After President Obama declared his support for same sex marriage, I found myself engaged in an interesting Facebook convo with someone on my list.
We both agreed that same sex marriage should be legal in all countries across the globe; the debate was the sincerity of the POTUS’s words. I said if he means them, he must back them up in the Senate. Imagine my amusement later when another of her friends accused those debating of forcing her to oppose same sex marriage.
I may not always agree with this particular FB friend, but I respect her convictions & on this subject, we completely agree. It just reminded me again how facts & words will be twisted until we have a reality we like.
Journalism became my calling for many reasons; the presentation of facts is among them. Nothing grinds my gears more than the distortion of reality to create something more to your liking. Personally, I was offended that my stance on a subject I have long supported was questioned, but whatever gets you through the day I guess.
It’s what many of us do & it’s irksome. Whether we are altering the past to justify current anger at our partner or to justify the relationship’s end or simply to win an argument about which artist made a bigger impact, we subterfuge facts in favour of what makes us right & we hurt people around us.
Why not listen to the words spoken (or read) & respond in kind? Why make up rage when you feel your back is against the wall? If we all took more time to listen & hear, we would be able to calculate the appropriate response.
Maybe it’s easier for me to say because the crux of my job is listen, dictate, rebut. However, I know my listening skills aren’t always top notch either. It’s something we could all improve upon & maybe we can have less mock indignation & focus on real problems.
The Misadventures of MHC 