Quarrel
A quarrel is a funny thing. Well, they're either funny or tragic, not that there's a big difference, or whatever.
They're funny because everything seems to make sense in the heat of the moment, and the next moment when all is settled, we find little rationality for quarreling itself. Certainly, the cause for dispute can be life-or-death, but when two people get into a quarrel, it takes a life of its own that almost seems disconnected with the original cause in the first place.
A quarrel between siblings is a prime example. Last year, Sherry and I got into a quarrel regarding who left the door open to my room. My room happens to be the most well insulated room in the entire house, for whatever reason, and I love to leave the door closed so that it's nice and toasty. Well, this argument quickly got out of hand (picture in your mind a 20 year old guy and a 15 year old girl screaming at each others' faces) and resulted in us not talking for the next half hour. Now, I'm not one to hold onto grudges (some would disagree), so I didn't remember this instance, but Sherry told me about it.
And she said something that we all universally feel about quarrels after the fact: "It was stupid."
But the thing that bothers me about quarrels is the need to not only vindicate one's position, but come out on top. For when we get into truly emotional and irrational disagreement, we develop an unquenchable desire to prove the righteousness of our own position, all the while attempting to impose our version of reality and truth unto someone else.
And while the wise will destroy the budding weed of pride, most often we unconsciously allow ourselves to falter to this sinister nature of man, this sin. And when all is lost, there is nothing to win. Nobody wins.