time for recalibration
If there is one major problem with email and the blogosphere, it is how impersonal people become. when one feels attacked, how easy it is to depersonalize the other individual and unleash a torrent of attitude. to say things in a way that one would never do in person...face to face with someone who deserves dignity and grace regardless of how strongly you disagree with their views. but further reflection has led me to another conclusion that perhaps we all can learn: i've been guilty, like most blogs i've been reading lately on both sides of many issues, of depersonalizing people in the public as well. There are many people i disagree with on the left...yes, i am a conservative person, Scripturally and politically. for years, especially while a pastor in new england, i suppressed my political views in order to try and minister to all people who came through our doors...i tried to be apolitical. after leaving there, though, there was so much that i disagreed with among the liberals, especially after living amongst a large number of them for eight years, that i could no longer remain neutral. frankly, i don't think one needs to remain neutral in order to be gracious. there are certainly issues and principles that must be stood for with conviction and passion...not from a conservative or liberal perspective, but from a biblical one. i won't pretend that i am non-partisan, but that doesn't mean that i believe everything that any one political party stands for is absolutely right. i have selected a party that moves in the general direction i believe is the right one for our country and then individually will deal with my view of specific issues that may or may not be in line with that party. there is a place and time for politics, and there is a time to leave it aside...the trick is to be able to understand the difference.
as a teen-ager, there was a word that i always chose when asked to describe myself. it was the word, "becoming." i always chose that because i knew that i had not arrived, but i was on the journey...i was seeking to be better tomorrow than i was today, and i knew that Jesus was carrying out that process within me. well, i'm 36 now and the word still applies, though some days a lot less than others. the goal of this blog was never to let anybody have it, but to simply reflect on life and try and find the truth therein. i quickly got side-tracked at certain points along the way. time to go back to my original intention...to find TRUTH in life and try and reflect on it, understand it and speak to it honestly, perhaps firmly sometimes, but always seasoned with salt. i don't desire to get sucked into every news item or party agenda item that leads me to a tirade against politicians or any other individual i may read about. i just want to address views i disagree with, are concerned about, or that i would champion. does stating my view make me always right? of course not, but the purpose of this blog is not only to try and speak intelligently about an issue, but to discover for myself what is going on deep inside of me and hope perhaps someone else who may be wandering through can gleen something about themselves that can encourage them along the journey, too.
i have many liberal friends with whom i often enjoy spirited discussions because there is an element of respect. that is often lost when dealing with people we are not addressing face to face. we can't look at them in the eye and try to understand where they're coming from not only through their words, but perhaps even more importantly, through their expressions. there is something of humanness mysteriously lost sometimes. cyberspace is a wonderful thing as far as it goes, but how difficult it is not to de-humanize other people, especially people we don't even know or interact with like politicians, actors, people in the media, etc. as for me, i'm adopting a stricter policy that deals with issues and leaves the personal rhetoric outside...even for john kerry :-) Feel free to hold me to it.
as a teen-ager, there was a word that i always chose when asked to describe myself. it was the word, "becoming." i always chose that because i knew that i had not arrived, but i was on the journey...i was seeking to be better tomorrow than i was today, and i knew that Jesus was carrying out that process within me. well, i'm 36 now and the word still applies, though some days a lot less than others. the goal of this blog was never to let anybody have it, but to simply reflect on life and try and find the truth therein. i quickly got side-tracked at certain points along the way. time to go back to my original intention...to find TRUTH in life and try and reflect on it, understand it and speak to it honestly, perhaps firmly sometimes, but always seasoned with salt. i don't desire to get sucked into every news item or party agenda item that leads me to a tirade against politicians or any other individual i may read about. i just want to address views i disagree with, are concerned about, or that i would champion. does stating my view make me always right? of course not, but the purpose of this blog is not only to try and speak intelligently about an issue, but to discover for myself what is going on deep inside of me and hope perhaps someone else who may be wandering through can gleen something about themselves that can encourage them along the journey, too.
i have many liberal friends with whom i often enjoy spirited discussions because there is an element of respect. that is often lost when dealing with people we are not addressing face to face. we can't look at them in the eye and try to understand where they're coming from not only through their words, but perhaps even more importantly, through their expressions. there is something of humanness mysteriously lost sometimes. cyberspace is a wonderful thing as far as it goes, but how difficult it is not to de-humanize other people, especially people we don't even know or interact with like politicians, actors, people in the media, etc. as for me, i'm adopting a stricter policy that deals with issues and leaves the personal rhetoric outside...even for john kerry :-) Feel free to hold me to it.
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 11/23/2004 05:45:00 PM
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3 Comments:
I came across your blog randomly, a couple of weeks ago, using the 'next blog' button on the top of the page. I'm sure you have realized from my previous comments that I disagree with you on many issues. From your posts, I have found you to be passionate in your opinions (possibly even exagerating the opposing view) but since I have been reading, I have not seen any of the depersonalization you wrote about. I hope that I have not been guilty of same.
"a word ... to describe myself ... 'becoming.'" I very much like this view. Life should be a constant episode of growth.
One other thing we have in common: My wife and I have one son. He just turned five.
Thank you...you are welcome here anytime.
i think it's important to note here what has become, as it should have been all along, the guidepost of my blog: In Colossians 4:6, paul says to "let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person." it is important to deal honestly, as objectively as possible and straight-forward with every issue. sometimes that requires "spirited" debate over an issue, but never lacking in respect. to that end i strive.
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