"You fix your roof when it is not raining, and you put your snow tires on before the snow flies,” I told Ed last week. I’m getting my snow tires put on next week, so I'm ready for the winter that will undoubtedly come our wa.
I told Ed I became acutely aware of tires last week because two males, 14 and 15, went on a tire-slashing spree in the greater Vancouver area. A quiet Monday evening turned destructive when more than 100 cars parked on the streets around the 7500 block of 12 Avenue in Burnaby had tires senselessly ruined. The two slashers have been arrested and charged with mischief. That does not undo the inconvenience and expense to the car owners with destroyed tires.
Getting one’s tires slashed would be both unexpected and frustrating. Things happen in our lives that we are not prepared for, such as being the victim of vandalism, crime, car accident (not our fault) and others. In a spiritual sense, we are not prepared to be victimized by gossip and slander that stabs us in the back by the unnamed and unseen talkers.
Around election time, whether local, provincial or federal, it seems there is more than enough of the slashing of an opponent’s record in office or character. With conflicting information presented, it looks like no one cares about the whole truth, as if there is none. Do people believe only what they want to hear? Do, we live in a time when it is no longer a sin to tell a lie?
Ed, my old neighbour, told me you cannot get all bent out shape about truth. He believes if you don’t put snow tires on your vehicle for the winter, only you will care. If you get stuck enough times, you will put your snow tires on to end the experience of being stuck frequently. If you pass along what you hear it might not be the whole truth, or in any way factual, but it won’t hurt you if it isn’t true. Ed said if you make something up and tell it to others as the truth then you’re lying and it is wrong. Just to share what you heard about someone is merely harmless gossip. Ed is sure everyone slants the truth to suit themselves.
When does harmless gossip become harmful and slanderous? When we put snow tires on for the winter, it isn't just about our car and our driving experience. Without snow tires, you may endanger other cars that share the road with you in a snowstorm. What we do or say is never without some consequence to others. If we think of others as tires what we say about them has the power to slash and ruin their reputation.
Who would object to people speaking well of their good qualities and actions? If someone had a complaint against us, we would like to answer their complaint face to face between the two of us. We can betray, slander and needlessly hurt the reputations of our neighbours but it only means our reputation will get slashed also. What we say and do often comes back to bite us.
