Jerks

 

I think that one of the saddest outcomes of the past four years is the idea that everyone deserves to "speak his or her truth". I work with children. They are the only ones with thoughts that interest me. When they speak their truth, it is amusing. They have no filter. A nation of adults has been unleashing "truths" for several years now. Let's put the genie back in the bottle. Let's rekindle the mystery.

You don't believe in science, that doesn't matter. Weigh in anyway. Tell everyone about vaccines. You want to insult complete strangers, go for it. It is only fair that we all know exactly what you're thinking. Let your racist or sexist flag fly.

The notion of civility is in tatters. We have listened to continuous lying for so long, that honesty seems refreshing. I contend that lying is disrespectful. But, I contend that unbridled honesty can also be disrespectful. I remember when my dad referred to a woman at church as a "bag of wool". My dad was a shepherd as a young man. He thought that this woman's figure was pudgy, and felt that he needed to comment. Guess what? He didn't. An elderly man insulted me on social media yesterday. I looked him up. He was a former soldier, proud of his military service. Supposedly a highly disciplined individual. I wondered if he would have said the same rude comments to me in person, if we were face to face. Probably not. The anonymity of social media seems to breed the worst kind of behavior.

We can bring back civility as a societal norm. We can be more thoughtful. We can treat strangers with kindness, despite their political leanings. It is not our place to judge our fellow men. We never know the whole story. 

When someone does or says something stupid, I can choose to ignore it. And, I can hope that the same courtesy will be extended to me for my stupidity...