Rantazia: To begin, I intend to offend.
It is my belief that truth offends. It’s a fairly predictable trait in truth whenever it is presented to someone who doesn’t have it. A simple observation, easy to prove. Offer a truth to someone who does not already hold it and the very predictable response is offense.
Therefore an attempt to seek truth or relay truth without offense is doomed to failure. This is why I reject the concept commonly known as “political correctness”. It does not value truth. It is virtually anathema to truth.
The truth offends. That is not the object of truth nor is it my object in seeking it or in relaying what truth I’ve found. It’s simply an unfortunate byproduct. If I claim to love the truth I must therefore override my concerns at offending others in relaying it. This does not mean I can or should offend willy-nilly. Merely that I cannot simultaneously withhold an observation out of concern that it may offend while claiming to value truth.
Likewise I cannot dismiss an observation because it offends me. This may indicate there is a truth here that I do not already own. Offense is no basis on which a lover of truth should reject anything.
Therefore, I intend to offend.
3 comments
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March 15, 2008 at 8:57 am
leftback92
Amen again and again!
May 21, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Jain
I like my truth to be backed by hard evidence. How can someone be offended by evidence based truth?
May 21, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Mary Contrary
That’s ridiculous. Shall I give a few examples? An alcoholic/addict confronted during an intervention, an employee dressed down for poor work performance by a employer, an atheist confronted with evidence for God’s existence. All quite prone to offense, even irrational behavior.