Class & Crass

“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking smell: so does a little folly in him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor.”
– Ecclesiastes 10:1

“Let you speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.” – Colossians 4:6

After the Japanese attacked British holdings in the Far East at the start of WWII, Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote the Japanese Ambassador to Britain saying, “…His Majesty’s Ambassador at Tokyo has been instructed to inform the Imperial Japanese Government in the name of His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom that a state of war exists between our two countries” Having so written, Churchill signed off, “I have the honor to be, with high consideration, Sir, Your obedient servant, Winston S. Churchill.” This old-world formality was too much for many who criticized Churchill for his flowery language. In his personal memoirs describing the war years, Winston Churchill commented about this letter, “Some people did not like this ceremonial style. But after all when you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.”

I think it was about 1975 when I realized Churchill’s England was no longer the land of civility. I had been invited to meetings about proprietary technology with the British Gas Council in London. While walking down a city street, I was made painfully and unpleasantly aware that targeted, crude and offensive behavior toward foreign visitors was replacing the former public good manners of England.

Nowadays, it’s not just in distant public places we see occasional crass and classless behavior; it has become standard fare on public broadcasts as panel members interrupt and shout each other down. Rush Limbaugh has furnished us with the latest example. I agree with Mr. Limbaugh that three thousand dollars per year of individual contraceptive care funded out of the public pocket is a questionable proposition. However, that can be said without referring to a young female law student as a slut and prostitute or suggesting she provide pictures of her sexual activity in return for funding. These comments cost Limbaugh sponsors and credibility. It wasn’t humorous – it was crude, crass and tasteless.

“Shock-jock” humor like that of Don Imus and Howard Stern has a finite life span. Eventually, it wears extremely thin. I noticed this year’s Academy Awards resorted to the classier style of Billy Crystal in place of the nasty verbal punch-in-the-gut-before-I-hand-you-the-mike stance of other emcees they considered.

Many years ago there was a man in the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association with a reputation for the “gift of wisdom.” As this man was entering the crowded lobby of a convention center with entourage in tow, he deliberately engaged a young preacher in a conversation that he knew held some extreme doctrines. The man of wisdom decided to “de-horse” the youngster while demonstrating his wisdom and authority in public. The young man stayed calm and stuck quietly to his position. The “man of wisdom” became flustered, finally lost it and made a public spectacle of himself. When all was said and done, the young minister went on his way unruffled while the great man of wisdom started his descent into obscurity.

Being the smartest and/or most abrasive guy in the room can carry a very pricey cost. The press calls it a “Don Imus moment.”

Avoid the crass style so common in this day and age. Instead, remember how Jesus instructed us to conduct ourselves before all men: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

By John G. Cathcart
http://www.wme.org