Is Advocating Against Gossip Infringing On Free Speech?
Is Advocating Against Gossip Infringing On Free Speech?
The impact of harmful gossip can be devastating. It can cause irreparable damage, pain and suffering - even suicide.
A 13-year-old suburban St. Louis girl committed suicide after receiving cruel messages from a fake online identity. The online harassment was a hoax, but a young girl’s life ended because of the cruel rumors and comments of others.
A 16 yr. old boy from Tennessee killed himself after discovering that messages he exchanged with another boy had been shared on social media by classmates who wanted to humiliate and embarrass him.
A gentleman in Seattle drove off a bridge and ended his life after false rumors spread about him throughout his workplace, robbing him of his reputation, his job, and his family.
Many churches - once thriving places of worship, kindness and love - have crumbled and closed their doors due to gossip amongst its congregants and pastors.
A once close family of 4 is now estranged because of gossip.
These are just a few of many stories with tragic endings as a result of gossip.
GOSSIP and FREE SPEECH
Despite the damage that gossip can cause, many people still feel that by trying to eliminate it is like trying to eliminate our rights to freedom of speech. These free speech activists are not touting free speech as much as making a way that could bring harm to people without fear of the repercussions, consequence or conscience.
When our Founding Fathers added free speech to the Constitution, enabling people to harm their fellow man of his or her reputation and dignity was not what they had in mind. They were concerned with giving citizens the ability to exercise their right to speak out against the government - not who they think the biggest jerk on campus is, who cheated on whom, and spreading gossip and rumors.
nOBODYS FRIEND
Gossip has no respect for justice. It maims without killing. It breaks hearts and ruin lives. It’s cunning and malicious and gathers strength with age. The more it’s quoted the more it’s believed. Its victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against it because it has no name and no face. To track it down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive it becomes. Gossip is nobody’s friend. Once it tarnishes a reputation, it is never the same. Gossip topples governments and wrecks marriages. It ruins careers and causes sleepless nights and heartaches. Even the mention of its name hisses.
EXPRESS YOURSELF RESPONSIBLY
We cannot support free speech without also recognizing its power to harm others.
'Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you' is manifestly untrue. Words matter.
We can exercise our rights to free speech but do so in purposeful, respectful and productive ways that do not include spreading hate, gossip, rumors and tearing others down. We can support free speech all the while aspire to create a better world run on more positive language where differences are embraced, people are dignified and individuality is celebrated.
We can embrace our freedom to share knowledge and ideas, protest respectfully, and express our opinions responsibly while simply being more mindful about our words.
ADVOCATE for kindness
We can be advocates of and support free speech, but we should not be advocates of and support hurting people, their reputations, and their lives. To be an advocate against gossip is to be an advocate for kindness, compassion, human decency, peace and unity.
It is worth noting that kindness and compassion are not partisan values; they are universal, compassion being the greatest virtue in all major world traditions.
If we spread positivity, compassion and kindness as quickly as we spread negativity, judgment and gossip, our lives would certainly be far more productive and enhanced - individually and collectively. And, who doesn't want that?
Copyright @ 2024, WordEffect Media, LLC
