It would seem that many folks have reached the point of, I'm not talking. It's an emotion I understand all too well. When I reach a certain degree of frustration, I do quit talking. Yes, I will go on and on incessantly as long as a dialogue can be maintained, that's just how I am, right or wrong. I can get angry at times and interject smart remarks and expletives. For the most part however, I will keep on talking. But there is a point where I'm just not speaking! That doesn't mean I hate anyone, it doesn't mean anything other than I'm done talking. The conversation may or may not be resumed at a later date. Some things are best left lying where they fell.
I have seen an increase in the, I'm not talking attitude, on social media. It's not a bad thing. Of course without civil discourse nothing gets accomplished either. Therein lies the issue at hand, civil discourse. I fear it is a skill that has been lost. I have written of " polite company " in the past and I do believe that it is at the heart of the matter. Before all this instant electronic communication you did it, face to face. That makes a big difference! Discretion being the better part of valor folks tempered their remarks, employing tact and reason. Now, with this electronic communication, when a valid point can not be refuted we just blurt out expletives and nonsense. We adopt that threatening language and " tough guy " attitude. Easy enough when you are sitting behind a keyboard hundreds of miles distant.
I wonder how this all came to be. What happened in our society to bring us to this? I believe it begins with the choice of words. When we decided that free speech meant I was free to choose any word, any phrase, in any situation, the decline began. I was raised in a time when you could get your mouth washed out with soap or your lip busted for choosing the wrong word! You did have to learn discretion. I could say whatever I felt, I could express my feelings, I just had to do so in a civilized manner. But somewhere, at some time, that concept was abandoned. Then it became acceptable to speak in an uncivilized manner, the stronger the words the better! Your words didn't require thought or substance just shock value! Isn't that why Howard Stern became so popular? And like children the population became impressed with this and adopted it as normal. George Carlin made a career out of it. No more subtle insinuations, no more making you think about things, it is, just blurt it out!
I think it's funny sometimes. I see all these " grown ups " acting just like children. Remember when you were a child? The other kids that were doing " grown up " stuff seemed so cool. They did things like smoke cigarettes, drink booze and swear! They hinted that they were having sexual relationships and knew secrets. Some got into fights and broke the law, but they were cool. And now I see a lot of them haven't changed a bit, apparently never having grown up at all. I see these folks as the ones that adopt all these new " progressive " policies so readily. Not considering the " adult " portion of an idea like how are we going to pay for it, or is this a practical solution, but acting on emotion. They organize " tantrums " calling them rallies and act in aggressive ways showing much they " mean it! " Hah, the next week or the next month it is always something different, just like kids, jumping from one fad to another.
The troubling part in all of this is how it eventually gets resolved. If we quit talking that leaves only two avenues. Either we just let it go, forgetting about it, or we turn to more violent means. It is the later that worries me. History shows us that violence is the more common result. Revolution is the word we use to describe that action when it concerns ideological shifts in a population. Now doesn't that sound scholarly? The fact is, it is just what we should have learned growing up. When I was a child I tried to rebel, the rebellion was squashed! It wasn't squashed with violence however, although that was a real possibility, but I was given a choices. If I wanted this, I was required to do that. I didn't know it at the time but I was being taught about reality! Yup, you don't always get what you want, you don't always get what you need, and you don't always know the difference between the two. But you were taught about the real world and how to live in it.
I do pray that the discussion begins once again. I hope it is continued in a more civil fashion. Can we quit with the name calling and the use of expletives instead of reason? It's time to face reality. There are limits to everything. And that is why we have borders! It isn't that difficult to understand. We had " borders " in polite conversation, but they have been torn down. You can see the result. What's next?
I have seen an increase in the, I'm not talking attitude, on social media. It's not a bad thing. Of course without civil discourse nothing gets accomplished either. Therein lies the issue at hand, civil discourse. I fear it is a skill that has been lost. I have written of " polite company " in the past and I do believe that it is at the heart of the matter. Before all this instant electronic communication you did it, face to face. That makes a big difference! Discretion being the better part of valor folks tempered their remarks, employing tact and reason. Now, with this electronic communication, when a valid point can not be refuted we just blurt out expletives and nonsense. We adopt that threatening language and " tough guy " attitude. Easy enough when you are sitting behind a keyboard hundreds of miles distant.
I wonder how this all came to be. What happened in our society to bring us to this? I believe it begins with the choice of words. When we decided that free speech meant I was free to choose any word, any phrase, in any situation, the decline began. I was raised in a time when you could get your mouth washed out with soap or your lip busted for choosing the wrong word! You did have to learn discretion. I could say whatever I felt, I could express my feelings, I just had to do so in a civilized manner. But somewhere, at some time, that concept was abandoned. Then it became acceptable to speak in an uncivilized manner, the stronger the words the better! Your words didn't require thought or substance just shock value! Isn't that why Howard Stern became so popular? And like children the population became impressed with this and adopted it as normal. George Carlin made a career out of it. No more subtle insinuations, no more making you think about things, it is, just blurt it out!
I think it's funny sometimes. I see all these " grown ups " acting just like children. Remember when you were a child? The other kids that were doing " grown up " stuff seemed so cool. They did things like smoke cigarettes, drink booze and swear! They hinted that they were having sexual relationships and knew secrets. Some got into fights and broke the law, but they were cool. And now I see a lot of them haven't changed a bit, apparently never having grown up at all. I see these folks as the ones that adopt all these new " progressive " policies so readily. Not considering the " adult " portion of an idea like how are we going to pay for it, or is this a practical solution, but acting on emotion. They organize " tantrums " calling them rallies and act in aggressive ways showing much they " mean it! " Hah, the next week or the next month it is always something different, just like kids, jumping from one fad to another.
The troubling part in all of this is how it eventually gets resolved. If we quit talking that leaves only two avenues. Either we just let it go, forgetting about it, or we turn to more violent means. It is the later that worries me. History shows us that violence is the more common result. Revolution is the word we use to describe that action when it concerns ideological shifts in a population. Now doesn't that sound scholarly? The fact is, it is just what we should have learned growing up. When I was a child I tried to rebel, the rebellion was squashed! It wasn't squashed with violence however, although that was a real possibility, but I was given a choices. If I wanted this, I was required to do that. I didn't know it at the time but I was being taught about reality! Yup, you don't always get what you want, you don't always get what you need, and you don't always know the difference between the two. But you were taught about the real world and how to live in it.
I do pray that the discussion begins once again. I hope it is continued in a more civil fashion. Can we quit with the name calling and the use of expletives instead of reason? It's time to face reality. There are limits to everything. And that is why we have borders! It isn't that difficult to understand. We had " borders " in polite conversation, but they have been torn down. You can see the result. What's next?
No comments:
Post a Comment