Psst... What is Going On?

I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but there seems to be an unnatural unease abounding.  What is going on in the world?  Soft voices exchanged in the shadows and whispers in blatant daylight.  Direct eye contact is averted and body language is screaming in silence.  No one seems to be immune.  Friends, enemies and acquaintances are abuzz about each other in an unhealthy way.  Everybody has something to say about someone else and not necessarily to his or her face.

Herein lies the problem.  Although it helps the gossipmonger in their exercise regime to be running around discussing the latest hearsay, it is piling an enormous amount of weight on the shoulders of a) the person that is being told the new scoop and b) the “gossipee” or person of said scuttlebutt.  The receivers of these unconfirmed reportings can unburden themselves of the excessive load by again passing it to another ready and willing accomplice, but the person at whom the gossip is directed doesn’t have a chance.  The cycle continues until a juicier tidbit presents itself or the thrill of the hunt becomes boring.

Very rarely is it taken into consideration that the information being passed about is based on an absurd, illogical or ridiculous incident that may or may not have happened the way it is verbalized.  In fact, if an occurrence can be somewhat embellished, all the better for the natter and life of the scoop.  Wars have been fought on loosely conjectured facts and battles have been lost on misunderstandings that both sides were unwilling to bend their thinking on.

Why all the back alley drama?  Are nations becoming restless and bored to the fact that it is easier to talk about someone else and divert attention away from themselves for some reason?  Are baby boomers reverting back to their days in junior high for that one last burst of melodrama that they didn’t particularly like or participate in when they were of a more appropriate hormonal age?  Don’t people have anything better to do with their time than discuss the qualms of an unsuspecting soul whose incidence of discussion could and should be chalked up to having a bad day or making a really stupid decision and not dissected by unqualified psychologists who should be checking their own dirty laundry before hanging out someone else’s?

Since we have all this time on our hands wouldn’t it be better used for something positive, proactive and beneficial to the well-being and redemption of ourselves, our acquaintances and society?  I am not implying we have to have discussions only on the GNP, pandemics, or the price of zucchini but we don’t have to promote the spread of the disease that is slowly taking apart our trust and belief in our fellow human being.  We can single handedly stop the distribution and delivery of hearsay in its tracks.  Idle chatter can be hurtful, misdirected and time consuming… plus it doesn’t usually take a rocket scientist to spread it.  Take the chitchat given to you with a grain of salt and either dispose of it directly or go to the source of the matter and get things straightened up and cleared out and move on to bigger and better things.  If we can just get past our seventh grade mentalities, we might start a trend of directness, honesty and a true understanding and caring for our fellow earth-mates.

I admit, I have been as guilty as the next person and I am not happy about it.  I don’t get much satisfaction (anymore) of knowing the buzz before someone else.  Where, in the past my adrenalin would be pumping and the phone lines buzzing, the information that now finds its way to me and $3.00 will buy me a Hot Chocolate Grande (in reference to the bygone saying of $.25 and a cup of coffee) and a much longer lasting satisfaction.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-