Watches seem to follow the same, mostly foolishly binary trajectory as sports and politics. “They are the bad guys, and we are the good guys.”
The truth is, of course, that life is more complex than that.
I was humbled and learned a very important lesson about my own biases not long ago. I go to a gym regularly, and live in a very liberal neighborhood. There was one guy who insisted on wearing a MAGA hat during his workouts. I thought it was incredibly offensive and inconsiderate. I was itching to get into it with him at the slightest provocation.
One day, when the gym was empty, he was near me, and asked me very politely if I was using a particular machine. We then had a pleasant conversation. Over time, we talked more and more.
I am bald, and he has a huge head of hair, despite being older than I. One morning, he walked in without his hat, and his mop of hair caught my eye, and I said, “When are you going to lose some hair, and make me feel better?” Without missing a beat, he said, “Probably in a few months.”
He went on to tell me about his terminal lung cancer diagnosis, but was very upbeat and brave despite this. Being in a medical-related field, I asked him if I could do anything to help.
I was reflecting on the whole situation later, and it struck me that I had swung from wanting to punch this guy in the face, to offering to drive him to his chemo sessions. We talk regularly, and enjoy our time, despite not being aligned politically.
The point: we have a tendency, and this fomented by the media, I believe, to villainize everyone that doesn’t agree with us politically, love our hometown sports team, or think that Omega is better than Rolex. The truth: there are ALWAYS good people and things on both sides of the fence. We just have to look for them.
