The British dinner

The British has a strange but intellectual habit every time they have a meal, one that even their closer descendants (relatives?) like the Americans feel uneasy about. It so happened that I was reading a British newspaper column and found that a commentator was having a dinner with some American friends and got stuck in a rather awkward situation, because he replied to a sentence a friend had just finished by saying that it is entirely illogical. Apparently the Americans took that as a personal offence, but for the British, it serves as a challenge to start a debate during a meal about a serious topic.

Perhaps it is time that we follow suit, in most countries the chance to start a real debate doesn't come very often, and no, I'm not referring to that kind of 5 minutes on each side debate. Often we find our times wasted by talking about the unimportant events we witness, or maybe passing on the other unimportant events that other people witness. Maybe there is some need to keep on talking that is wired into our brains, and I admit that when I'm with anyone, I feel a nagging feeling to talk about something, but at least we can change to topic of conversation. Perhaps it might feel weird having a structured argument in public, and maybe that's why the British like having them during meals, because there really isn't much of any other options. However by conducting serious discussions during meals, they are actually paving the way to make public discussion more socially accepted.

One other thing that we can learn from the British is that instead of feeling insulted by, well, insults, they actually are comfortable with having their arguments trashed and then improving on them. (Stupid Asian sense of dignity) In a time whereby insults can be hurled across the entire world, it really helps to be able to take others' insults logically and use it for self-improvement. They are admirably a people who have truly embraced and mastered the freedom of speech.