Silence

Silence. Sometimes I crave it. Other times, it drives me batty. These days, it's the latter of the two. Why do some people think silence is so great? "Silence is golden" sounds like some mealy-mouthed guy's way of saying, "I can't make intelligent conversation, so I'll avoid it by making it seem like silence is really awesome."

Take, for example, the silent treatment. Is there anything worse than shutting someone out by giving them the silent treatment? I mean, at least have the courage to state your position, even if it's, "I just don't want to talk for a while." Fine. Then at least you know. But by not saying anything, or in some cases, by not calling back or returning messages, it gets left to one's own fertile imagination as to why the silence is continuing.

- Did I do something wrong?
- Is there something going on that I can't know about?
- What is this person afraid to tell me that makes them avoid me like the plague?

My experience with silent treatments has always been that they do not help matters; they prolong agony, make matters worse, and eventually don't solve anything. Much better to man up, say your piece, and even if it hurts the other person, be done with it. Why drag it out - what's so shiny and golden about that?