You said what!?

Imagine the world we would live in if you could not trust the word of another human being...if there was always some skepticism as you listen to what a person is to telling you. Oh wait...we already live there or are not far from that right now. First stop - Politics: I am not real fond of politicians as the democrats and republicans are not divided by a party but by ideologies and neither will listen to the other and most Americans are probably somewhere in the middle of these two schools of thought and not adhering to either. It is all about smearing and making the other look like the less of two evils. Hardly quality representation. Even the news and major networks each work on the side of a political point of view. It is obvious by what is covered and what is not covered, by what one group of people can say and the other can say before it is turned into a smear fest. I have not seen a major news program where there is at least some subtle editorializing.

Within all of this, is usually the dehumanizing of people who do not espouse the opinion of a program. I think of the way comedians treat political candidates, sports stars, movie stars and other celebrities who make a public gaff. Many people are slandered in the tabloids for merely being human and erring, or having an opinion, and making the problem ten fold worse is the tabloid sensationalizing it and making the situation worse than it was to begin with. We as consumers by these papers and contribute to the demand to keep slander all over the news stands, which contributes to the sin of dehumanizing our fellow brothers and sisters.

Kids at school, your own job in the workplace are bastions for slander. Who has not tried to make another look bad to boost one's own esteem through gossip or spreading lies? At the core of gossip is to make ourselves look better at the expense of another. Lying destroys relationships and reputations, and if found out, our own. Our Catechism states that society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, and justice. (2512) It is only truth that promotes the dignity of a person. To lie about another is the destruction of a persons human dignity and must be avoided, as it is the same as destroying the dignity of God who lives in us through our common baptism.