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Painstaking speech

By Anonymous
Technology, folks are saying, will help us overcome the isolation we’re feeling during this pandemic. And to some extent, that’s true. I can see my friends and co-workers in digital replication on Zoom, or glean some good ideas from my creative friends on how to spend the time, or track how communal response is unfolding in communities far from me.

But considering the well-established fact that social media hasn’t had an overall positive effect on our relationships, self-esteem, anxiety levels, loneliness, sleep patterns — not to mention our national conversation — I’m more than a little concerned. If social media and the digital existence are our lifelines now, what sort of life will we find answering on the other end of the line?

Rowan Williams writes in Where God Happens (p. 76), “However physically distant we may be from the more obvious temptations, there is always the damage that can be done by speech, by the giving and receiving of doubtfully truthful perspectives, the half-hidden power games of our talking… Speech that is not centered upon… the painstaking making of space for each other before God is part of that system which, in another of Macarius’s sayings, makes us do stupid things.”

Speech that is not centered upon… the painstaking making of space for each other before God is part of that system which, in another of Macarius’s sayings, makes us do stupid things.” 

I’m thinking here of the meme-sharing reductionism of online speech. How often am I tempted to align myself behind a zinging one-liner rather than taking up the difficult work of making space for another before God? How much easier is it for me to write off another human being online than it is when I speak to them in person? Could we take seriously our heightened responsibility for making these conversations holy, the “painstaking” work needing to be done in my own heart to keep in mind the other’s belovedness?

Comments

  1. Lauren WoodsApril 3, 2020 at 10:58 AM

    I absolutely agree with this! In my graduate studies, I read significant research that found a correlation with social media and anxiety and depression. In addition, humans require human contact in order to survive and thrive. While it is nice to be able to see the faces of the ones we love right now via Zoom or FaceTime, it is no substitute for human contact and face to face interaction.
    I also want to say how much I appreciate these blog posts. I have found comfort in reading them and seeing that I am not alone in my thoughts and feelings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Clay WoemmelApril 3, 2020 at 1:51 PM

    This is great, Amber. Thanks for for these blog posts. I look forward to them.

    ReplyDelete

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