The Danger of Blogging(and spouting off in other ways)

Last updated on: February 13, 2009 at 7:27 am by Ben Bartlett

The Danger of Blogging(and spouting off in other ways) 2009-02-13T07:27:36-07:00 Ben Bartlett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When angry opinion meets elegant articulation, our culture celebrates. Brilliant put-downs, abusive comments, and eloquent backhands titillate us, though we still manage to maintain the “I’m a good person” illusion while we scan the latest smart-mouth essay. My questions are these: do we recognize it for what it is? And do we handle it rightly?

The invective industry is massive. Every major newspaper and magazine and news channel has their opinionated curmudgeon, complaining about whatever they happened to stub their toe on that week. Maureen Dowd and Ann Coulter, Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs all represent a wide variety on the political spectrum, but a startlingly narrow corner of human interaction. Their strength and influence flow from their ability to be perpetually angry, combined with a talent for turning a phrase or exposing an inconsistency.

Not surprisingly, the popularity of angry yet well-worded opinions is nothing new. In 1935, Sir Desmond MacCarthy wrote a short essay entitled simply, “Invective.” In three simple paragraphs, he highlights some interesting things.

1. Invective is usually done for the pleasure of the angry more than any real desire for change. If you are conservative, have you been eagerly reading Maureen Dowd to gain insight on how you should live? If you are liberal, is Rush Limbaugh saved in your top 5 radio stations? Not likely. They do what they do for the sake of those who already agree, not for those who do not.

2. Producers of invective must sustain widespread annoyance, and so consistently generalize the truth to produce a particular effect. Try comparing essays from conservative and liberal essayists on the same topic (for instance, is Tom Dashle qualified to be HHS Secretary?). You’ll find no healthy interaction on agreed-upon terms; instead, you’ll see them stretch and over- or under-emphasize the value of particular facts for the sake of their agenda.

3. Producers of invective sacrifice spiritual honesty to excel in their craft.
To “get into character” of being angry at everything, they must convince themselves that their reasons for anger are legitimate. This forces them to gloss over their REAL reasons for their annoyance toward something – and these reasons often include envy, childhood hurts, perceived slights, a desperate need for validation, a lack of confidence, or the sting of other negative personal experiences.

4. Invective tends to make opposition feel comfortable with extremism. After all, if liberals are constantly mad at the things you (as a conservative) say, you must be doing something right! As a result, the angrier their denunciations, the more happy you feel about your decisions, even if they truly are the wrong ones. Christians need to be especially careful here. How easily we say, “The world will hate us, so the fact that my coworkers hate how I tell them they are going to hell is a good thing! I’m doing something right if I have no non-Christian friends!”

These insights present a strong challenge. The fact is, we don’t just see, acknowledge or listen to unconstructive invective; we participate. We become more and more angry as we spend our time with people who agree with us, and become more extreme in our criticisms of “them.” We focus all our online reading on the magazines and newspapers and opinion writers who are the sharpest at turning a phrase that supports what we already believe. We allow anger and even hatred to build in our hearts against anyone whose understanding of citizenship differs from our holy opinions.

And, heaven help us, we blog.

We blog about the candidates we dislike, the theological perspectives we dislike, the people we dislike. We border on hatred for Hollywood executives, liberals or conservatives in the media, or mainline denominations. When someone we used to agree with has a change of heart, we reject them. When someone we used to disagree with begins to agree with our perspective, we act as if it is an absolute validation of our personal perspective. We use the flexibility of words to make the things we dislike seem more disagreeable than the boring truth. In short, we are hateful and destructive liars, patting ourselves on the back for our helpful and constructive protection of the Truth as communicated by Us.

As Christians, we need to come to terms with this problem. We need to repent of our cruelty, and live wisely. We need to speak the truth in all its nuance and subtlety. We need to appreciate the intentions of the Other, and show charity for their goals and dreams and desires even when they differ from our own. And some days, we need to delete an angry blog post or end a snotty conversation… and walk away.

The Gospel is complete and sufficient in itself. It does not need our anger, lies, or manipulation of the truth to be spoken clearly. Let us live as those whose faith is in God above kings, Christ above politics, and Scripture above invective.

Previous Post

February 11, 2009

"Is this appealing?" Overstreet questions Tarantino's latest trailer

Next Post

February 13, 2009 The Gaming Dilemma

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz