Sound Snippets

I have watched a few videos lately that were criticizing something a particular individual said (a politician, a clergyman, an actor, etc.). They used a video snippet of the person actually saying the particular controversial statement. What tied them all together was the fact that I was also able to see the full context of that person's statement. In more than one, it is obvious that the statement is taken out of context. Sometimes this is even true of things that those of a more conservative leaning use against those of a more liberal leaning (yes, conservatives can be liars too!).

Noticing how easy it is to cut and paste a statement and then describe it in such a way that makes it appear horrible, makes me worry about how much out there we actually can trust. I have even heard a few "quotes" of Pope Francis by traditional Catholics, where they say, "see, he said this!", and he did not. Oh, yes, he said the words they are referring to (they have the recorded evidence to prove it), but when you listen to the original context it is fairly clear he did not mean what they claim.

Sound bite snippets can always misconstrue the original point and intent of a statement. This is not rocket science. In fact, in my household we like to tease each other (all in good fun) by intentionally (and obviously) misconstruing each other's statements. It is just a playful way of teasing each other. No one gets upset because we all know that it is only a joke.

This is, however, the reason why I do not record my homilies. A number of people have asked me to do so. A few have even offered to pay for the equipment necessary to do so, and I have passed them up on it. Aside from the fact that the faithful did just fine without recorded homilies for the first two thousand years of Church history, it is a dangerous situation to be in when someone can so easily splice together your words and make it appear you are saying something other than you actually did. I certainly do not expect any of my parishioners to do this, but I know there are evil people trolling the internet who would jump at the opportunity.

Therefore, no, I do not want my words floating out there and having the potential of someone "creating" evidence that I said something that I did not say. I find it hard enough to make sure that I am clear so that people can get the right idea of what I am saying when they merely hear what I did say; why would I want some woke nutty to have the opportunity to use my own words against me?

We have to be careful in how we use modern technology. Just because we can do something, does not mean that we should do something. It is not always a good idea to go ahead and do what is possible. The ramifications of our choices have to be considered. And with the world hating God as much as it does today, we cannot presume others will not abuse what we use for good. Once again, Jesus told us to be "as wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves".