I just read a political commentary – a hobby of mine I should take more care to resist, but we all have our bad habits.

This commentator’s theme was the importance of showing politeness to those who are wrong about one thing or another and accepting them as friends regardless.

Which got me to thinking: Those who think there’s always a right position when they evaluate positions are wrong.

Mind you, I’m not talking only about those who think their view is always the right one. I’m talking about those who think there’s always a correct view at all.

What I think … and I’m pretty sure I’m right about this … is that there are some subjects that do have right positions. Call them “facts,” because there’s some objective way of knowing what’s correct about them.

Here, for example, is a fact: I’m writing this column using Microsoft Word on a Microsoft Surface Pro that’s running Windows 10.

This isn’t disputable, or shouldn’t be. In principle, should someone doubt the correctness of this statement I could defend it, up to and including inviting skeptics to inspect my office setup, something I would be willing to do, although I’m confident you’d find the sum I’d charge you utterly unreasonable.

There’s a second meaning for right vs wrong, which happens when two parties agree on the facts but not on their interpretation. For many of us, this is where fun happens. It’s where we discover disagreements that can be resolved, or where we have opportunities to deepen our thinking about a subject.

Then there’s the third domain – values. This is where a lot of us get into trouble, because when we disagree about values there’s no way to reconcile them. Values come from tribal membership, religious leadership, and, more often than not, Mom.

If you and I disagree about one of our values, the best we can do is to decide whether we (1) agree with the other’s position; (2) can respect the opposing position (that is, acknowledge that it’s potentially as valid as our own); (3) can tolerate it, which is to say we can peaceably coexist with those who hold it, even though we are quite sure they’re entirely wrong about it. That leaves one last alternative – (4) zero tolerance – that this town ain’t big enough for the two of us.

There are people whose values can’t be reconciled, even to the level of mere toleration. There’s no point in pretending otherwise, which is why exhortations to “do the right thing” are so entirely useless: My right thing is your wrong thing and vice versa.

To illustrate: a stereotypical Apple fanperson must disagree with my choice of computer, operating system, and word processor, and doesn’t respect it, either.

So long as they can tolerate it, though … and there’s no reason for to not tolerate it, as it doesn’t affect the Apple-ite in any substantial way … neither of us has anything to worry about.

If, though, for some unaccountable reason, the Apple-phile decides they can’t tolerate having any Windows users on the same hectare as themself, one of us is going to have to leave town, probably after an unpleasant demonstration of how much we disagree.

Bob’s last word: Wherever politics happen – our interactions with colleagues in a business setting, or arguments about where government is headed in social situations – we’d all be happier, and more congenial, if we kept most political dialog in the second domain, where we disagree about our interpretations of facts.

Regrettably, reliance on “alternative facts” as a means of persuasion is on the rise, while familiarity with epistemology is not.

Well, I think it isn’t, but that’s based only on my day-to-day experience, not on formal, fact-based sociological research. Oh, well.

Anyway, I have a hard time tolerating those who deliberately craft alternative facts, and almost as hard a time tolerating those who consider their values to be facts.

But those are my values. And as you’re (presumably) a long-time subscriber I’m confident we can respect, or at least tolerate, each other’s values.

If you’re among those who can’t tolerate mine, that’s what the unsubscribe link is for.

Bob’s sales pitch: Have I mentioned the KJR archives? They include everything I’ve published under the KJR banner and its predecessor, InfoWorld’s “IS Survival Guide.” If you need the KJR take on a subject, whether it’s out of curiosity or because you need a framework or perspective to address a current professional quandary, they’re free and you’re welcome to use whatever you find.

Although if you make extensive use of my material I would appreciate attribution.

Now on CIO.com: “Bad metrics are worse than no metrics,” and especially why SMART goals just might be worse than no goals at all.

If you’ve been paying attention the past couple of weeks you know I’ve been on vacation. If you’re hoping I’ll get back to posting profound ideas about leadership, management, organizational dynamics and such …

Well, first, thanks for thinking past posts have included profound ideas. I much appreciate the compliment.

But second, no, I’m not. In fact, as I type this sentence I have no idea what the sentences that follow will talk about. Let’s find out together, shall we?

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Seems to me there are two types of travel. There’s travel that takes you to places that pamper you – places you can just lean back, breathe deeply, and pretend all the aggravations of the world, be they petty inconveniences or important but nothing you can do anything about at the moment, are Someone Else’s Problem, at least until you’re back at home.

In this kind of travel, going to experience stuff is something you do in between mojitos.

The other type of travel is more adventurous; the experience is the point of it. It immerses us. It isn’t just the same as our response to the pages of travel magazines only more so, no matter how talented their photographers might be.

This vacation has mostly been the former, not to say we engaged in no sightseeing. There was, for example, our excursion to see the Pulpi geode – the world’s largest. It was spectacular in a way no photograph can possibly convey. A marvel.

# # #

If this post had a plot, the Pulpi geode reference would have been its plot spoiler. Not a plot but a tout: We’ve been vacationing in Spain, near Mojacar, at Cortijo Del Sarmiento, a lovely bed and breakfast whose proprietors, our new friends Yvonne and Carsten, are taking care of us in fine style. If you like what you’re reading about this week, I’m sure they’d be delighted to talk with you.

I hope you’ll forgive the plug. Even more, no matter what business you’re in, please don’t ask me to give yours a plug too. This is a one-time thing.

Speaking of asking for forgiveness, while there’s been no quid pro quo, for those who enjoy calamari there was a squid pro quo.

# # #

I had an eye-opening conversation with Yvonne (eye-opening for me, at least) regarding their marketing efforts. Without going into a great deal of depth … and gimme a break! I’m on vacation, so I wasn’t taking notes! … to run a business like this in the 2020’s it isn’t enough to run the business. Yvonne is quite sophisticated in social media marketing, posting content about Cortijo Del Sarmiento and nearby points of interest at least as often as I post content here on KJR, on their own website as well as on a variety of social media platforms; and beyond this investing time to encourage other local businesses to create a unified presence – a regional brand – everyone can use to attract visitors.

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Mojacar is located in Spain’s less-touristy southeast corner. If you’re looking for a more French Riveria-ish sort of Mediterranean experience, that’s what Spain’s Costa Del Sol is for.

But call it tourism or whatever else you like, it’s in this region that you’ll find Alhambra, which was, in its heyday, one of Islam’s most important religious / political centers on the Iberian peninsula.

Speaking of experiences even the best photos can’t convey, what I found most remarkable about Alhambra was how little damage the Catholic hierarchy did to the glorious Moorish artwork and architecture they took possession of in 1492.

Religious intolerance did, thankfully take a back seat to the desire to preserve something spectacular and utterly irreplaceable.

# # #

Flamenco.

Most Americans, when we hear the word, probably think it’s little more than folky tap dancing. Having attended a couple of flamenco performances on this trip, permit me to suggest you pay attention to the guitar playing that accompanies the dancing. Flamenco guitar entails a speed and precision of play that puts Mark Knopfler – my personal guitar hero – to shame.

Stunning.

Bob’s last word: It’s hard to explain in concrete terms what we get out of the sort of travel we’re engaged in right now. All I can say is that there’s something about being Someplace Different that’s apart from the specific experience of being someplace that isn’t the same as the place we left and will soon go home to.