Filters

  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.