My writing challenge. Is discussion dead?

I have been musing for over a year about a commencement address. I have heard a number of such addresses and have forgotten most of them. My own college commencement speaker still triggers groans among my siblings who were there. I have even attended a graduation where a sitting president was the commencement speaker and I have no idea what he said. Fareed Zakaria was the speaker at the spring commencement at The Ohio State University in May 2019 and he gave an address that I have been pondering since.

Fareed Zakaria spoke about the polarization in the United States and how society and social media often perpetuates that separation. Most people choose friends who are similar to them in class, education, point of view. That leads many people to have few or no people who challenge their world view. This is on all sides of the political spectrum.

I have also been observing some of the inter- generational wrangling; “OK Boomer, “Millenials...(fill in the blank), Gen Z is...”. I am technically part of the tail wagging end of the baby boomer generation, but I don’t remember most of the boomer generational touchstones as I was too young. My memories and influences are more with Gen X. Hence, the blog name B-Boomer X. I have challenged myself to write. We shall see where this goes. Feel free to come on my lawn. I have sweet tea and lemonade.