Someone asked a good question recently that stirred me to write almost instantly. He asked: is it better to trust in actions or to trust in words?
If I was asked whether I trusted actions or words more-- I would choose actions, however; there are some important conditions that must follow.
I believe that it is imperative that we understand that actions are not more important than words, but instead they can be better trusted to understand someone's intentions than words would. The stark difference between the two is that words are fleeting, can change in a moment, can be blotted away but this is not as easy with actions. Once you are committed to an action and you follow through it cannot be erased.
My purpose however, is not to illustrate the epistemological difference between the two-- instead; it is important that I explain that actions should be married to words. It's about the heart and the hands-- the hands that work and the heart that allows the mouth to speak freely without the involvement of the mind.
Show me then close with words. If school was about being literally shown everything without a "talking forum" we would have to assume too much. Internalize this. If an action is left to stand alone it can become something complex and confusing to someone who understands concepts from a reductionist perspective.
We must also realize that both actions and words force us to use our SENSES to interpret the world. However we also know that these very senses given to us to be put to good use is limited. We know it is limited because its abilities are contingent on another bodily function. eg. We cannot see unless light hits the retina in a specific way.
It is no surprise then that our senses have failed us before especially in communicating with others who themselves depend on these tools of perception and who also may have been socialized differently or may possess a different personality.
Fortunately, misunderstandings can be curbed if both go together (Actions and words), ofcourse placing more emphasis on the one that eliminates the most doubt, we can make the complexity of our perceptions simpler. We can extricate ourselves from the complexities that come with assumptions that lead to assumptions that lead to assumptions....
