Communication has never been this aggressive. Inventors of mass communication as a course of study must have seen into the future of the media to know that a time would come when everyone and anyone can communicate to everyone and anyone even without their consent. Could it be the reason they named it mass communication?

With the advent of the internet, technology has not only ceded the management of communication to ‘everyone’, the invention of instant messaging vide the social media liberalised information dissemination in a manner that confirms the mass appeal of communication through unsolicited advertisements and chain broadcasts.

Even then, the freedom of expression enabled by the seamless communication of the modern age requires wisdom and tact. Many times, communicators offend receivers of their messages knowingly or unknowingly, even when they mean no harm. In other words, communication can be more violent than physical combat.

There are times when the communicator has genuine intention to make things good but chooses the wrong words, the wrong season or the wrong place to pass a good message. The import of such messages are usually lost in the bitterness and acrimony generated by the receiver’s interpretation. Many times, the damage is irreparable.

For me, this is not a season of many words. The times are rough and tough, the world is unsettled, restiveness everywhere. Anger and transferred aggression abound. However tensed the atmosphere may be, we cannot stop communicating but we can all learn to pass our messages in a non-violent manner. Words are powerful, the manner of speaking it can make or break.

I have another phrase for non-violent communication, I call it observing without judging. I can observe your faults without judging you if I make you see my points without condemning yours and if I don’t force my opinion on you. What if it is my right? Enforcement of right has its own limitation in a world that has gone crazy. Safety first.

How can you help the fragile peace of the modern age? Remember this Voltaire quote even if you don’t totally agree – “everything you say should be true but not everything true should be said”.

Peace like a river.

©️Akin Oluwadare Jnr
16 May 2022