Mincing Words

I am a straight-forward kind of person with a functioning tact gene and an exceptional bullshit meter. I don't always say exactly what I'm thinking because that would be silly (...and sometimes unkind; see functioning tact gene), and let's face it, nobody wants to listen to a one-person-soliloquy all the time. We all know people who love the sound of their own voice and expect others to hang on their every word, but I believe that most of us are not part of that particularly self-involved category (...the irony isn't lost on me that this entire thing is coming to you VIA my own blog). In fact, I firmly believe that while the ability to communicate well is important, being a good listener requires far more skill and is infinitely more useful. Few people master the art of listening, and rarer still are those who learn from the experience while re-ordering their world to accommodate this new knowledge.

Speaking, listening, and learning are on my mind today sparked by a meme I shared earlier on Facebook. It was of a political nature, its contents I found highly offensive. Ten minutes had not passed of it sitting on my Facebook Wall before I got an Instant Message from a friend, who is very political, debunking the contents of my meme. While I am grateful for his assistance at clarifying the error, and respectful of his passion on a subject matter he enjoys, a.k.a. politics, the urge to fling my laptop off the desk in frustration was GREAT!  I used to be a self-proclaimed political junkie but I had to abandon my dedication to it because I began to feel as if I needed to phone HAZMAT for a cleanse after watching the "business" of politics (and by business, I mean pack of lies!). One side flings mud. The other side retaliates. The initial side scrambles to explain OR inserts a new, unrelated point into the mix (usually equally caked with mud) in order to get off the hot-seat. And on it goes, until any sane person would want to run, screaming from the room! Why we have become a Nation that allows such non-sense to take place in the electing and running of our government is beyond me! What? Are there no decent, honest people willing to stand front and center and do a good job? Must the entire thing be coated in a slimy film of deceit and lies? I will not stand on a soapbox and complain about this ad nauseum but I will say that the entire thing sickens and infuriates me!

On a sidebar, the saying, "Never talk politics or religion with people?" is one that has always been a staple in my world. It is, in fact, one of the first pair of topics I wish to discuss when meeting someone new. I learn a lot about people by the way they conduct themselves during these conversations and the way they treat others whose views do not match their own. If they respond nastily, become judgmental or insulting, I know to give them very little, if any, space in my life. If they can't back up their beliefs with sound logic or reasoning, I know not to hold much weight in their own self-proclaimed convictions. And if they lie or attempt to manipulate me to prove their point, the conversation as well as the connection will be very brief. We all view the world through our own specific and very personal lens, and that is how it must be. That doesn't mean we can't find a place where all of said unique views/qualities have a place of respect and value. One need not mince words in order to make and uphold an honest and valid point. Ever. If deceptive tactics are called for, whatever you're selling is little more than worthless lies.