Blah, blah, blah

Okay, politicians, relax...this piece is not about you.  Although I can fully understand if your initial thought upon reading the title was that this was another hard-hitting, anti-politician piece.

This is about how we communicate effectively. Communication is one of the most beautiful gifts that God has given us.  However, the ability or the capacity to express ourselves to others has often been an underrated blessing. We have a tendency to take it for granted. We always feel that the ability to see, hear, taste, or feel is more important than our ability to speak and interact with others. But if you really think about it, the ability to communicate is what truly sets us apart from animals. In the ’80s movie Dragnet, Dan Aykroyd, scolding a promiscuous Tom Hanks, said, “There are two things that differentiate humans from animals: number one, we use utensils when we eat; and number two, we have the ability to control our sexual urges.”  

Now, I’m not sure if Aykroyd was right about the second part, but he got the first one right.  And if I could add a third one, it would be “Humans’ ability to communicate.”  Of course, some animal rights activists could argue that some smarter animals — like dolphins, dogs, seals, and monkeys — can communicate, too.  I don’t dispute that.  But if you ask a dolphin or a dog, “How was your day today?” all you’re going to get is a blank stare and a gesture that they want to be fed.  So when I mention humans’ ability to communicate, I’m talking about real, deep, interactive communication.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that communication is not just a human ability, it’s a human need.  As the saying goes, “No man is an island.”  It’s almost humanly impossible for a person to be isolated and have no one to talk to.  A person can go insane — or even die of loneliness — if he has no one to talk to.  In the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks plays a FedEx executive who survives a plane crash and finds himself alone on an island in the middle of nowhere.  He’s stuck here for four years and the only things he has with him are a few items in FedEx boxes. Three of these items — a pair of ice skates, a piece of cloth, and a volleyball — turn out to be quite handy.  He uses the blades of the ice skates as a cutting tool (to crack coconuts open), and the piece of cloth to help him catch fish. 

And the volleyball?  It becomes his companion. He draws a face on the ball with his own blood and calls it by its brand name, “Wilson.” Out of necessity, he had to “invent” Wilson to talk to someone — something.  Otherwise, he’d go nuts.  Tom Hanks’ character eventually survives the ordeal (he is rescued by a ship). 

We all need each other if only to fill the human need to communicate. Worse than taking this gift for granted is the fact that we either abuse it or use it ineffectively.

Humans are the only creatures on earth that kill or hurt each other because of things that are said.  Have you seen a monkey kill another monkey because of what it said? Sure, dogs bark at each other, but I have never known a case where a dog barks “Bitch!” to another dog and the latter gets all riled up and hits the insulting dog. Have you seen an alligator kill another alligator because the latter shouted “Buwaya!! Buwaya!”?  

They don’t because they can’t communicate that effectively.  On the other hand, we can. The modern world now offers us tons of ways to communicate.  And while this is great, it has also led to abuses and so much trash and filth on the Internet.  We have pornography, violence, and brainless/insulting blogs. 

Frankly, if this is what sets us apart from animals, then I’d rather be an animal.  Animals don’t produce porn.  They don’t create websites filled with hate.  And they don’t start blogs that spread bad rumors about other people. 

Apart from the abuse of communication, we also have the “lesser” sin of communicating ineffectively. Often when we write something, it doesn’t quite express what we’re trying to say.  I have experienced this a number of times. One time, I wrote a memo to our CFO.  It was meant to be a half-serious, half-humorous e-mail.  I was discussing some financial matters — and I thought it would be nice to put a little humor into the memo — because it was becoming a little too serious for comfort.  But apparently, my CFO didn’t see it that way.  He thought I was being sarcastic and rude.  I had to call him to explain that I didn’t mean what he thought I meant.   Again, if we had just spoken to each other, the whole matter would have been resolved in five minutes instead of a whole day.  Such a waste. 

One time, I told my executive assistant to book me a flight for a business trip.  She then e-mailed me for my preferred flight schedules.  I e-mailed back.  And then she e-mailed back.  Soon, before I knew it, we had a string of email exchanges — five feet long if you printed it out.  Then I realized it was getting crazy — she was literally just beside my room — and we were wasting time e-mailing each other on a stupid flight booking! What we could have discussed in two minutes turned out to be an e-mail exchange that not only wasted server memory but also precious time. 

So what’s the bottom line?  Guys, we have been given the very important gift  of communication. Let’s not waste our energy on meaningless, hateful blah, blah, blahs.  Let’s start communicating effectively, constructively, and efficiently. 

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Thanks for your letters, folks! You may e-mail me at rodhnepo@yahoo.com.