A Not So Civil Discourse

Language means something, or at least it used to mean something. Today we exchange words, phrases, opinions, and remarks with little consideration for how, or where they will land. Although I've gotten better, I still need to practice living out my grandmother's advice: "If you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all." You could also throw in, "You don't have to say everything that comes to mind." Ouch, still working on this one.

Whether it's acidic political rhetoric, Tweets tinged with vinegar by players on opposing teams, or Facebook postings laced with supposition and lacking facts, we are drowning in a culture that is immune to truth, common courtesy and simple respect. Opinion based on supposition seems to be readily accepted and repeated instead of questioned, or confirmed. Lincoln said, "To sin by silence makes cowards of men."

Let me give you an example. Recently I was hanging out with some guys when the favorite subject of the South (college football) came up. The topic was Clemson's new offensive coordinator, Chad Morris. One guy (a Clemson fan) quickly stated, "He's never coached in college and has no experience! It's a bad move." No one spoke up so I decided to challenge the statement with truth. I said something to the effect of, "I'm a Kentucky fan, but I do know that is not correct. I believe he coached last season at Tulsa and prior to that he was a very successful, tenured head coach at a Texas high school football power house." Now, I know this may seem relatively minor and I probably should have picked something more significant, but the point still holds.

First the facts. According to Clemson athletics website:
Prior to coming to Tulsa, Morris had an 82 percent winning percentage as a high school coach in the state of Texas. He led Lake Travis High School to back to back undefeated 16-0 State Championship seasons. He won three state titles overall and played in six state championship games in his high school career.

This is how rumor, innuendo and half-truths ruin careers, reputations, character, companies and organizations. It's like sowing bad seeds that yield ugly plants. Once they have grown they begin to choke out everything around them, including truth. These weeds are choking our culture. It's time we all exercised some weed control:

Ask yourself:
1. Is it true?
2. How do I know it's true?
3. Is it worth repeating?
4. Who will be affected by repeating this?
5. (For Christ followers) How will repeating this exalt Christ and build up His church?

I don't personally know Michael Vick, or Lindsay Lohan and yet I have commented on their lives or repeated something I heard, or read about them to others. There's nothing wrong with opinion, this blog is often full of it (opinion that is). However, opinion based on fact, or personal experience is better than opinion based on supposition, prejudice, hatred, anger, rumor and lies.

My grandmother had another saying or belief: Everyone has at least one redeeming quality. I need to remember that the next time I'm tempted to open my mouth without knowing all the facts, or seriously considering the outcome.