Noise and silence

What do Hollywood’s Charlie Sheen, Sebastopol’s leaf blowers and
the current debates about public employee union busting all have in
common?
They’re all full of too much noise and not enough common
sense.
OK, what do the debates over our children’s educational future,
“real reform” for our obsolete tax system and the threatened
extinction of our country’s middle class all share?
Too much silence and a lack of vocal support, that’s what.
Whoever said you can’t always get what you want was right. Too much
noise or too much silence; perhaps there’s a time and place for
both.
Whichever the case, it is hard to dispute that we live in a very
noisy world. Our computers, phones and even some of our other
appliances are always talking back at us. You might disagree with
the Sebastopol City Council’s pending ban on leaf blowers, but
don’t claim you don’t mind the machines’ high-decibel whining.
Turn on your TV this week and you are instantly assaulted with
the latest Charlie Sheen “sheening.” Most of the rest of the
evening’s newscast is just as noisy and rancorous. Take the
Wisconsin governor and the absentee Democrat senators for instance.
Or, the U.S. Republican senators, who this week are filibustering
their own spending cut bill so they don’t have to vote on it.
It seems almost all of our debates, discussions and
deliberations have turned into yelling matches and tonsil tantrums.
Can we have a little quiet, please?
Answere this: why do they call it “talk” radio? What happened to
“listen” radio?
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out
and remove all doubt,” Abraham Lincoln once said. Lots of
politicians in both parties could benefit from this advice. Most of
the debate over the size of government and the worthiness of public
employee unions is filled with slanted facts and twisted truths.
That’s called noise, not information.
Two TV newscasters were complaining the other night about too
much attention and coverage of Charlie Sheen’s outbursts and
pranks. So, why not stop giving him airtime? How about putting a
silent zone around this ill and demented man? That way we all might
get a few minutes of peace and quiet. (And turn that damn leaf
blower off while you’re at it, Mr. Neighbor.)
Don’t we all wish all politicians came with an “on and off”
switch, too? Whatever happened to the talent of being a good
listener?
The biggest problem with all the current noisy political debates
is they overburden our vital public forums. It’s too loud and
shrill to have any genuine conversations over healthcare, our
children’s economic and educational future or real fixes to a
collapsed and punishing tax system. There’s no room for compromise,
statesmanship or diplomacy.
The boxer and wise philosopher Muhammad Ali could offer some
good advice to all these noisy politicians. “Silence is golden when
you can’t think of a good answer,” he once said. On the same
subject Mother Teresa said, “… in silence we find a new energy and
a real unity.”
Where do you go to find silence these days? A walk on the
ridgetop, river park or the Laguna? Of course, it’s not absolutely
silent out there. But the spring sounds in Sonsoma County of
evening crickets and early morning frog peepers offer sounds of
peace and renewal.
There’s nothing like silence to free the mind and refresh our
spirits. Zen meditation is all about silence, even silencing your
own breathing. “Do not speak unless it improves on silence,” a
Buddhist teaching says.
One of our very favorite thinkers, jazz trumpeter Miles Davis
once said, “music is the space between the notes. It’s not the
notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.”
Admit it, our world is too noisy. We should be reminded that all
the best conversations are filled with silent moments, just like a
good jazz song.
— Rollie Atkinson