I’m not worried about AI destroying our society. Hate speech clearly has the early lead

When I would relate a story about someone who made an outrageous comment or said something down right nasty, my mother used to say, ”You lie down with dogs, and you get fleas.” In other words don’t be like them!

This was part of her wisdom that I needed at that moment to heal the anger that was percolating inside my heart about some sort of callous statement I heard from a parishioner or someone in the community at large.

But what does one do when a swarm of fleas are circulating throughout the body politic of American society? What does one do when people believe that they can say anything under the guise of freedom of speech without any concern or thought as to whether those comments are fit for civilized society, let alone whether or not their statements are supported by the truth?

Religion is supposed to help instruct us about not engaging in gossip or slander. God tells us, “Do not go about as a talebearer among your people” (Leviticus 19:16). Neither does the Torah condone slanderous speech either: ”You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). Are these verses dust in the wind when we listen to what our nation’s leaders are saying about their own citizens?

Let me give you a few recent examples.

• We have heard congressional representatives attacking one another on the floor of the House of Representatives and one calling the other “little b----.”
• A congressperson at a recent event declared the entire state of Israel a “racist state.” The representative, after significant attacks from colleagues and no doubt donors, danced around her remarks and recanted them.
• Another congressperson from the house floor used the term “colored people” when referring to African Americans. Talking about being out of touch with American culture!

These are supposed to be national leaders who command our attention and the media’s scrutiny. People listen to them and believe them. Aren’t they supposed to set a standard of decency, professional conduct and accurate information even with the passion that they bring to their ideas?

Most recently, a presidential candidate announced that the Covid virus was designed to have minimal impact upon Chinese and Jews. And then a radical neo-Nazi leader called for a holy war in America to destroy the enemies of Christ by killing Jews. I wouldn’t care about these people and their pathetic comments but, unlike the fleas, they don’t wait for us to lie down with them. Instead, they fly up, and their crazed rhetoric blinds us by swirling around us with their hate speech.

We are talking about elected officials and leaders in our society on all sides of the political spectrum who espouse antisemitism, racism and language that qualifies as offensive to most Americans.

As it is written Proverbs, “The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool” (10:18). That about sums it up when it comes to our nation’s leaders or those elected officials in state and local communities.

A frightening part is that social media spreads this poisonous speech all over the world, and people are gullible enough to believe what someone says. Do the words support what they are already thinking about other people and races, or does the hate speech reach into a soul and simply hypnotize them into a state of belief? We’ve seen this before in modern history.

Sometimes the violence in our rhetoric, particularly in the realm of politics, reminds me of what it feels like watching a professional football game. We love watching the player deck the guy with the ball. We somehow get a burst of adrenaline flow when a defensive end sacks a quarterback.

So many sports examples show that something inside humans loves violence in speech too. When we are watching cable news and interviews, the most outrageous, violent and callous remarks receive the highest ratings. Sitting in our homes, we are transported into the Colosseum of media combat to cheer on our hero.

One of the greatest challenges for us is deciding whether to listen or to shut down the conversation. If we still believe that “lie down with dogs, and you’ll get fleas” is true, then we need to learn how to shut down the other person.

First, begin by turning off the computer or changing channels on television when media guests engage in that kind of rhetoric. Second, cut someone off in person at the outset by exclaiming, “Enough! We’re not going there.” If you see that the person is not listening, just excuse yourself. When will the public have the courage to listen to the Scriptures which tell us to despise this gossip and slanderous speech?

The prophet Jeremiah knew this problem in ancient times. He was fully aware back then that society was capable of poisoning itself. “Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer” (9:4).

I would hate to see our nation have a moral melt down to this point.

I am not worried about whether or not artificial intelligence could destroy us; that old-fashioned human instinct that clearly goes back to Biblical times could be the real end of our civilization. So just say no.

Change the channel, turn off the computer or walk away from the person in a conversation. Talk with or listen to people only with respect and dignity.