Communication

Have you ever taken communications classes? I have. In those classes, a point that was stressed was that communication is important and occurs at all times, both verbally and non-verbally. In the last few days, the importance of quality communication has come up in a variety of discussions I have had with different groups of people.

Initially, I was involved in a discussion about the use of terminology – particularly as it relates to religious or theological discussions. The choice of words used determines the understanding by the persons involved in the discussion. Conflict in the conversation was that most people use inaccurate words to describe truths. In particular, we were discussing the differences between Western and Eastern thought in Christendom. The disagreement over the use of "East" and "West" to distinguish between Orthodox (Eastern) and Catholic/Protestant (Western) thought was that to separate by geographical location is not completely accurate. The argument was that there have been Orthodox theologians who were not physically located in the East. The one side said that the Western theologian was arguing Eastern thought of Christianity. The other side said that is too inaccurate a description.

The argument for using East and West was that it is commonly understood terminology and, therefore, can be more easily communicated through conversation with others from a variety of religious backgrounds. And it not considered offensive. The other side of the argument was that accuracy is more important than interpretation.

If I were to take the argument into an area that I am more familiar with, I can see the point of both sides. However, reality is that sometimes words/phrases/terminology is used to describe a thought without it necessarily being accurate. Here is my soapbox example:

Pro Life vs. Pro Choice

Now you have a concept in your head of what I am talking about. Pro Life is against abortion and euthanasia. Pro Choice is for legalized abortion. What if I said I disagree with the choices of the words used to express each opinion? For example, I consider myself very much Pro-Choice. I absolutely think that women in unplanned pregnancies need to be able to make informed decisions about ALL the options they have -- parenting, adoption and abortion. There are severe consequences in every choice a woman makes from the moment she discovers she is pregnant to the end result of that pregnancy which will affect her for the rest of her life. However, I am totally against abortion. It is the killing of life. Killing someone made in the Image of God. Typically, Pro Life advocates are viewed as being against choice. I also had someone comment that it appears that those who wear the label Pro Life also seem to have no qualms of performing torture and introducing policies which raise abortion rates by causing people to feel as though they have no personal/financial security. In my opinion, a more accurate description should really be Pro Abortion or Anti Abortion. However, I don’t imagine the current terminology is going to change anytime soon.

I tried to make that point in the discussion, but sometimes I feel as though my analogies must not be communicated clearly as I got the "deer-in-the-headlights" look from the people around me. Charlie once said something on Numb3rs that really struck me -- not that I am saying I am that incredibly intelligent. He said, "Sometimes it’s so hard because I have these ideas in my head, and I have no way to communicate them to you."

I know maybe it was a discussion of comparing apples to oranges – but as far as I can see, it’s all fruit.