I’ve learned a lot lately about dealing with people with whom I have a differing opinion or who simply enjoy getting under my fingernails.

I guess it’s stuff I probably already knew but didn’t remember or lost in the emotion of the moment. There is no requirement to respond, react, or reject them with venom. Of course, there’s always the pull toward being right, of attempting to override what I might see as totally illogical arguments, but really, what is the likelihood of that happening?

Am I really going to change someone’s mind when these people are steeped in — I could use the words that they throw at me, but this is a column about civility, right? Simply, they seem to be more interested in blame than change, in generalities and assumptions than in specifics and........

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