Opinion | When Arguing Becomes the National Pastime

We’ve crunched the numbers—views, comments, engagement across the board—and a clear pattern emerges. What Americans appear to love doing more than almost anything else is arguing. Better yet (or worse), we love hating.

Positive stories and good news do get attention. They’re read, they’re shared, and they matter. But nothing compares to the traffic generated by posts where criticism turns into contempt and disagreement turns into personal attack. Those are the posts that explode.

Behind every comment thread are real human beings sitting behind keyboards, screens, and phones. Yet it’s become disturbingly easy to forget that. We demonize people whether they’re right or wrong, often without listening, often without even trying to understand. Declaring war in a comment section has somehow become normalized.

Here’s the thing that seems to get lost: disagreement does not require disrespect. There is a way to construct comments so they might actually be read, considered, and even responded to thoughtfully. The moment a comment turns into an attack, the conversation is already over. No one is persuaded. No minds are changed. All that’s left is noise.

This isn’t about silencing criticism or demanding agreement. Healthy debate matters. Constructive criticism matters. But treating others like garbage just because you can hide behind a username accomplishes nothing.

There’s an old proverb that still holds true: you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Treating people with dignity—especially when you disagree—doesn’t make you weak. It makes your argument stronger.

Just a quick thought in an age of endless outrage: maybe the real countercultural act isn’t shouting louder, but choosing to be human.

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” – Thomas Jefferson to William Hamilton, April 22, 1800