Wars are based on religion. :-)

Now don’t get me wrong… I LOVE a good smart guy.  Someone who can keep me on my toes and can make me question whether or not I’m right (in a rare case when I am not sure).  However, there is a fine line between intelligent and douchey.

Enter:  The Master Debater.

The Master Debater and I met for drinks on our first date and we hit it off.  We decided that we didn’t want the date to end just yet (since it was only mid-afternoon) so we figured we would see a movie together.  It was easier to take one car, so into his little s#%!-box I went (first clue?).

His iPod was hooked up, and if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that a man’s choice of music says a lot about him.  Scrolling through the artist list, it was like a little trip through TMD’s inner-workings.  While there was definitely a variety of musical genres represented (kudos to him), I apparently was in the mood for some Bob Dylan.  Success!  “Forever Young” is one of my favorite songs.  And he had six versions of it.  Not one of which, however, was the one I had on my iPod – the one they play at the opening of the TV show “Parenthood” – the fun, upbeat, not-nearly-as-depressing-as-the-rest version.

Now, I told him that he was missing one of the crucial versions of a classic song.  HE responded by telling me that I was crazy – and that said version of that song did not exist.  Oh, but it did.  And thus began the beginning of my crusade to prove myself right.

Even in the world of smart phones, Google, and YouTube – I could not manage to find “proof” that the upbeat version of “Forever Young” existed before the movie started – the only thing I could find was that the Planet Waves album might be the one that had it (he, however, insisted that he had that album, so no such song existed).  While a normal person might concede that the guy with SIX versions of ONE song would be right instead of a girl with only ONE version, that normal person would still be wrong.  I seethed throughout the movie.  When it was over, and TMD drove me back to my car, I made him come into my car to hear the version I had, which he decided, would be a cover.

But, no dice for the Master Debater… it was indeed Bob Dylan.  It was indeed the upbeat version.  And it was indeed from Planet Waves.

Katie – 1.  TMD – zip.

Fast forward to our second date:  another lively topic of discussion comes up – ethnicity – one of my favorites!  When people play the ethnicity game with me, they consistently get it wrong.  The answer I hear most is “Eastern European” thanks to my dark hair, dark eyes, and light skin.  However, then I get to explain that I am a mutt – my dad is mostly English and bits of other various wasp-y origins and my mom is half-Cuban and half-mutt-y as well.  To which 99.9% of people reply, “You’re part Cuban?  But you don’t look it!”  The Master Debater was no exception to this rule.

The second part of my explanation is always due in part to the “You don’t look Cuban!” commentary.  I began to explain to him that Cuba is like America where there are Caucasian-Cubans and African-Cubans – and my family was of the Caucasian persuasion.  TMD said “no.”

Um… huh?

The Master Debater decided to tell me how wrong I was.  He told me that all Cuban’s were African-Cuban.  And all Cubans had dark-skin.  So I was wrong.

Um… what?

So I began to explain the second part again.  He stopped me right away.  He said we should agree to disagree.

Um… about history?

It’s not like I was making a subjective statement.  Like saying all wars are based on religion.  J  (Which clearly is not subjective at all, but is an inside joke for one of my favorite readers – thank you all for just going with it!).  Regardless, the presence of both Caucasian AND African backgrounds in Cuba is a fact.  It’s pretty much black and white.  Ha.

So, agree to disagree in some scenarios – I get.  But not in this case.  I am not conceding that history is subjective – especially the history of my own family.  I was pretty sure the next sentence out of that guy’s mouth was going to be something about the Holocaust not being real or that 9/11 was a government conspiracy.

Clearly, that was the end of that date.  Debates – I love.  People who cannot admit when they’re wrong and ridiculous spouting off the cuff – I can definitely do without.

After all, the Bob Dylan thing… I could have been wrong (even though I wasn’t).  The Cuba thing?  Come on.  Looks like he’ll be debating by himself for a while…