The Art of Respectful Speech

I believe that if we are stepping up as speakers for our faiths and writing publicly, we have an obligation to write responsibly. If our words lead a reader down a path of disrespect, lack of mindfulness, and yes, impiety, then I believe we are, in some small measure, to blame. We have accountability for the words that we put out into the world, all the more so when those words have the potential to lead (or not) someone to the Gods that we ourselves love. Those of us engaged in reclaiming and reviving our ancestral ways must of necessity consider the impact of our words because we live in a culture that puts great store on the written word, and more importantly because part of restoring our traditional practices is restoring and reinventing the language by which we express them. People will read our words for good or ill and look to them as a guide on how to behave with the Holy Powers. What seems like innocent familiarity on our part may end up translating into unthinking disrespect on theirs. I believe that we need to give a thought as to how we want people to relate to our Gods, to address Them, to honor Them. That is what we have a sacred obligation to model.

We are our deeds, but I think that maybe we are our words as well. Certainly it is by our words that we reshape our traditions and communities. It is by our words as much as by our deeds that we pave a way to honoring the Gods rightly and well. Words have power and once loosed can never be recalled. That's an awesome responsibility.