--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > As another exercise in "thinking out loud," here's another > installment in my musings on writing about spirituality. > > I'm a language freak. Not in the same sense as Card, but > I really get off on language, its nuances, and the ways in > which the *ways* in which people write often says more > about who they are and what they believe than *what* they > choose to say. > > In other words, it's often not the *content* of what a > person says that communicates, it's *how* they choose to > say it. > > Take some phrases and acronyms that sometimes appear in > people's writing about spirituality and spiritual concepts > here on FFL. One of them is "IMO" -- "in my opinion." That > one, and the use of it, speaks volumes to me. It's someone > making an effort -- going out of their way -- to point out > that the things they're saying ARE opinion. Not fact, not > truth, or Truth -- just opinion. > > Compare and contrast to those who write in proclamations. > Anyone who has spent any time around the TMO should be fairly > familiar with proclamations -- they're the lingua franca of > that spiritual organization. They're not just suggestions of > how things could be; they're declarations of How Things Are. > > No judgments here, no "better" or "worse," just an attempt > to call people's attention to the difference in styles. You > can make your own determinations as to *which* style appeals > to you more. > > Take another phrase that very *rarely* appears here, "I could > be wrong." Curtis uses this phrase a lot, and a few others do > as well. I always savor and appreciate it when I see it, and > find it refreshing, often *because of* its rarity. Other folks > don't tend to use this phrase very much, IMO :-) because it > often doesn't occur to them that they *could* be wrong, or > that there could be another equally valid way of seeing the > situation. They're "right," and they know it. Again, this > view of people and why they write the way they do is not a > declaration of fact, just my perception of writing as it > is often done on FFL, and as such, *opinion*. It could very > well be *wrong* opinion -- I've been wrong before, and most > likely will be again, and this could be another example of it. > And again, *you* get to decide which style of presentation > you like better.
I love a good quote and I heard a good quote along the lines of "people have the strongest opinions about the things they are least sure of" but didn't want to post it without finding who said it, I didn't but found these gems instead. http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/opinions/ Well, I thought they were good, but as usual I'm always happy to be wrong ;-)
