Most of us attribute the old adage to our mothers- "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all." Sometimes our Sunday lectionary presents readings that fit current events perfectly, and this is one of those Sundays. I am not preaching this week, so this post will be a bit longer than normal to satiate that "preacherly" desire to respond to the events of this week. In our the Epistle from James we will read/hear on Sunday-
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. -James 3:1-5
In the wake tragic news coming of out the Middle East (and most especially, Libya), this reading calls us to explore our speech. James writes that we should bridle our speech, as it is an extremely powerful instrument. In fact, I think it can easily be argued that our speech is the most important tool that we have at our disposal. This is likely why the founders of this nation added the First Amendment to the Constitution, realizing that in order "to form a more perfect union" free speech would be a necessity. But with any great power, comes great responsibility.
And this responsibility has been abused too often in the decade since 9/11. Whether it is Qur'an burning, cartoons of Muhammad, or just plain bigotry towards Muslims, free speech has led to evil- both on the part of the speaker, and in the inciting of retaliatory violence.
This is a classic case of virtue ethics. There are goods in conflict: free speech, on the one hand, and safety on the other. People talk about the importance of free speech and our inalienable rights to do whatever we wish and say whatever we like. But this is a rather childish and selfish (not to mention idiotic) position to hold. Free speech should not trump common sense; nor should it trump morality. In the same way that is is not legal to say "bomb" on a plane, threaten the President by saying "I'm going to kill you," or shout "fire" in a movie theater, hate speech should not be allowed when it creates a clear and present danger in the form of an anticipated and reasonable backlash. We are responsible for the words, and their repercussions. James makes this clear. As does Jesus when he says "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles." Or consider St. Paul's words in Ephesians-
But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
We are responsible for loving at all times, and our words should be used for love and building up, not inciting violence. A particular wag of the finger must be directed at those who call themselves Christians and are guilty of this sort of speech and incitement to violence.
And for those who wish to instead argue this on a Constitutional basis, we do well to first consider the background to the First Amendment, which is a later addition to the document. First, in the Declaration of Independence, which will lay the groundwork for the Constitution we find the language that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all...are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This is a good in conflict with free speech. When the maker of this incendiary movie chose to exercise their right to free speech, they robbed the people in the Libyan Embassy of their right to life. To claim that the movie did not lead to the death of those in the Embassy is akin to arguing that the person who threw the grenade didn't cause the explosion, but rather that was simply an uncontrollable reaction on the part of the grenade. It doesn't make much sense.
Or consider the purpose of the Constitution, and all that follows (including the amendments). In the preamble it declares that the purpose of the document is "to promote general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." Again, free speech can negate the very purpose of the Constitution when it robs people of liberty and posterity.
Perhaps you say -"Well, of course, the people behind this movie and other such hate speech are wrong." Perhaps you think they should be held accountable as well, and I'd agree wholeheartedly. But we shouldn't be too quick to pass the guilty verdict without considering ourselves first. I don't think any of you, dear readers, have done anything to spark a mass riot in the Middle East (at least, I hope not), but we have all said things that we shouldn't have.
People often like to say "you are the only person that can make yourself angry; it wasn't their fault for making you angry by insulting you," but the problem is that isn't true, nor should it be. As I preached a few weeks ago, anger is a good and proper response to things that are not just. And not everyone is able to control their anger, which sometimes turns to violence. Now I want to be clear, those who do violence are fully responsible for that violence and there is no excuse, justification, or condoning of such violence. But nor is there any condoning of, right to, or reason for speech that is meant to hurt and lead to violence. Intentionally causing someone to get angry is just as reprehensible of a sin as the manifestation of that anger in violence.
So whether we snap at a grocery clerk who is slow, a waiter who brings us the wrong food, a debate partner who says something to irk us, a supporter of the candidate whom you don't intend to vote for, or simply the person who delivers the straw that breaks the camel's back, our speech is a powerful tool. Our words do indeed guide our whole body, our speech does govern our relationships, we are what we say (and of course what we do too, but this is a post about speech).
With every sentence, every word, we have the opportunity to build the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. The question is: will you use the brick to lay the foundation, or will you throw it through the windows? Maybe if we don't have anything nice (or loving, or true, or Jesus-like) to say, then we shouldn't say anything at all.
