Sometimes it is difficult for us to know when to speak or when to be silent. When conversations intersect, it is difficult to observe and maintain proper composure. One can be torn between contributing one's point of view with the intention of illuminating some of the issues discussed or, on the contrary, remaining silent, trying to weigh and learn from others. Be careful: pride and arrogance can play tricks on us.

Of course, there are more and more scenarios in which we witness unbridled dialogues, disputes in which the main goal is not to clarify the truth, but to impose a certain criterion, to conquer a position of dominance. Individual problems are not usually solved by shouting, among other things, because when we shout we show that we do not care about the other, the other person, the one we have in front of us. Yes. I am convinced. Shouting is a form of contempt, as humiliating as a slap in the face. That is why we have to try, among all of us, to reprove the behavior of those who are determined to make social life, the necessary political dispute, our daily coexistence, a cage of crickets in which they insist on crushing the voice of the adversary.

Whoever thinks differently from you does not have to be your enemy; on the contrary, he or she surely shares with you much more than you imagine. We may be very different, and it is very good that this is so; we may have ideas about reality, the world, God, international politics or the course of Economics that seem to be opposed... However, instead of going down paths that separate us from each other, we could try for once -and let this serve as a precedent- to share that which unites us.

I confess it. I appreciate difference, I value diversity extraordinarily, I enjoy plurality, because I am convinced that, otherwise, without nuances, without dissent, without contrasts, human life would not be such. Those who want to annihilate the sparkle of ideas that are not theirs, annihilate beliefs that they do not have, discredit the values of others, or condemn passions different from their own should make an exercise of humility and simplicity and, instead of shouting to silence the voice of others, they could learn to be silent. The advantage of this learning would be formidable: to discover the importance of the intelligence and the heart of those around us.