I was reading a post at another blog this week when a thought occurred to me that had been triggered by a letter to me from RJS (a faithful blog reader here). This blogger, and I have no desire to pick on the person and so will avoid all specifics, was observing that one person (A) had unfairly described another person\u2019s (B) thinking. In the process of so describing, however, that person (C) was not entirely fair to the person (A) he\/she was criticizing. Why is this so hard for us? Here\u2019s my major thought. I was reading a post at another blog this week when a thought occurred to me that had been triggered by a letter to me from RJS (a faithful blog reader here). This blogger, and I have no desire to pick on the person and so will avoid all specifics, was observing that one person […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1741],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing-blogging"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWe need to distinguish between \u201ccaricaturize\u201d and \u201ccharacterize.\u201d The latter means to describe the (genuine) characteristics of an idea, a person, or a movement. To call an \u201cevangelical\u201d a fundamentalist, or close-minded, or a Luddite, is to caricaturize. To call emerging \u201cdeniers of truth\u201d or \u201crelativists\u201d is to caricaturize. To \u201ccaricaturize\u201d is to describe by exaggeration or to describe by reduction, and to use such description in order to ridicule, to dominate, to persuade, or to control.
\nTo say that politicians trade in \u201ccaricature\u201d during election time may characterize some, but it would be unfair to say all \u201ccaricaturize\u201d all the time. To say \u201cpoliticians caricaturize\u201d is, in my judgment, to caricaturize.
\nNow, why do we do this? And, most importantly, why is it so difficult for us to describe our opponents or those with whom we differ<\/em> in ways that are \u201ccharacterizing\u201d rather than \u201ccaricaturizing\u201d?
\nSuch a question leads me to think we do this because we fear the truth, we fear that a characterizing of another may bring them just too close to us when our intent is to distance (and even demonize). To be fair to the person puts our overall disposition to another person at risk.
\nTo love others means to characterize them; to caricaturize them (except when appropriate) is not to love our neighbor as ourselves.
\nOne of the first levels of critical thinking schools \u2014 and here I trade in being a teacher who has been asked to do far too much investigation of educational outcomes \u2014 is to learn to describe another person\u2019s thoughts and beliefs (1) in their terms and (2) without evaluation. In other words, until a person can \u201ccharacterize\u201d properly, that person is not yet a critical thinker. If our attempts at characterizing end up in caricaturizing, we need to back off until our head cools.
\nSo, my first commandment for the blog world is this: Do not caricaturize. To be sure, that\u2019s a prohibition. So the first commandment might be: Please characterize others well.
\nLord, forgive us.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"