GOSSIP CAN IGNITE ANOTHER WORLD WAR

I just don’t understand the reason why some people cannot stand up and fight for what they believe is right. More often, they tend to remain neutral as to avoid taking sides and not have trouble for themselves. There are instances when these people get confronted with situations wherein they have to make a stand, unfortunately they chose not to and worse, they would just go with the flow even though they know that the current is headed towards a wrong direction.

In a world where gossip and mockery has become common, it is not unusual to see people talking about others. It's not only in the Philippines, the whole world is guilty of that. Of course who wouldn't, to talk about other people can be fun and entertaining, sometimes informative. I see nothing wrong with that as long as the context of the act is not about destroying someone else's dignity. Nevertheless, talking about other people's lives should not be even considered gossiping initially especially if the intention of the talk is only to verify information. "Information dissemination" only becomes a gossip if it satisfies any three of the five descriptions: 1) the source is unreliable, inconsistent or notorious for gossiping, 2) the information is untrue or unverified, 3) the information is at the same time damaging, 4) the intention of the act is only to spread bad things about the subject and 5) the sole purpose of the spread of untrue or wrong information is to destroy someone. The word gossip is a negative word in itself and once an act is considered a gossip, there is should be no justification for it. The more devastating scenario is that people who heard the gossip would tend to believe the information, despise the subject or the person concerned without even verifying whether the data is true or even close to being true. Pathetic as it may seem but this is true.

The question now is why do these people continue to do gossip despite the fact that it is socially and morally wrong? To do gossip is the same as lying because of the false information involved. It is the same as killing because of the intention to destroy someone else's dignity. Yes, gossips are just words be it written or uttered orally but history has proven that the pen or the mouth is mightier than the sword. It is therefore very deadly to spread wrong information against someone. There maybe retraction but once the damage has been done, no amount of apologies can heal the wound made by spreading and believing in wrong information. Destroying someone through gossip is probably the most morally untoward action. Since the world is so engrossed in doing gossips, I will not be wondering to find out in the next coming years that another World War will be ignited by gossiping.

At the end of the day, I wonder what kind of satisfaction these gossip mongers get. How about those who believe in gossips, are they plain gullible or idiotically stupid? How about those who cannot make a stand on their own, will they continue to go with the wrong flow and eventually drown in the deep waters of cowardice?

Four words to describe these kinds of people: immature, troubled, stupid and coward!