Religious Scholar

The Don Imus controversy, in which a “shock jock” radio host was fired for egregiously racist and sexist language, is giving rise to a world of conversation and controversy. People interested in religion or spirituality (two very different things, though not mutually exclusive; see the earliest journal entries at this site) can find fine fodder for rumination as the fiasco unfolds.

Most religious traditions place a high value on words and language, esteeming them more highly than does the culture at large. In Judaism, the name for God is so powerful it may not be uttered. Christians value the Logos or Word as tantamount to the very essence of the Deity. Buddhists consider “right speech” as part of the path to Enlightenment, and Hindus include respectful language as part of the yama-niyamas, or foundation practices of the eight limbs of Yoga.

Secular humanists may defend free speech, but often embrace civility. Otherwise, many grade-school classrooms would ring loud with peals of profanity, by teachers and students alike. Radio, TV and print media—already roundly criticized for lowering their standards and pandering to our insatiable appetite for sleaze—would sound or read like an executive I reported to in the 1980s, who could not utter a single word without following it with a string of oaths involving bodily functions. Even worse than the routine vulgarities are ethnic, sexist and homophobic slurs, sometimes unleashed by alcohol or drugs, but just as often, I think, rising like a rich steam from the compost of dark and stagnant souls.

We can’t legislate the evolution of these souls from darkness to light. All we can do is be vigilant: watchful of ourselves, our colleagues, our leaders and the media. We must dare to be unhip, one of the deadly sins of the Age of Entertainment. We must look into our own souls, turgid and troubled though they may be, and squinting in the darkness, see and seize the slightest flicker of light. This is hope. This is what we cultivate whatever our religious or spiritual conviction. This is the foundation of the dignified, ringing-true response of Coach Stringer and the Rutgers team.

Words matter. Words sting. And words, such as “I forgive” and “I will change” can bring healing to a world and individuals in pain, confusion and despair.