Artful Arguing

Is your husband ever wrong?

Boy, what a loaded question that is! But as always, I have a reason for asking it.

When you're husband's wrong, what do you do? This question came up on a quiz that we did at our ladies' luncheon last Saturday.  It was a fun quiz with multiple choice answers. This particular question was worded this way:

You’ve had a disagreement with your husband, and he’s clearly in the wrong. How do get him to see your side of it?

A.         Cry

B.         badger (nag) him

C.          bombard him with logical reasons why he’s wrong

D.         give him the silent treatment until he sees things your way

E.          say “Whatever you say, dear” while glaring at him reproachfully

Obviously the quiz was not meant to be taken seriously. But how do you deal with a husband who's wrong?

Personally, I think it seems a little sneaky to manipulate with tears.

Nagging has never worked for me. Period.

I can give logical reasons, but they have to be at a time when he's willing to listen. Otherwise all my logic is wasted.

The silent treatment seems a little silly. After all, we're not in fifth grade anymore.

Sarcasm only works with a little humor thrown in. And even then it's not always a good thing. But sometimes it slips out of me in spite of myself. (I know you're shocked at that!)

Truthfully, there are times when I'm really working on my response to something where I feel he's in the wrong. I turn phrases in my head. I plan exactly what to say to get my point across. And most of the time, before I finished marshaling my arguments, he's already apologized. I'm very relieved, but at the same time some of my best arguments never see the light of day!

Now, what happens when he wants to convince me of something? Some husbands would stoop to doing something like this:

Because who can resist the sympathy factor?

As a side note, Indiana is doing better and the collar hopefully comes off in another week. Well, for real anyway. It's been coming off more than it's supposed to lately. Which leads me back to the question I asked in the first place of how you deal with someone who's wrong. As in, he won't relax and get through his convalescence properly. Instead he's routinely pushing the limits of what he's supposed to be doing. 

I mean, some husbands might do this. This question is hypothetical, after all. 

Some help, please?

By the way, I have no idea why my post suddenly started indenting some of its lines. I had the choice of trying to fix it or going to work. I chose to do the one that pays. Deal with it.