Invitation
to Civil Discourse
What can I
do to help restore civility and sanity to this chaotic cacophony of discord and
hate-filled diatribes? What is my personal responsibility? Where do I begin to
help create a healthier conversation and more positive relationships among
friends, family, and community?
When I look
back over a long history of political awareness, I have been voting since 1960,
I am not particularly proud of all my “contributions” to the public forum. As
of late I have consciously stepped back and intentionally asked myself, before
any comment or action, what is the appropriate response to what I hear and see
going on in the world around me. This is what I have chosen to be my guide,
knowing I will not always live up to the guideline but committing myself to
consciously trying.
Teaching
world religions I discovered many positive moral admonitions and assistance for
daily living. The one before me today is the Zoroastrian creed: good thoughts,
good words, good deeds. I remind myself everyday of this ancient wisdom, check
my thoughts/words/deeds from yesterday, and recommit myself to strive to live
up to the goals today.
When I stop
and think about it, it makes rational sense and emotional satisfaction. Our
thoughts are the beginning of all that follows. Now I don’t beat myself up over
“bad” thoughts that enter my mind. Honestly, I know I cannot control what pops
into my head. It is like a foul smell that blows through the window. I can quickly
close the window. I can blow the smell out of the room, dismissing it in the
quickest way possible. A bad thought is like that to me. I don’t have to
entertain it any longer that it takes me to dismiss it.
Then it is
my decision as to what I will say about the idea/issue. The tongue is a powerful
organ, but I control it. More than once I have reaped the consequences of
hasty, negative words. I have hurt others, for which I am sorry. The old adage,
“words will never hurt me,” isn’t true. Words do harm, with invisible wounds
that often do not heal. I am not advocating never speaking up. MLK was right;
silence in the face of injustice is complicity. Careful discernment is
required.
Then, in
logical order, actions will follow words. When I look and listen to the world
around me, and I see how others act, what they do, I listen to their words
(shouts, screams, posters). it is not a great leap to recognize the thoughts
(prejudices, bigotry, perspectives) that drive them. I must examine myself, my
motives, before making accusations and retaliating in like kind.
May I borrow
from another tradition? May the WORDS of
my mouth, the meditations (THOUGHTS) of my heart, and the DEEDS of my hands be
acceptable, love-filled, and guided by
compassion.
