A Little More on Controversy

As I struggled to come up with something to write about this week, I realized that all that I could think about when the topic of LA101H came up was controversy.

I definitely did not think it would be hard to think of a topic for our project.  It was hard to think of something that everyone could really agree was a controversy.  While debating topics with my group, it got me thinking: what exactly defines a controversy?

Dictionary.com defines it as "a prolonged public dispute, or contention; disputation concerning a matter of opinion." So something that the media really harps on; turn on the news and there are ton of these. The second definition was "contention, strife, or argument." This definition basically says it can be anything a person does not agree with.

To me it seems as if these two definitions clash. One says it must be a focus of public dispute, but the other just says it has to just be one simple argument.  I also think that when it comes to public controversies, most people strongly stand on one side; there is less middle ground.

But isn't controversy partially in the eye of the beholder?  Who says that just because one person is offended by something that others will agree? How do controversies really begin?

For some reason, I can't seem to think up any good reasons for these things.  I guess that's part of controversies, they all seem to come out of no where, especially during a year like this: an election year.

I guess part of 2012 will be a constant conversation about controversies about what Democrats vs. Republicans have to say. Although it might not make sense, that just seems to be part of the word.