Jim Slaughter Poet Verse

In Hallowed Halls of Ivy

Author's note: Talk is good, conversation is better. I don't know that any good ever came out of an argument, and in a supposedly enlightened society, no subject should be off limits.


In hallowed halls of ivy 'cross the nation,
In dorm rooms and classrooms,
Quadrangles and halls,
In locker rooms and laundry rooms,
In bookstores and malls,
Campus U's and coffee bars,
City trans and private cars,
Etc., etc., etc.,
Students and academics alike
Love to get up early and stay up late
To discuss or argue and debate
A plethora of currently controversial,
Debatably debatable,
Arguably arguable issues, i.e.:
Evolution or creation;
Salvation or damnation;
Missile ranges; climate changes;
Global warming; eco-farming;
Obesity; incontinence;
Casual sex or abstinence;
Free love or marriage,
Same sex or straight;
Labor or capital;
Minimum pay rate;
Democracy or autocracy;
Despotism or anarchy;
Christianity or paganism;
Civilization or barbarism;
Religion or terrorism;
More prisons or more schools;
Why so many grammar rules;
Why the federal deficit mounts;
Whether oral sex really counts;
Wearable technology;
Is war a perversion or merely perverse;
Our position in the universe;
To be or not to be;
Is there an end to infinity;
Etc., etc., etc.
And they always strive with utmost care
To present both sides of a question equitably
Because it makes them feel aloof and erudite,
Impersonal yet superior,
Open-minded, objective, and fair,
Detached from everything but essential abstract truths.
With meticulously researched facts
Neatly organized on index cards or iPads,
They argue passionately and hotly,
But behind the facts and figures,
And once they've gotten past the fads,
They have no real passions
Or even any real feelings about the issues
One way or the other,
Except the somewhat nagging concern
That they might be right…
Or wrong…
And then what?

Author's additional note:  I'm not sure which "category" to put this piece under, dear readers.  Any suggestions?

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Paul Callus September 21, 2025 at 3:59 PM Probably just plain 'verse' is more than adequate, Jim. Your list of topics provides a lot of material for discussion/debates. Then we get entertained by those: beating round the bush; showing off; are sincere; trouble makers, and diplomatic ones who are afraid of stepping on someone's toes! ~ Regards // paul Jim Slaughter September 22, 2025 at 10:37 AM Thank you, Paul, for the comment and the suggestion.

John Lawless September 21, 2025 at 5:34 AM whatever it takes to graduate "Magna Cum Lousy".... Jim Slaughter September 21, 2025 at 10:18 AM Amen to that, John. Thanks.

Ilene Bauer September 20, 2025 at 1:01 PM i like the examples you've chosen, jim, but i'm not sure if i agree with your ending. it seems to me that most people are so convinced that their views are the right ones that they are barely able to engage in a real conversation and i think that it's extremely rare to get someone to really understand the other side of the argument. ~ as far as categories, i have this problem often and sometimes just choose "how i feel," which doesn't always work. Jim Slaughter September 20, 2025 at 2:17 PM I totally agree with you, Ilene. Thank you.