{"id":34493,"date":"2018-06-07T16:22:41","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T22:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=34493"},"modified":"2018-06-07T23:11:07","modified_gmt":"2018-06-08T05:11:07","slug":"the-wrangling-over-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-wrangling-over-words\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wrangling Over Words","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

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WHILE <\/b>couples, communities, and even nations become increasingly divided, perhaps there is one thing that we nearly all agree upon: civil discourse is rapidly disappearing.<\/p>\n

From the President of the United States to the anonymous poster, cordial communication is disintegrating. Whether it is the way talk show guests and hosts cut each other off, or how Facebook, Youtube, or forum discussions frequently descend into personal attacks, or the road rage and other flares of public impatience we see… people appear ready to tear complete strangers apart. No, it is not the increase in earthquakes and volcanoes, the beating of war drums, the imminent economic collapse or the growing totalitarian climate of governments\u2014but the love of many growing cold<\/em> that perhaps stands as the chief “sign of the times” at this hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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…because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12)<\/span><\/p>\n

And thus, even against our will, the thought rises in the mind that now those days draw near of which Our Lord prophesied: \u201cAnd because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold\u201d (Matt. 24:12).<\/strong> \u2014POPE PIUS XI, Miserentissimus Redemptor<\/em>, Encyclical on Reparation to the Sacred Heart, n. 17\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But just because this is the social climate of our day does not, therefore, mean that you and I must inevitably follow suit. In fact, it is imperative that we become leaders and examples of good communication more than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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THE WRANGLING OF WORDS<\/p>\n

In today’s first reading, St. Paul’s words bear a striking relevance to this hour:<\/p>\n

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…warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. (2 Tim 2:14)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With the advent of social media, a narcissistic inclination has seized this generation: all of a sudden, everyone has a soapbox. With Google on their left and a keyboard on their right, everyone is an expert, everyone has the “facts,” everyone knows everything. The problem, though, is not sufficient access to knowledge, but possession of\u00a0wisdom,\u00a0<\/em>which instructs the heart and discerns and weighs knowledge. True wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and as such, is sorely lacking in our know-it-all generation. Without wisdom, without a willingness to be humble and to learn, then indeed, conversation will rapidly devolve into a wrangling of words as opposed to listening.<\/p>\n

Not that disagreement is a bad thing at all; that’s how we challenge paralyzed thinking and broaden our horizons. But so often, dialogue today is descending into ad hominem<\/em> attacks whereby “genuine discussion of the topic at hand is avoided by instead attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself.” [1]<\/sup><\/a>wikipedia.org<\/a><\/span><\/span>