Too Many Words! Opinions (Part 3)
Categories: Opinions Series, Léo’s Insights 2018-2019 Academic Year
The screaming was enough to make your blood curdle! Our young daughter was in a state of sheer terror! My wife and I burst into the room, not knowing what to expect, but the anxiety level was very high.
We were relieved to see that what had caused all the ruckus, was a moth which had come close to my daughter as she lay in her bed. That was easily solved with a single blow, ending the life of the intruder, but everyone’s heart was still pounding.
That is, everyone except our youngest child. Our daughter’s two year old brother was sitting straight up in his crib, bewildered by all the fuss. He looked up to us with those big brown eyes of his and simply said “bug.”
What a comic relief to what was seconds ago a panicked reaction to a terror-stricken five year old! And such a simple answer to all the craziness the event had stirred up. “Bug”! Simple, accurate and effective. “Bug” said it all!
The little girl in this story is a mother of four with two teenage daughters, today. Still, it was a lesson that I have carried with me since this event occurred so very long ago.
Why do we complicate things? Why, when a simple word like “bug” will suffice, do we make things difficult with more issues and additions than necessary? Think about this, a bit.
The wisest man to have lived (at least that is what we are told) summarized everything in his entire life in three words, “all is vanity.” How could he do that, since he was so wise? Would he not have been better to go on and on with all kinds of things?
Indeed, he did do some of that, but he kept coming back to his simple conclusion. All he needed was three words to make his point. Perhaps we can assume that in his wisdom it took three words to summarize, which may be more profound than “bug,” but is it?
If there is something that I learned by applying this simple lesson learned from a two year old, it is that we bury many things under a mound of words so that we don’t have to square it with reality.
“If you can’t dazzle them with your wisdom, baffle them with your BS,” it is often said and do we ever employ this pseudo-wisdom in our everyday lives. The most outrageous claims are carried forward by burying them in time or pluralities or meaningless words (BS!).
This is all to prevent us from asking questions, potentially embarrassing questions that could expose the fact that the statement being made is simply not true.
For example, evolution is buried in so much time it confounds even the most active imagination. It puts claims so far away that it is absolutely impossible to measure or prove.
In the end we are just supposed to believe, because it is far too complicated for us “regular peons” to grasp. Best left to professionals, but are these professionals telling us the truth or what they believe to be true?
I once had a conversation with a scientist who claimed that every climatologist on the planet knew that climate change was a real threat and a man-made one at that. How can anyone make such a ridiculous statement, much less someone claiming the scientific moral high ground?
Had he interviewed every climatologist on the planet, or the one or two that he personally knew? Could he have limited his “research” to listening to others advancing their opinions as fact? Why did he not question them, or himself for that matter? How is this science?
Politicians are world famous for using a plethora of words, phrases and clichés that occupy a lot of airtime, without having actually said a thing. This too is used to give the impression that they know more than they do or simply to bury the problem so that no real action needs to be taken.
I find the same thing with educational issues. Just listen to those who would have you believe they actually care about your children.
I remember when we first decided to educate our children at home, I received a call from our local school board representative questioning why we had determined to do so.
When I asked him if he really believed as he had claimed, that the school and school authorities such as himself were better able to teach our children than we were, he answered in the affirmative. Then I asked him to name my children. Conversation over!
I realize that one as verbose as myself should be careful about accusing others of using too many words! I know that through many words is error revealed. I also know that when questioned, most cannot actually support their position intelligently with fact, so they “baffle with BS.”
Scripture says that the wisdom of God is foolishness to man and the wisdom of man is foolishness to God. Could it be that God’s wisdom is simple enough that a child can understand, simple like “bug”? Could it also be because man is prone to “baffle” rather than speak the truth? Sometimes there are just too many words.
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