The Problem With Careful Speech--in my opinion

One of the most valuable freedoms we have is freedom of speech; however, that freedom is being tested as never before.  The internet can not only spread information faster than our past means of communication, it can package about anything to look authentic. A lone person can post false information that looks professional and real, causing intelligent people to be misled.   

Remember when...

That is not to say I long for days gone by... I love the internet.  It allows me to do research from my home, far from the research libraries I used for my early books.  But the good guys that are trying to keep the bad guys from messing with the internet are struggling to keep up.  Too much bad information is already out there, impersonating facts.  

There was a time when I loved nothing better than to go to a party and get into a debate with others about some topic.  Sometimes the topic was sports.  Sometimes it was movies, or popular music, and sometimes it was even politics.  We came armed with facts, statistics, opinions based on experience, and a willingness to change our minds if the right facts, statistics, and other logic persuaded us.  Often, we learned something we had not known, sometimes our minds were changed, sometimes not, but always, we left as friends.  I don't think that happens much today, and that is a shame.

We need to challenge ourselves with new information and new perspectives.  What we do not need to do is deposit garbage in our minds.  The balance of having access to information while avoiding misrepresentation or outright false information is becoming harder and harder.  What happens, for some of us, is that we avoid the pollination of new ideas.  We develop the habit of 'Careful Speach,' talking only with those we believe share our perspectives.  We watch the television programs that we generally find consistent with our opinions and we visit the websites we like. 

Without cross pollination of ideas we are weakened.    As the nation divides, we engage in "Careful Speech," avoiding topics that might offend or anger.  We miss the opportunity to broaden our perspectives, to see things from another point of view.  We cheat ourselves of the opportunity to better understand different perspectives.  Careful Speech may be safe, but it is also isolating and narrowing our empathy for others.  That is the problem.