Talk to me, baby, won’t you talk to me?

So, yesterday, against my better judgment, I went to a Bengals game and tailgate even though I had a raging head cold. To make matters even worse, I told myself that I better drink, at least a little, because this was the second to last tailgate of the season and even if the Bengals are losers, we can still be winners at tailgates. Oh its so easy to make bad decisions.

This, however, turned out to be a good decision. Even though it was raining, and I was sick, something happened at this tailgate that had never really happened before. We were all huddled under a tent and we were . . . forced to talk to each other. We had nowhere else to go. And to make things even stranger, we were forced to talk to some people we usually would not talk to. . . oh my! Topics ranged from politics to quoting "Superbad" but the point is, we shared because we had to. (Kudos to Ken for realizing this before me.)

Why aren't we doing this more often? And I don't mean tailgating, although that would be nice, but rather, putting ourselves in seemingly uncomfortable situations so we are forced to communicate. Does communication sometimes happen by force?

People used to talk on airplanes, or so I am told. I, of course, would not know. I live in an age of iPods and in-flight movies. I never talk to anyone on a plane because I do not have to. I am missing something. This also goes for all modes for transportation, as well as the gym and other once social places.

We live in an age where more and more people take anti-depressants and say they feel lonely. Coincidence?

We need to start talking, and putting ourselves in situations where it may be necessary.

Shouldn't this be an ideal behind diplomacy? Have we made it all to easy to rush off to war because we no longer value communication? Am I stretching here? Maybe not.

And you say God never talks to you? Our lives are rather noisy, and filled with all sorts of items that are meant to aid communication, but don't they end up hindering it?

Have you ever not gotten off your cell phone, even when you checked out at the gas station or grocery? Or have you ever spent hours on the internet, sending and checking email, when your spouse/brother/friend was in your own house needing someone to talk to?

Think about it.

How can we better communicate? Would this solve anything? How do I slow down?