Right Speech

One of the precepts of a major religion is the right use of language. This is usually taken to mean to not lie, engage in gossip, or use words in a harmful and hurtful way. Too bad that most people do not follow this precept.

The most obvious case in the public eye is the “feud” going on between David Letterman and Sara Palin. I am a fan of neither but I think in this case Palin has a point.

I have always found Mr. Letterman to be a mean spirited, verbal bully. For the sake of getting a laugh, he treats people poorly in both deed and word. I think of Mr. Letterman’s treatment of Bill Nye, “The Science Guy” as an example. Rather than let Mr. Nye do his act, Letterman did what he could to disrupt and humiliate Mr. Nye.

The jokes about Sara Palin’s daughter were yet another example of Mr. Letterman’s lack of class and mean spiritedness. The first apology by Mr. Letterman was no better. He tried to make it funny, not taking into account the seriousness of his earlier remarks. It is not unlike Don Imus and his crack about "nappy headed hoes."

As I said, I am not a fan of Mrs. Palin. But I think she has every reason to be offended by Mr. Letterman’s remarks. Too bad that a lot of the "liberal" community could only see the "humor" and not the offensiveness of the remarks and the lame attempt at an apology.

Mr. Letterman, unfortunately, is somebody this society tends to look up to. He would not be so popular if he people didn’t find something admirable in him.

He is a symptom of something else in this country. Collectively, we have become just as mean spirited as Mr. Letterman. Don’t believe me?

Just look at the comments that appear after news articles that appear in online editions of newspapers. So often the comment threads break down into shouting matches with lots of name calling. Not productive to a true dialog that could advance the greater good.

There is too much to be done. The earth is literally beginning to bake because of human activity. People are suffering from the greed of a few individuals selling fictional “securities.” Too many people are out for themselves and not for the greater good.

I would suggest that these people learn the lessons of both right speech and “The Prisoner’s Dilemma.”