Not Afraid to Speak His Mind

We've all been around when someone says something out of line...

...at a party, on a date, in church.

Yet there are guidelines, right?

We all adhere to a decorum. We try not to say everything that is on our mind any time that we feel like it, right?

I must admit that I have not always followed the guidelines. I have been asked to speak at a convention in Las Vegas for three years running now...

...this despite the fact that "I don't work clean."

I usually let the crowd know what is coming and after hearing me speak the first time, the fact that they asked me to return again and again let me know that they weren't offended. They've even asked me back already for the upcoming gig.

So...boundaries can be pushed.

But, lately I've been wondering if certain people in the limelight are going too far.

There has to be a filter...

...at least a little one.

A few years back I was asked to attend a sales meeting. I have never been shy about telling people that I hate meetings. But, it wasn't optional.

So I went to the meeting and was bored out of my mind for over an hour.

"We're going to go around the table and after all we've heard I'd like for you to say the first thing that comes to mind."

The owner of the place looked to me first:

"What is on your mind, Cliff?"

"You should have food at these meetings," I said.

The other 40 people laughed.

The owner didn't.

It was my last sales meeting.

Then, a couple of years ago, I was at a meeting where the owner of the Buffalo Sabres floated an idea where he wanted to hang a tarp so the "workers" wouldn't stare at "his players."

"Why don't you have the players bring some donuts over to the poor slobs who are building their dressing room?" I asked.

The rest of the people in the room actually gasped and the acclaimed owner just stared me down.

As I was walking out the door the security guard said:

"Your presence is no longer required at these meetings."

So, I'm the last guy to lecture anyone about decorum, but the political season is a little depressing.

Will it trickle down?

The name-calling?

The hate?

I actually believe that it has already. We haven't even truly noticed the nastiness seeping in...

...but it has.

Saying what is on your mind isn't ALWAYS the worst idea, but day after day and never saying you're wrong...

...that might be.

Especially if we lose all sense of civility or we stop respecting our differences.

Then speaking our mind at every turn might not be the exact right idea.

Right?

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