listen up

When has listening become such a challenge? 
Seems as though people only hear the first few words that someone says and then they shut off their ears and start firing up their mouths.  Is it that people are getting used to a *140 character* attention span?

We need to keep listening to each other.  We need to listen, hear, think, then respond.  Agree or disagree, tsk-tsk or commiserate, run screaming or hug each other, but for cryin' out loud, LISTEN!  People are often saying more than the words they choose to comprise their first sentence.

Why am I thinking about this?  Because a social firestorm arose after a comment was made by a political consultant's remark that Ann Romney, wife of presidential candidate Mitt, had never "worked a day in her life."  The consultant, Hilary Rosen, added more sentences to that statement, but few people seemed to listen.  Rosen was saying that Romney never had to worry about finances which kept her out of touch with the average household.  The statement was so true that even Romney herself verified she never had to worry about finances.  While Rosen erred by not adding "for pay" at the end of her sentence about Romney "not working", she didn't say anything demeaning to at-home moms.  That didn't stop people from their reactionary remarks. 

I totally understand what Rosen was saying.  I chose to be an at-home mom, but early on I had to help with our family finances.  I was lucky enough to find contract-craft work through companies that subscribed to the *cottage industry* business formula.  Consequently, I could be at home and work around my girls' schedules.  Bottom line is that had I not had those opportunities to work at home, I would have had to work outside the home to make our finances work.  Rosen was not saying Romney's job as a mother was not work, she was saying Romney, unlike the majority of parents today, never had to be conflicted about being at home.  That indeed keeps her out of touch with most American women.  {I'm fighting against all this turning into my own tirade about the wealthiest of the wealthy wanting to run our country...talk about being out of touch...ooo, I think a little fire just came out of my nose.....}

ANYway, back to where I started, and that is we need to just calm the frig down and listen to each other.  Listen and hear.  I'm not always successful at this, but am aware when I have responded in a reactionary mode instead of a thoughtful mode.  In those cases, I have not listened to all the person has said.  I have shut off my ears at the point that made me feel defensive or uncomfortable.  Not good!  So many fewer arguments, so many more meaningful exchanges would occur with an increase of attention spans relating to one another.  We need this capability in every area of our lives, so let's not lose it!