More Tempests in err… Teapots

This post is about this story in the Washington Times

I think this is worth talking about because there are risks to FS people saying things..even on their own “first-amendment protected” time. Still, I think it would be better for the public if more FS employees said more; both being unleashed by the Dept., and also using their own time. Yes, people will say embarrassing things but the ratio of embarrassing things to helpful perspectives is generally pretty low. And if there were a person who (at work) screwed up regularly, there are ways of dealing with that that we learned in management school. And if someone who is (on their own time) screwed up regularly, people might stop reading.

One thing is for sure, trying to control information in this day and age, is putting the genie back in the bottle.

You know, there is an old expression, to paraphrase “There but for the grace of Gaia go I”. We have all said things we regret. We all try to be more careful in public speaking and writing and on the internet because it can go anywhere and appears to live forever. It just heightens the importance of being “impeccable with your word.” But the very immediacy of the internet enables poor self-editing. Anyway, there is also an expression in my spiritual tradition about casting stones, and I am not without sin in this area, so I’m not going there.

Note: I think that the three questions in the column to the right on this blog are very helpful in self-editing.is it true? Is it helpful? Is it kind?

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