Please Listen to Me, by Ember

'My faith has nothing to fear from my scholarship', de Vaux once stated to Edmund Wilson. No doubt it didn't, but that was never in fact the real question. The real question was whether his scholarship, and its reliability, had anything to fear from his faith.

OK, so I purposefully left out the origin and author of that quote up there. Why would I do that? Well, I didn't want anyone to be prejudiced by the title of the book or the author when he/she reads it. Just read  it. What does it mean to you? Do you agree? Do you disagree? If you found out that someone you liked and agreed with wrote it, would you like it more? If not, would you like it less? And why?

Why do we sometimes feel the need to disagree with or malign everything that a person says without any objectivity, just because we disagree with certain things, or even most of what that person says or does? Should we reject truth when we see it because we judge the source as being bad? And is truth always something that feels good to us, or might we be calling certain truth evil just because it feels uncomfortable for us to hear it?  

Take this example, for instance. Should I get mad at my husband if I ask him how a certain dress looks on me, and he says that it looks really bad? It does matter how he says it, and the condition of our relationship, but let's say we have a pretty good relationship. Some people would get mad regardless, so their husband would have to lie in order to keep the "peace". Maybe some people want to live like that, not knowing what other people are REALLY thinking. Maybe they would rather want to hear pleasant lies, but I don't. I do think there are better and worse ways of dealing with situations where sensitivity may be involved.  But good or bad, the truth is more important. What if you and your husband have opened up good lines of communication with each other over the years and when he says, "No, that dress looks awful on you." You laugh and say, "I think I'll get rid of it." Or, what if he knows that you are sensitive about it, so he clarifies and says, "Hun, you are so beautiful, but that dress is not a good style for you. That one that is [color] and [style] looks really good on you." Or, if someone is really just a big jerk, and is trying to be mean, wouldn't you rather know it, than be constantly living a big lie? We can build up good relationships with good people by being honest and loving. Who cares about the other ones?

Also, if I judge what someone says as being bad without acknowledging any truth that it may contain, then how are we ever going to progress? This is not very helpful, "It's black,"  "No, sir, it is white, you are stupid,"  "You're stupid, it's obviously black!" "I'm trying to be civil with you, it's white (what a moron),"  "But can't you see it is black (pompous ass)."

But maybe some people prefer darkness, "And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness, rather than light because their deeds were evil."  (Jn 3:19)

Maybe someone wants to know where and from whom that quote up there came from? But if you do, just make sure you also ask yourself, "Why" and "What do I plan on doing with the information?" If you do want to know, I'll write it in the comments, but you have to say please.