Kate Solusar’s Holocron

“Gossip needn’t be false to be evil - there’s a lot of truth that shouldn’t be passed around.” -Frank A. Clark

“In our appetite for gossip, we tend to gobble down everything before us, only to find, too late, that it is our ideals we have consumed, and we have not been enlarged by the feasts but only diminished.” – Pico Iyer

What is the role and responsibility of a Jedi or walker of the Jedi path with respect to this issue, if any?  In my training here at Ashla Knights, I remember an assignment with a lecture that discussed something called “the path within the code”. Part of the assignment was to list the nine conclusions of that path and briefly discuss each.  There is a good deal of information in that “path within the Code” that I think is relevant to my point here, so I have taken an excerpt from my answer to that question from my Jedi Apprentice Level 2 assignment.

“Finally the introduction reminds us that we are responsible for our actions.

The path within the Jedi Code refers to how being mindful of its precepts allows a Jedi to live in harmony with and act in accordance with the will of the Force.  It shows the way to live in touch with the Force and ultimately to achieve some modicum of mastery, in the sense that one can be wholly open to the Force in a given situation such that he or she is acting in harmony with it and truly as the instrument of the Force.  It seems to me that regular reflection and mediation on the Code is key to tapping into the well of meaning and understanding behind the words.  The Code is easy enough to memorize but much harder to internalize.  I believe that a lifetime of meditation, study and training lay ahead in following this path.  This path leads to nine conclusions that enable a Jedi to know the will of the Force and act in accordance with that will in a given situation as it occurs.

Meditation - A most important daily task, and a challenging one.  Frequent pauses for assessment of one’s motives, actions, and understanding, makes the load light and increase the ability to catch and make amends for mistakes or for the times we react rather than respond from the calm center of the Force within.

Training - One of the first things I learned as a teacher was to admit that I don’t know when I don’t know.  Many learning opportunities have been created by that simple admission.  There is much that I have yet to learn and look forward to doing so.  Also, daily training and study instills discipline, which is a powerful stimulus to growth and transformation.

Loyalty - Jedi should first be loyal to the Force and then to each other.  This does not mean we will always agree, but that respect for each other should be our hallmark.  We are on the same journey together – those who have been on the path longer and who serve in governing bodies deserve due respect and consideration.

Integrity means to live with honesty - with oneself, first of all, then with others.  Truth can be used as a weapon however, so it is incumbent on us to be mindful of what we say and how we say it.  Sometimes it is best not to speak at all.  I have learned only to offer advice when asked to and to treat my advice as a gift to be used by its recipient how he or she wishes.

Morality - A personal, internal code of right and wrong.  To some extent, morality affects societal norms and even laws; so it is important to acknowledge this and live with it.  It is imperative that we understand that others see our words and actions through this lens and that reflects not only on ourselves personally, but on the Jedi way as a whole.  Even still, we are not the morality police and great care must be taken in any exercise of judgment on another’s motives or actions.

Discretion - can be best summed up in this statement “The goal of the Jedi should be to create and preserve an atmosphere in which justice can flourish, rather than try to create justice themselves.”

Bravery - is simply to know what is best in a situation – whether to make a stand, walk away, or negotiate a possible solution – and then to do what is necessary.

Fighting - If a situation can be resolved with words or other means that avoid harm or injury to others, such means are best employed.

Dependence -While the Force is always there to be called upon; it should not be used when you can do it yourself.  Using your personal capabilities to the fullest and working to improve and use them is good for personal understanding and growth and can be used in most situations.”

Our communities are harmed, and the ideals we claim to uphold in our lives are sullied, whenever we choose to speak ill of one another and do so in a public fashion.  I understand that there is a need, a time and a place for constructive criticism and feedback, but not when it is or becomes personal.  One of the biggest problems I have seen, and I have fallen into the trap myself, is that there may be an objective truth in a given situation, but even all the people involved telling their sides of the story will not yield that truth.  We all filter our information, experiences and perceptions in a way that makes it possible to miss the truth, even though we believe we possess that truth.  It is even worse when we choose to speak parts of the story, because after all, it’s what we know, and we believe it to be true, but it turns out that it is not what we thought it was.

I’ve spent considerable time in meditation on this issue and have spent some time reading about this issue as well, because this issue has had a profound effect in people’s daily lives. After all, our news is crowded with the latest “scoop” on this or that celebrity.  And, of course, the “news” is never good, never positive, never uplifting.  And, somehow, we criticize those who are the subject of such “scoops” for not being good sports, or learning from such stories.  Of course, if a story is wrong, the correction is never as prominent as the original story.  However, damage can be done even when there is truth to the tale.

Two of the major world religions, both with a strong philosophical bent that goes beyond mythology, have some very stern words about the power of speech to do harm.  Buddhism speaks at great length about “right speech.”  Several sources indicate that this is a major topic of importance and is addressed at great length and in great detail for adherents to model their own lives and conduct after.  Judaism has a stern prohibition against lashon hara or evil speech.  One article I consulted talks about gossip, evil speech, as “the triple murder threat” outlining its effects on the speaker, hearer or reader, and its subject(s).  Jewish tradition even strongly prohibits speech that is true, if it has the power to harm someone’s reputation or threaten his or her privacy.

Yale University has a law professor who has gone so far as to even publish books on this topic.  Daniel J. Solove wrote a tome called The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet.  A précis of the book explains:  “A trail of information fragments about us is forever preserved on the Internet, instantly available in a Google search.  A permanent chronicle of our private lives—often of dubious reliability and sometimes totally false—will follow us wherever we go, accessible to friends, strangers, dates, employers, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else who cares to look.  This engrossing book, brimming with amazing examples of gossip, slander, and rumor on the Internet, explores the profound implications of the online collision between free speech and privacy.

Daniel Solove, an authority on information privacy law, offers a fascinating account of how the Internet is transforming gossip, the way we shame others, and our ability to protect our own reputations.”

What we say and share here in our communities with and about each other always has this potential.  It is something we need to be mindful of in our dealings with each other.  It is important that an atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration for people’s offline lives prevails in our communities.  The words we post today may haunt others and us even far into the future.  There is a very simple test for our speech – Is it true?  Are you sure?  Is it nice?  Does it have the potential to harm or hurt another person, their privacy, and their reputation?  Tone, sarcasm, and much humor translate rather poorly into print, particularly without a person’s body language or eye contact and expression to provide context.  All too often, such speech comes across as malicious, hurtful, and mean, even if that wasn’t the writer’s intention.  As a person with a sarcastic bent to my own humor, I know this all too well and have hurt others with my words and how I express them.

As companions on the Jedi way, I wish to share these words with you in a spirit of application of the principles in which we believe in our very real world.  Words can wound and kill as surely as a lightsaber in the fiction or any real world weapon in use in our world today.  A Missouri girl took her own life because of the words posted by another person on her Myspace page.  And that’s just an example we have heard because the story was made public.

Let us all be mindful of our words and may our more experienced community members serve as models for our newer ones.

These are the links for the articles and book referenced above.

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300124989

http://www.aish.com/literacy/mitzvahs/Gossip_The_Triple_Murder_Threat.asp