Does Being "Right" Really Matter?

"Maturity begins when we're content to feel we're right about something without feeling the necessity to prove someone else wrong."

  - Sydney J. Harris, journalist, author, 1917-1986

I know some people who always think they're right.  And they're not content in simply believing they are the ultimate authority on any topic you might care to bring up.  They have to point out how you're wrong about it.  I've often wondered why they feel it's necessary to do this.  Why can't they simply bask in the personal knowledge that they know the answer without trying to prove that you're wrong?

It's interesting to watch the dynamics at play when two characters who are both like this get together.  Talk about the irresistible force meeting the immovable object!  Usually, they can't be friends, at least for very long.  It's just too hard to relate to someone who won't let you prove him wrong because he's too busy trying to prove you're wrong.

I usually interact with these individuals by simply not responding to their challenges.  If they have a need to be right, I let them be right.  Frankly, I don't give a hoot, and over time I've learned that it's difficult to convince someone like this that they should check their facts or re-examine their argument no matter how sincerely you try.  They're just too busy advocating their views to listen to you. 

The unfortunate thing in all this is that these people drive potential friends away.  No one wants to be around them, and most of the time they don't have a clue as to why.  I, for one, don't believe it's very likely that anything you might say will change their behavior, so if you like them despite their need to be right, you just have to let them be right.  And if they're wrong, well, you just have to let them be right.  A cop-out perhaps, but heck, it works for me.