Posted on 04/02/2010 10:00:15 AM PDT by Mobile Vulgus
Dennis Prager is fond of saying he'll take clarity over agreement any day and that is a good phrase to keep in mind when you open your big mouth to join the debate. In keeping with the quest for intelligent dialog, here is a list of ten things that I think we should all stop saying because it makes those who indulge in them look, well, stupid.
1). "That's just your opinion."
Really? What else would it be? Who goes around blurting out everyone else's opinion but never their own, anyway? Don't say this because being captain obvious doesn't make you look any smarter than the person you're castigating for having an opinion with which you do not agree. Also, do not immediately reject things just because you think it is "an opinion" because at some point you are stating that nothing can be known or true and everything is "just an opinion." This sort of sloppy thinking leads to reducing everything to a lie and, well, if that's true, what's the point of having a debate at all?
2). "There are far more important things to worry about."
This is stupid, just stupid. Of course there are always more important things to worry about. Unfortunately, your saying so like this would rather imply that just about anything someone else is talking about is "not important" to you. In return, nothing you have to say will be looked upon as important to anyone else! And that's a fitting reply to your foolishness, too. Saying this to people so often just reveals your arrogant opinion of yourself. Don't say it. It makes you look like a jerk....
Read the rest at Publiusforum.com...
11. Yea? Well, so’s your Mama.
I have an insurance agent that says “Things are going to be okay”. That is his answer to it all.
God help us in our day, in Jesus name, amen.
11) “I am voting for Barak Obama.”
11. “Just saying.”
“I have an insurance agent that says “Things are going to be okay”. That is his answer to it all.
“
An insurance agent who says that isn’t going to sell much insurance.
While I generally agree with the list, I will take (minor) exception with this one. While I agree that foul language is generally an indicator of a limited vocabulary and coarsens a dialog, it does exist as a tool in the communications toolbox which has its limited usage. I like the term, "salty language" because it makes for a great analogy. A master chef (like an excellent communicator) would no more eliminate salt from his repertoire merely because to much salt makes a dish unpalatable and masks the flavor of the meal. Rather, he knows that when used properly and judiciously, a pinch of salt here and there enhances or heightens the flavor of a meal. Likewise, a good speaker or writer who knows what he is doing can inject salty language at key points to heighten a sense of humor, disgust, passion, etc. It does have its place, and when interjected in the right places can make for more effective communication of a thought or idea. Certainly when overused it detracts from communication, but to eliminate it altogether is, IMHO, actually limiting one's ability to fully communicate some thoughts to some audiences.
Whatever.......(This response provokes the recipient to offer a hand upside the speaker’s head.)
His first comment about opinions is wrong.
You can have an opinion based in fact, and someone else can have an opinion based on emotion.
The two opinions are not the same. When someone uses the phrase “That is just an opinion” it usually (but not always) means it has no logical or factual underpinnings.
yeah, well, yo mama so fat, I had to take a train and two busses just to get on her good side...
Leftist? Wow. I thought you intended that article for freepers!
Also, isn’t #10 sorta circular? Stop telling people to stop complaining?
That’s just your opinion.
I thought you meant a Master Chief would no more eliminate salty language from his repertoire....lol!
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Actually that’s my point, lol...Master Chiefs tend to be very effective communicators :-)
Master Chiefs and Master Chefs both use sald effectively.
12. Dude.
Once upon a time, you might respond with "do you talk like that in front of your parents/grandparents?", but unfortunately these days, many young people do. And those parents and grandparents don't bother correcting it!
Not that I'm a prude or anything (I spent many, many years in the Army, after all), but what happened to communicating your thoughts using proper, decent, conversational English?
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
And sadly I have seen some FRers do so too
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