It’s Easy

There is a growing number of people who now recognize we have become, or are becoming an UN-civil society.  We see celebrities using profanity without regard to their surroundings; we see public flogging of politician’s whose views are different then what left or right wing political commentators might agree with.  There are tweets with racial and ethical slurs floating all over the place, and the social media is full of aspersion and counter-aspersion “cutesy” posts about one party or another, or one politician or another.

One of my favorite observations this week was an exchange on the subject of civility where a respondent was worried that too many people were posting opinions and not facts.  I was reminded of an old saying, “one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure,” I think the same applies to fact and opinion.  The way the news is slanted if you only view the news you agree with you are only getting half the story.  If you then go forth spreading this propaganda you are really not spreading factual information; you are, forgive the pun, in fact spreading opinion.  It just happens to be disguised as a fact.

If you are concerned with the direction our country is going, regarding civil discussion and debate, then I think there is an easy choice -- don’t forward those little posters condemning those you disagree with; think for yourself, write what you believe, not what others tell you to believe and treat others as you would have them treat you.

I would close with this thought, “A man generally has two reasons for doing a thing.  One that sounds good, and a real one.”  ~J. Pierpoint Morgan