite, for sure. A lot of times, I have eaten cabbage that boiled dry and was scorched. Nasty flavour, that burnt cabbage, I tell ya!

Overcooked eggs sure aren’t my first choice for breakfast.

Ok, you get the picture, but enough about fashion and food.

There are many more serious issues in life and as my list goes on, some readers’ sense of humour and patience may wear thin.

I don’t like or believe in capital punishment. I believe that people who commit murder should be put in jail for a long, long time, perhaps forever. When a person’s life ends, even a murderer’s life, should be up to God. The Ten Commandments clearly say, “Thou shalt not kill”. Jesus’s new covenant says to love one another. It’s pretty hard to reconcile killing people, even a murderer, and say that we love one another.

Some people won’t go to war and I respect that. I believe war is only justifiable to deal with aggressor nations. I think Russia deserves everything it gets for invading Ukraine. I think the United States should not have gone into some of their wars. Without revisiting history, let’s just say that when a country invades another sovereign country, that’s wrong and must be met with force. I think Russia is wrong this time. There never should be unprovoked aggression by one country against another.

I think that abortion should be avoided as much as absolutely possible. Many don’t agree. I also think that the definition of marriage has become very distorted. Many don’t agree with that either.

There has never been agreement on all issues and never will be this side of heaven. Perhaps my opinions are correct, perhaps they are not. But I do know this with certainty, God has all the correct answers. Not Christians, not Jews, not Muslims, not Buddhists. Not faith groups or their respective organizations, only God. 

We are to keep learning, keep trying and as we go along, above all else, we are to love one another. Please do that and keep on sorting out your opinions and beliefs. Disagree if you wish, but don’t be disagreeable.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.