My husband made a funny observation the other day. He said that whenever a person prefaces a statement with with all due respect, you can pretty much be sure there will be no respect following that statement. In fact it will most likely be harsh criticism.
Here’s a couple more in that vein:
I don’t mean to sound bitchy but…( here comes the bitchy part)
No offense but….( get ready to be offended)
Don’t take this personally… (cue the personal assault)
I just watched a silly movie with Ricky Gervais called “The Invention of Lying”. And even though it was just a light, formulaic comedy, the film made some great points. In this story, human beings don’t know how to lie. The characters just say exactly what they feel, all the time.
It’s pretty hilarious. Jennifer Garner walks into a restaurant and the hostess says, “Hi, I’m threatened by you. How many in your party?” You can imagine how funny the blind date scene is.
It’s so strange how we muddle up our sentiments, and deceive each other with words. As far as I know, we are the only living beings to do that. A dog doesn’t grin and wag his tail, only to attack you the moment you turn your back.. But people do this to each other all the time. You want proof? Watch a session of congress.
I don’t have a neat and tidy finish to this blog. Instead I have some questions for all of you today.
Why don’t we just come right out and say what we mean?
What would happen to us if we told the truth all the time? How would our society change? How would our relationships and our quality of life change?
Your thoughts?
I have no clue in the world what truth "really" is. But I can tell you this Emmy Lou Harris cd I'm listening to right now is "truly" deeply profoundly beautiful. She sings a heartbreaking version of "Love Hurts."
ReplyDeleteBut I'd like to contribute; share an amazing dish at this here potluck from one of my favorite authors of all time on truth:
"How can one person be more real than any other? Well, some people do hide and others seek. Maybe those who are in hiding - escaping encounters, avoiding surprises, protecting their property, ignoring their fantasies, restricting their feelings, sitting out the pan pipe hootchy-kootch of experience - maybe those people, people who won't talk to rednecks, or if they're rednecks won't talk to intellectuals, people who're afraid to get their shoes muddy or their noses wet, afraid to eat what they crave, afraid to drink Mexican water, afraid to bet a long shot to win, afraid to hitchhike, jaywalk, honky-tonk, cogitate, osculate, levitate, rock it, bop it, sock it, or bark at the moon, maybe such people are simply inauthentic, and maybe the jacklet humanist who says differently is due to have his tongue fried on the hot slabs of Liar's Hell. Some folks hide, and some folk's seek, and seeking, when it's mindless, neurotic, desperate, or pusillanimous can be a form of hiding. But there are folks who want to know and aren't afraid to look and won't turn tail should they find it - and if they never do, they'll have a good time anyway because nothing, neither the terrible truth nor the absence of it, is going to cheat them out of one honest breath of Earth's sweet gas."
— Tom Robbins (Still Life with Woodpecker)
xo, Your Friend on the JOURNEY