I don't know who coined the phrase, "Let's agree to disagree," but it is a powerful statement that I use a lot. There are junctures in the road, where we simply have to agree to disagree, and we usually do that when an issue does not carry a lot of weight. For example, when my son was very young, he was convinced that men could have babies, I tried to tell him otherwise and eventually we agreed to disagree. In time, with modern technology, we have seen transgender men have babies so I guess in some ways my son was right. At the moment we agreed to disagree, it didn't make much difference to either of us.
In time, I have watched some people make decisions or engage in actions that I disagreed with, but didn't speak up about because honestly it didn't make much difference and I also wasn't sure whether they were right or wrong--I reserved comment and I've always been happy that I did that in those circumstances. Once was when a relative was buying a new home--I didn't think it was the best choice. I didn't speak up, and guess what, they were right and I was wrong. Their new home was a very good choice over time for them.
I was so glad I didn't say much. To publicly or silently agree to disagree can be a powerful response in many situations, however, when an issue may have grave consequences and you're sure of your position, you would be remiss not to speak up. In my life, I've encountered those situations too--situations where it wasn't popular to disagree, but situations where I knew I had to voice my concern or opinion for the safety of the individuals involved. That happened to me once as an educator. Colleagues disagreed on a threat I witnessed, but I was sure of the threat and did report it to authorities. I knew that in the situation at hand, it was better to be safe than sorry, and I also knew that my life experiences made me a bit more aware of the threat of a situation like that than most people. I made the report and I don't know whether that contributed to the safety of the situation or not, but I do know my worst fears related to that incident were not realized so I was glad I spoke up.
Often in life, we'll agree to disagree and when we do that related to situations of little impact we'll mostly be glad that we were reserved. Onward.