Busy, busy, busy! We’re all pretty busy these days.
I mainly like being busy. Busy people feel purposeful.
But ‘tuning out’ isn’t a necessary by-product.
I’ve heard that people learn differently. I believe that. Some need to get their hands dirty, others need to study words, and others need a picture presentation in order to absorb information. I’m a listener. The layers of meaning in spoken language is a fascination to me. What people “say” can IMHO give us a large volume of information. We mustn’t overlook the additional benefit of comprehending “How they say things”, “What may have inspired what they say.”, and “Who they are talking to.”
For the listeners, there’s always a certain amount of conjecture as is with the observers who tend to judge people on their appearances. Both methods can fail miserably on getting a ‘correct’ or whole ‘story’. But a good listener hears ‘something’ and ‘leans in’ hoping to sift out some ‘truth’. A great comment listeners use is, “Tell me more.”
There’s been a large amount of upheaval in our language. Our youngest generations are using their own ‘slang’ as young people have always done but there’s an alarming level of also redefining ordinary speech. Yet, if you listen closely, there are still enough clues available for exchanging ideas. Whenever I feel as though someone and I are not ‘on the same page’, I’ll ask, “What are you using as a definition of “poor”? or “Can you tell me how you define “oppressed”?
By now you’re likely asking, “What’s your point?” LOL
Here goes:
I was driving around doing errands yesterday while listening to the radio. The local news report was on and this is what I heard:
“A college athlete will not be charged with assault and battery for shoving and slapping a fellow teammate last month. Instead, he’ll be mandated to attend a “Corrective Thinking” class within a year.”
(Of course, I don’t know why the “slap” occurred or whether that athlete may have elected for that ‘alternative’ punishment.)
BUT the information I heard DID alert me to the existence of something called a “Corrective Thinking Class”. What in the name of George Orwell is going on?!
When was the imposition of a fine or suspension as a punishment replaced with ‘thought control’? Am I the only one listening?
We’re in deep “doo doo” people.
And I’m reporting this, as an alarmed listener, because so many people who are ‘busy’ may not be aware of where we are headed.
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