There are some things that truly do not need a discussion or an argument. Not everything, but some. I trust that we’ve raised you with enough good sense to know a very terrible, no-good idea when you hear it. When you hear it, please know it is perfectly fine to tell someone they are wrong, their idea stinks and you simply don’t buy it. If you’d like to engage in a rational explanation of your view, do so, but don’t feel obligated. Sometimes the NO is enough.

Sometimes people need to hear that not every thought they have is valid, not every idea they believe is truthful. For a generation that has grown up believing everyone in the world must bend to their feelings, NO can have a powerful, sobering affect. It sends a signal to the weak thinker that they will have to reason through their argument or retreat. It forces them to confront the mechanics of their idea, and typically it puts them face-to-face with all the fragilities of their reasoning.