Drama is substantial, the stuff of journalism. Melodrama is artificial and belongs to the world of sensationalism. Lately, I’ve been exhorting my friends to recognize the difference, especially when I hear them say, “I can’t stand all the drama.”
In my quest to live for my ideals in a world of conflicting values, drama is an inevitable and often helpful companion, because it can cut to the heart of an issue and make complex conflicts easier to comprehend. Melodrama shrouds relevant information in a dense fog and trivializes our precious time.
It can be easy to confuse drama with melodrama because they have a common ingredient, conflict. However, dramatic conflict engages our emotions, our passion and even our compassion. Melodramatic conflict is a distraction from real life and a short cut to burn out. Learning to distinguish between the two is a valuable life skill.
