If someone is silent in the face of a disagreement or a potential disagreement, there are several possibilities: they are frightened and incapable of dealing with conflict; they have absolutely no respect for the person they disagree with and feel the contrary opinion is unworthy of debate; or they lack the ability to articulate the superiority of their own opinion. Those are the reasons for silence: fear, arrogance, or stupidity. Did you see how maturity is nowhere on that list?
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"Perhaps I didn't, but I'm not going to argue about it with you."
"I don't like conflict," people say. I get it. No one but the worst people in the world enjoys conflict, but if we're talking about growing emotionally, becoming better people, then we have to try. And if you're patting yourself on the back for being mature when you're just enabling your disability, you'll never grow. Some people also get hung up on the word "argument," because arguing can mean petty bickering. Sure it can mean that, but it can also refer to theoretical or logical arguments -- debate.
There is one limited exception to this rule, and that is when you are dealing with wholly unreasonable people. Y'know, the old axiom about not feeding trolls can be true. But, again, if personal growth is the goal, and it should be, you have to be sure you're not calling everyone a troll simply because you're too uncomfortable, arrogant, or inarticulate to defend your point of view. You have to be sure every debate you're avoiding is not a mere petty argument. If you're doing that, great! But odds are you've taken too much comfort in your silence, claiming a high road you never earned.
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