Crowd sourced question

On October 1, The Palmer Alaska Buzz posted a crowd sourced question asking “What can we all agree on?” It was a bit rhetorical but after several chaotic and divisive weeks, this writer really wanted to know collective safe subjects that would lead to harmony and no argument. There were many hundreds of answers and responses to this question, but very few held water. Before I reveal the nine winners, I want to tell you what DID NOT fly…as unanimous answers.

Not on the Final List—

• Nothing political was in full agreement

• Nothing religious was in full agreement

• Nothing geographic was in full agreement

• Nothing commercial was in full agreement

• Nothing automotive was in full agreement

• Nothing educational was in full agreement

• Nothing industrial was in full agreement

• Nothing fashionable was in full agreement

• Nothing trendy or popular was in full agreement

As popular answers were scanned and considered, there were exceptions and disagreements with each at some point. There are no favorite colors, there are no favorite houseplants, there are no favorite Barbecues, there are no favorite teachers, there are no favorite deities, no favorite planets, no favorite food trucks, no unanimously-favorite anything.

In retrospect perhaps the question wasn’t worded properly because the precious few “agreed” with anyone else.

Consideration and Results—After pondering these growing results for a week, I decided to identify only the most simple subjects that really did not have an argument. I thought about them as I painted little pictures of each of them to accompany this newspaper column.

The Nine Agreements—The winners are, in no particular order:

• Northern Lights

• Puppies & Kittens

• Homemade Pie

• Mountains

• Palmer Water Tower

• Hanging flower Baskets

• Ice Cream Cones

• Local farmed produce

• Wildlife, specifically moose

Any of the above subjects are truly considered safe and uncontroversial. Factually these are the things, we as a people, love or certainly appreciate. Presumably. (However, I suspect right now, someone is scoffing and pointing their finger at one of these items and saying “untrue!”) Even agreements are subjective I guess.

These are not facts—There was no comprehensive, scientific study or survey to collect these answers. And the crowd sample, although large, isn’t unbiased. Remember that all social media platforms are driven by the participants. Because the Palmer Alaska Buzz doesn’t allow cussing, politics, religion, general malaise, naughty words, mean-spirited comments, or sarcastic snarks, all the responses are already filtered. So these results wouldn’t hold in the face of total freedom of speech and opinion. I explain this because all social media, news, information, entertainment have filters which affect the “outcomes” or conclusions.

Satisfied—I am actually pretty happy with the results. As I painted them (as the accompanying art to go with this copy) they seemed quite authentic and accurate. However I feel there are some additional things that could have been offered. No one is going to disagree with a pair of warm dry socks. No one is going to disagree that the wind in Palmer blows. No one is going to disagree with the beauty of Alaska. Few will disagree that dog, god, and mom are the three best words in our vocabulary. Kindly holding the door open at the Palmer post office is a local action with which no one would disagree.

Wrangle with the War of Words—It is interesting that even the most gentle of topics can bring disagreement. And frankly disagreement isn’t a bad thing at all. It is all how we handle our differences. Let’s celebrate our nine amiable agreements and our many, salty differences. Sweet and savory go together. Let’s just be kind when we do it.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff on the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Email bhunt@mtaonline.net or text at 907.315.3222.