Not At a Loss for Words - Unfortunately

I’m convinced more than ever that our modern society is suffering from a severe affliction, something I would term verbal diarrhea. (Pardon the imagery.) Basically, there’s a flood of words coming out everywhere, and most of them aren’t good.

Last week I considered why Tim Tebow’s such a conversation piece and focal point for the media. Denver lost decisively to New England, but people continue talking Tebow. It seems some are desperately afraid this “Jesus fanatic” will still succeed as an NFL quarterback and continue praising his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, so they persist in criticizing him.

Everyone's talking these days,
but do we really have much to say?

On another front, as momentum builds toward November’s Presidential election, Republican candidates are bashing each other relentlessly. And all of them have only vile rhetoric to spew toward President Obama. If we believe what they’re all saying, the only person worth voting for would be, who…Betty White?

If a celebrity sneezes, makes a wrong turn, or says something foolish, gossip mongers pounce like vultures, ready to tell us more than we care to know. And with Facebook, Twitter and other social media, anyone can say whatever about whomever with no repercussions at all.

Everywhere we look and listen, people are venting venomous verbiage. “If you can’t say something bad about someone, don’t say anything at all” has become today’s mantra.

Not pleading innocence, mind you. I confess my own penchant through the years to give people pieces of my mind I couldn’t afford to lose. But time has taught me an important lesson: A closed mouth is healthy for the environment.

I was reminded of this reading Proverbs 17:28 – “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” Or as author and social commentator Mark Twain expressed it, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”

We’re brought this problem on ourselves, I suppose. With TV, radio, cell phones (in this context, dare we call them “smart phones”?), the Internet, even blogs like this so pervasive, there’s only so much to think and talk about. But there are so many people – and so much time – to do the thinking and talking. So we spew.

We’ve got quite a problem – and I’m not proposing the solution. Other than to suggest we consider and apply the wisdom of Proverbs 10:19: “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.”

Critical Thinking Running Amok?

Acid tongues. Vented spleens. Poison pens. Caustic keyboards. Is it just me, or are we experiencing an unprecedented explosion of relentless, mean-spirited criticism toward anyone and anything?

Maybe it’s because we have more options than ever for expressing our “critical thinking”: Message boards, talk radio, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, even blogs like this one. Not to mention traditional venues, such as letters to the editor and public forums. Whatever the cause, it seems many people have adopted the philosophy, “If you can’t say something bad about someone, don’t say anything at all.”

Having been a journalist for my entire professional career, I’m fully in favor of freedom of speech. But like any freedom, it should be cherished, not abused. Football coaches, for example, are lambasted by armchair quarterbacks who can barely distinguish between a jockstrap and a chinstrap. Government officials are chastised by citizens who have never set foot in any legislative chambers. Celebrities adept at acting or singing feel compelled to voice their “expertise” on national and world issues.

I’m not saying we don’t each have a right to express our opinions, but what’s wrong with making certain our views are informed by research and reason, not simply formed out of ignorance? Balance and rationality, rather than unrestrained bias and emotion, should temper the expression of our views.

When we point a finger at someone, our other fingers are pointing back at us. If we were as critical of our own lives, our own work, our own conduct as we tend to be of others, I wonder how well we would fare. As Jesus admonished, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2).