Under the Surface

Two stories in the news caught my attention over the weekend.  One was the obviously tragic shooting in Tucson, AZ in which six persons died, a Congresswoman and several others were wounded and hospitalized.

The second story was the conclusion of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  During the previous week 140,000+ people viewed the latest in electronic gadgets for improving lifestyles in our modern world.

In the ensuing aftermath of the former incident, there are voices crying for better gun control, less vitriol in the political arena and better protection for political leaders.  Fingers are being pointed at Sarah Palin and/or news media for inflaming people's feelings against various segments of our establishment.  Other voices are pleading for a more civil and unified discourse as we carry out the selection and business of government.

I am struck by two things as I reflect upon both of these happenings.  First of all, it seems that the more communication devices we develop, manufacture and sell, the less we are able to really connect with one another as individuals, as persons.  The more rapidly we let our thumbs poke out our messages, the more distant we become from opening our eyes and looking into the hearts and souls of one another.  This leads to the depersonalization of relationships and the impersonalization of the individual.

Secondly, these conditions only add to and deepen the underlying problem that surfaced in Tucson, Omaha, Boston and so many other scenes of violence lately.  That problem is the total lack of respect for the human person that has permeated our society.  It is impossible for individuals who have no respect for themselves to demonstrate any care or concern for those around them.  Those who have been raised in a culture of death--a society which refuses to care for its unborn, its veterans or its elderly--cannot be expected to manifest respect for their own generation, much less their leaders or elders.

We are merely reaping what we have sown over the last 40-50 years.  Without changes on our own personal levels, developing respect for each individual in our families, our neighborhoods, our workplaces and our churches, we will continue to experience the horrific and tragic kind of events that we have seen lately.  It all begins with a respect and love for ourselves.  Jesus says, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."

Revealing Words

Back when I was a freshman in high school, my homeroom teacher wrote a saying on the blackboard (they were really BLACK back then!) each week. It would be some pithy saying that we could reflect on for the duration until she placed another one before us.

The only one I recall after all these years went something like this: "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." Although I have probably violated this more than a few times in my life, the message remains embedded in my memory forever.

Reflecting on these words today, several points come to my mind. First of all, we live in a world where we are bombarded by words every waking moment. Whether from radio, TV, computer, billboards, ipods, cell phone, home phone, email, texting, or whatever the latest gizmo for communicating might be, to say nothing of the voices of people around us every day. All this noise serves to render words very cheap and therefore easily ignored. Rather than facilitating communication, words tend to clog the arteries of interaction by their shear numbers.

Secondly, the words we do use reveal ourselves to others whether we want them to or not. Our chosen verbiage creates a small window to our heart, our spirit. If that verbiage smacks of loss of control, or reflects smallness of heart, or displays minimal intelligence, how can we expect to have a positive influence on those around us? On the other hand, if my words reveal humor, caring, joy, sensitivity to those around me, how much better off the world will be from my passing through it.

I wonder sometimes what my own words sound like to others. If I stop to listen to myself, what is it I hear? How do I sound? What is the message that others receive? Would I be farther ahead to heed the words of my high school homeroom teacher?

What's Your Message?

Email is a great way to communicate quickly with other people. Though I'm sure that those who are into text messaging would say that email is outdated. However, since I'm not into TM, I'm satisfied with using old fashioned methods like email, and even the telephone!

Recently I've been aware of how some people utilize email to disseminate negative information, negative opinions, negative feelings and prejudices. It's almost like they are a cauldron filled with poisonous liquid, and by bumping against them through the email, that liquid spills over and splashes on me. I feel blemished and tarnished from the exposure and contact.

The second category of missives that I do not appreciate are those that have a religious message which ends with some kind of guilt statement, i.e., if I don't send this on, then I am denying my faith or failing to profess it. Another type of this message is the good/bad fortune promise: if I just send this to X number of people I will receive a surprise, if I don't something terrible will happen.

Just on principle, I delete both of these missives. In my judgment, if the message does not build people up, help them to laugh or at least smile, feel better about themselves or the world we live in, then it does not deserve to be forwarded. There is no blessing in spreading negative energy in our world. There is enough of that already.

What a gift and treasure it is to be able to communicate with people in the rapid manners that are available to us. What a positive impact we can have when we use those methods to draw closer to one another, to improve our world a little bit.