Communication and Understanding: The Breaking-Down and Building-Up of Relationships

Communication - it is a tool everyone uses in a day to day basis. Now there are different levels of communication - verbal, nonverbal, written, and other forms too, but what I want to focus on is communication, as a way of expression. It seems to fall short in a lot of relationships as I read the questions on the site here. Now I want to look at a few examples of expressing oneself.

1: Richard Nixon - stood confidently behind a podium and Confidently said "I am not a Crook!" In attempts to give the Innocent appearance. He confidently communicated, in an attempt to disguise something. Can anyone relate to encountering something like this? I can. In my opinion, it's like talking to a bad car salesman. Or a good one if your gullible. But I'm only focusing on his Presentation, that's what's important here. I could care much less for his political antics. But he presented himself in a was that he sounds like he knows what he's talking about, in which he did, but also confidently disguised knowledge behind the words that came out of his mouth.

2: Don Imus - confidently made a racial slur, and look at what happened there. A giant mess, because of what he thought should be his freedom of speech. But did he take into consideration what other people would interpret of their freedom of understanding, or how they would react as to what he said about the Rutgers-women's basketball team, or what would become of it. Not at the present time that the words came out of his mouth, if you ask me. This is a prime example of not thinking twice before something is said.

3: Frederick Douglas - as a slave he felt trapped behind his ideas of expression as to be th only slave in his immediate surroundings to understand the plight of his dilemma - being an educated slave, and knowing the the meaning and expression of LAW, or what was said to be the way of the world at the time, and the difference of it between the north and the south - not just the ignorance of the minds at the time (work hard or be dealt with - with harsh punishment). The other slaves he lived and worked with, only knew of hard work and the direct mis-treatment they received (not being in the understanding of the big picture of the world around them), and didn't know the plight of their situation. Now add education into the mix, and single it out to 1 slave in a group of 20 - 100, maybe more. Wouldn't you feel like a tormented outcast of the immediate society you belonged to, if you weren't able to spread your ideas of education and freedom amongst others who were in your position. And that's also given the time was taken to teach and learn in a manner as he did. And being able Not to spew out all of his information of educating and communication, in a way that it was overwhelming to others - Is what Frederick Douglas had to learn to make the difference in the world around him, when this understanding was all to new to him, as a young man. At one point as a teenager, he felt as if no one, who would pass through his situation, would understand him, or no one would ever understand him at all.



4: Malcolm X - when he was a teen he once said: "I can talk amongst the pimps, the players, the hustlers, the gang-bangers, the thugs, and the pushers and I get the respect I deserve. Now when I write a letter to a F****** senator, I got not one F****** response! No F****** respect! Why? Well as a young teen, he learned that what bothered him, had to be expressed in a certain way that others would take whathe said into the highest of consideration, to make a difference. He had to adjust his young penny-wise attitude with a silver tongue - into that of a great orator. And take what he said, he meant it. But at the time of a teen, he came into the realization of his audience and purpose. Even thought it was two people commanding respect in writing, from a teen with street credentials, to a senator with college credentials. He had to adapt to his audience, for them to understand his purpose. If he just wrote out the words - fuck you - he would get a different response than actually forming a debatable argument, for the senator to comprehend, instead of just seeing the hate, and not looking into the cause or causes for the problem to be present in the first place.

In which these are just examples, but communication is something that can easily be blown out of proportion if not "handled with properly," either delicately or firmly, but with a common understanding. And even though these examples are mainly between a person and other people, not just one-on-one communicating, it doesn't mean that it can't start somewhere. Because one-on-one communication is that of the most intimate nature, when two people give each other their undivided attention and understanding, in a willing nature. It is also contradicting in a way when it is a time when one person can be found more easily influenced, with out the minds of others around for a second perspective. But however, also, there is the way of expressing yourself in a way to intelligently defend yourself the way of Malcolm X had to go about learning, to get his point across. And also learning not to be fooled by what seems truth, even though it may be false, but presented in a way that could seem believable. And that's when I say "what's it worth to me, and prove it" - towards whatever seems false. Because it takes time and effort to communicate, and we all have so much time to do so here, and we all have to look out for the ones who waste our time, and the ones who are worth learning how to express ourselves to in a receptive way for a common understanding.

And it's more than just words, Communication starts with how you present yourself, and leads into your body movements, your words, your silences and your actions. And also, what you believe in and what you can prove, in the resulting effects.