Think Before You Speak

1. Linda Chavez's point with the first six words of her article is to explain that we need to be careful with what we say. We can not always just speak our minds because what we say can have a negative effect on others, even if we do not intend it to be offensive. Civility is important so that we do not say things that others may think are to be denouncing or rude. 

2. The term "bellicose" means, "favoring or inclined to start wars." She uses the term to show how politicians tend to observe and fight over very minute things, some of which do not have anything to do with the topic at hand. These people always pick out little flaws and exploit them to embarrass their opponents. She explains that many of the words they use also have double meanings. She says the word "rounds" means to take turns, but the word also means a unit of ammunition. Debating with each other is just natural in the world of politics. 

3. Chavez is attempting to persuade the reader that civility is important in our speech, but it is the meaning that is truly important. She explains that we need to watch what we say, but if we change all of our metaphors and terms with double meanings, our speech would be bland. While people are attempting to bring civility, some people are being too critical on our speech. They are twisting what we say to sound as if it were meant to be negative or denouncing. She says, "Such rhetorical devices enrich our language and putting them off-limits would deprive us of the ability to express ourselves fully." If we change our diction, we may lose our meaning or how effective our message truly is. Changing our word choice would not solve this problem; it is up to us to not take offense at words or metaphors that do not intend to be disrespectful. 

4. I completely agree with Linda Chavez's article. Civility does need to be used, especially in the public eye. We need to think about what we say before we say it. We need to look ahead and detect what things may be perceived negative and we need to change them. Even though our intentions may not be to offend others, it is possible they may be offended. Linda uses many examples to show how we change our dialect to preserve civility. She explains that words were changed in "Huckleberry Finn" to make it more acceptable for students to read. This is very important so that we do not deprive students of this book's lessons. I think that we need to make our dialect more God pleasing. If we focus on this, we will have a much easier job with preserving civility.