Words

Last night, Colton was filling a cup with ice cubes.

To chew on.

Evan asked what he was doing.

Colton: "I like to eat ice."

Evan: "You're weird."

I didn't hear the exchange.

Colton came into my room to tell me.

I said, "Colt. I think that he meant to say 'that's weird.'"

Colton: "Okay. I told him 'thank you.;"

Words have power.

Technology makes the way we speak so much more difficult.

First of all, people feel that because they are behind a screen and a keyboard they have the ability and the right to say whatever they feel and to say it unkindly, with aggression and just spew hatred.

Secondly, we have no way of seeing body language or hearing tone - so there are all kinds of miscommunications that go on with technology.

Third, then what?

Our children, of all ages, have grown up looking at screens:

TV, gaming, computers, phones, kindles, tablets, etc.

They have grown up listening to actors speaking to other actors, in make-believe worlds. 

They have developed a completely phony way of seeing the world, relationships, ways to earn money, etc.

My Kaydon has had a few talks with me about just this thing.

He said to me a bit ago, "Ma. I feel like I have gained this picture of women and relationships with women from the most crude illustrations of what intimacy actually is."

Words have power.

 I listened to a podcast yesterday.

It was with a retired Navy Seal.

He said, "When watching anything on a screen, take 90% off the top - immediately. Then you can try to dig through the rest of the 10% trying to figure out if any of it is realistic."

What?!

He name, "Foxcatcher."

I literally watched this movie thinking it was ALL accurate.

Nope.

He said that "Blackhawk Down" had more reality, but that it was still very Hollywood-ed up.

Words have power.