​“It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.”

Each of Solomon’s proverbs is made up of two clauses that balance one another. The second clause strengthens the first by repeating it in different words, expanding it in some way, or balancing it negatively. Today’s proverb compares two ways to related to strife: to avoid it (that’s the honorable thing to do) or to quickly jump in (that’s foolish.) I like the TEV’s way of putting it: “Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them.”
It certainly is not wrong for people to have differing views on various issues. An opinion is the result of looking at something through the prism of one’s total experience up to that point. We come to every issue with an ideology formed by the values of those who have nurtured us plus our personal experiencesin life. That is who we are and since every person’s life experience is different, we think somewhat differently on a wide range of ideas. Where the problem arises is that we tend not to be open to learn from one another. As time passes the issues on which we differ tend to become more important and it is increasingly difficult to find common ground. This is where strife enters the scene. Solomon says that it is an honorable thing to avoid strife, that is, not to get caught up in arguing the superiority of one’s own position.
I have a somewhat questionable view of debate, especially when it becomes part of the procedure by which we elect our president. And why is that? It’s because the goal of debate is not to arrive at truth, but to win. All else drops by the wayside if I win, regardless of which side of the debate I’m on. My hope for a president is not that he/she will be skillful in manipulating the facts so as to win the assent of the majority. I would hope that of the various candidates, the winner would be the one whose plans for the nation most closely approximate what I believe are best for the nation as a whole.
If “fools insist on quarreling” (NLT) then the wise thing to do is to approach differences of opinion in a more steady and thoughtful manner. On a national basis that means that both parties commit themselves to developing a joint understanding of what the people want and what will be best for the nation as a whole. Then that central concern can be discussed from various points of view and our representatives can put into play the strategies most likely to achieve that goal. Pie in the sky? Perhaps, but that is no reason to give up the dream.
On a personal level it is much the same. People of good faith should come together to achieve that which is best for both sides of every issue. To “win” an argument with another is one step away from the best solution. Solomon is right, it is better to work together than to wage a war of words.