Air filters. Furnace filters. Water filters. Pool
filters. Internet filters. Even sunglasses are a type of filter. Filters ensure
that what’s on the receiving end has had the impurities removed. Clean air.
Clean water. Pornographic sites blocked. Filters remove the junk we don’t want
to breathe, drink, smell, or see. They’re useful devices.
Every human has a built-in filter. You may have heard
of them, although you won’t read about these filters in any medical journal.
I’m referring to the filter between the brain and the mouth. Like most useful
filters, it wears out over time and should be replaced, although no replacement
has ever been manufactured through conventional means. I’ve come to the
conclusion that human filters wear out around age sixty, and that some people were
never born with a filter -- including members of my own family. There are a few
exceptional individuals who maintain their filters their entire lives. We all
know a sweet old grandma or grandpa who has a kind word for everyone, but
nowadays they seem to be the exception to the filtration rule.
Why is a brain-to-mouth filter so important? There’s
this remarkable thing called tact. It goes a long way in preserving happy
marriages, self-esteem, lasting friendships, confident children, solid business
partnerships, and is the key to good public relations in any setting. Some
individuals who lack the tact filter may confuse their words with candor or
honesty, but those on the receiving end will correctly identify it as verbal
abuse. There’s nothing constructive about constructive criticism. The tact
filter should be utilized in our interactions with our fellow humans,
especially members of our own families.
On the flip side, there are a few things that
shouldn’t be filtered. The news, for instance. Although freedom of the press
falls under the same Amendment to the Constitution as freedom of speech, the
media has taken it upon itself to filter what we see and hear on the news.
Their agenda makes it difficult to glean truth from fiction so we can make
informed decisions. The media doesn’t have the right to cherry-pick or
fabricate ‘facts’ to force us what to think or who to vote for. This type of selective filtering is unhealthy
for our nation.
And then we have way too many people who believe we
shouldn’t be able to exercise freedom of speech if it’s not what they want to
hear, if what we say is contrary to their ideology of a secular utopian society
where everything is ‘fair’ and ‘free’. See the irony here? It’s only ‘fair’ and
‘free’ if it falls under their limited view of what ‘fair’ and ‘free’ is. Don’t
like what you hear or read? Guess what -- you have the right to apply your ear filters
and ignore it. You do not have the right to silence another voice because you
don’t want to bother to find your ear filters. College students need a ‘safe
space’-- give me a break.
My point is that filters are wonderful things when
used appropriately and replaced when they wear out. On a large scale, selective
filtering isn’t a good thing, especially when it comes to the media pushing a
liberal agenda and efforts to silence the opinions of others. On a personal
scale, filters are crucial. Check your tact filter the next time you open your
mouth to offer ‘constructive’ criticism to your spouse, child, friend, parent,
or other important person in your life. When used regularly, I believe the tact
filter can be maintained well into old age. Something to consider until science
invents a replacement.
