I remember watching a documentary in which Peter, Paul & Mary had a mild disagreement over a possible lyric change. Mary Travers suggested changing a lyric, and one of the other members thought the lyric was strong enough to remain unchanged. While watching, I thought, "This is about the gentlest disagreement I've ever seen. That's refreshing." I also thought, "That's in keeping with the nature of folk music, with its themes of peace and inclusion." I tried to imagine what an unusually tense argument between folk musicians would sound like, and I came up with this:
"The lyric should read, 'Peace and compassion are the keys to sympathizing.'"
"What?! Clearly, it should be, 'Peace and empathy.' That shows an even greater depth of sympathizing than compassion!"
"Am I the only one who understands that compassion and empathy are two sides of the same coin?! Whether it's 'peace and compassion' or 'peace and empathy,' those are the keys to understanding someone's viewpoint before sympathizing with it! Understanding should be the listener's first goal! Understood?!"
An intense round of chair-throwing would then ensue--or, most likely, not.
