One of the several online “Tea Party” groups that I recently joined encourages its members to be active in blogging, chatting on Facebook and Twitter, writing letters to editors, and otherwise being prolific in using the “pen” as a means of spreading the word on the Movement’s agenda. I’d like to go a step further and suggest to those engaged in such worthy activity that we should follow a personal set of guidelines with everything we write in order to have maximum effect and avoid giving ammunition to our adversaries.
There are many that would like to dismiss us as ignorant rednecks and/or racist. Those few that actually fit that description should probably not engage in discussion and frankly bring no value to the Movement. For the rest of us the requirement that we let no hint of racism enter our discussions should be obvious. And name calling or other insults fall into the same category. Our goal is to convince others and to show that we are intelligent, informed citizens, not to score points with those that already agree with us.
We should also take the time to check our grammar and spelling. Everything I write for publication in a blog or elsewhere is written in a program that automatically checks spelling and fundamental grammar. Still I make many mistakes that are picked up only by careful reading and editing. Further, we should be careful about the proper use of homonyms such as two, to, and too; there, their, and they’re, etc, and generally try to write clearly and concisely and do enough research to be sure of our accuracy.
We don't have to be Hemingways, but it's important that we be aware that the delivery matters as much as our message and will make our message much more palatable to those we are trying to influence while giving them nothing to use against us.
There are many that would like to dismiss us as ignorant rednecks and/or racist. Those few that actually fit that description should probably not engage in discussion and frankly bring no value to the Movement. For the rest of us the requirement that we let no hint of racism enter our discussions should be obvious. And name calling or other insults fall into the same category. Our goal is to convince others and to show that we are intelligent, informed citizens, not to score points with those that already agree with us.
We should also take the time to check our grammar and spelling. Everything I write for publication in a blog or elsewhere is written in a program that automatically checks spelling and fundamental grammar. Still I make many mistakes that are picked up only by careful reading and editing. Further, we should be careful about the proper use of homonyms such as two, to, and too; there, their, and they’re, etc, and generally try to write clearly and concisely and do enough research to be sure of our accuracy.
We don't have to be Hemingways, but it's important that we be aware that the delivery matters as much as our message and will make our message much more palatable to those we are trying to influence while giving them nothing to use against us.
No comments:
Post a Comment