I Agree We Could Be Disagreeing...but that's okay. TSIS 51-73

I guess in one way or another just about everything has an opposite. The North Pole has the south, west coast the east, English major the Math major, day has night, and the list would go on. Still, each of these, although they are contrary, would not have the same existence without the other. What would the west be without the east? Probably wouldn’t even be called the west. We probably couldn’t even call it the middle because without an east or west there really isn’t a middle either. Each binary in its own specific way is linked by how they come in pairs but exclude one another at the same time. The same goes for agreeing and disagreeing. There would be no agree without disagree, yet one couldn’t be without the other. Plus, as Graff and Birkenstein write, “[…] whenever you agree with one person’s view, you are most likely disagreeing with someone else’s” (58). To agree means disagreeing with something else. To disagree means agreeing with its contrary. And even if you agree and disagree simultaneously, it brings to light the contrary of only agreeing or only disagreeing. In a way, doing both is somewhat (at least 50%) against going with just one.

I never realized the science behind agreeing and disagreeing. I mean I’ve practiced such methods without ever realizing the nature of doing so. I just agreed with things I agreed with and did the opposite with those I was impartial to. Still, I find that the art of agreeing and disagreeing can get a bit out of control at times. Even this blog seems to be getting too complex with all its “agrees” and “disagrees” and “I’m gonna do boths.” So let me make this as simple as possible, using some nifty techniques I picked up recently: Graff and Birkenstein’s breakdown of agreeing and disagreeing in the chapter “Yes / No / Okay, but” is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of trying to write with a clear and concise argument and instead, using an agreement, disagreement, or both as a strategic and valuable tool.