Monday, May 22, 2006

rumours

"he who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity."
- proverbs 21:23

"if any iniquitous person comes to you with a [slanderous] tale, use your discernment, lest you hurt people unwittingly and afterwards be filled with remorse for what you have done."
- al-hujurat 49:6 (from www.islamicity.com)

"do not accept anything on account of rumours (i.e. believing what others say without any investigation)."
- buddhist teachings

"those who have cultivated ren (compassion or loving others) are, on the contrary, 'simple in manner and slow of speech.'"
- lunyu 13.27

---

it wasn't meant to be this way. they were two separate events. they were not supposed to spill into each other, and the whole thing was never intended to become so blown out of proportion.

it was fueled by rumours, hearsay that fluttered around like butterflies, landing on the greedy ears of immature individuals who detect scandal where there is none. the situation was fed by "did you hear?" and "somebody told me..." and other seemingly innocent phrases that were really laced with a poison so deadly that it could strip someone of his or her credibility.

of course it could be that i am a naive idealist who refuses to believe that people can really stoop that low just for a juicy piece of news. judgement doesn't lie in my hands - no one is in the position to judge, save God alone.

but once in a while things like this make my foundations shake and cause me to lose faith in people, or allow the needless things of the world take up a little bit of my time. i'm dismayed at the readiness that seemingly intelligent people soak up lies without giving them much thought.

words spoken do not necessarily carry the truth. messages whispered may be nothing more than sensationalised stories. have we not the discernment to take each uttered sentence with a pinch of salt? since when have we lost our ability to think?

rumours are called rumours simply because they are not meant to be believed, at least not without further investigation.

i would think that for a bunch of several hundred people with impressive cvs and pretty darn good academic achievements, we'd be mature enough to exercise caution with any information we get hold of...or at least smart enough to know that careless ears and a loose tongue can only lead to no good.

lishun at 10:29 PM

|