The Dixie Chicks took a great deal of heat when they spoke out where others 
stay silent… They seem to want peace instead of war …. So do I…. They see the fall in American respect from other parts of the world …. Sadly, I too hear that reality in every country I visit lately…. Their words about diminishing popularity of our country … may seem harsh …but they hold water folks…. So what’s the problem here?
Is the heat fair…? Don’t the Dixie Chicks deserve freedoms we say we protect… to speak out and share differences? This furor sparked by Dixie Chicks seems less about the fact that they spoke out…and more about their lack of tone to shape what they said…. Do you agree…? How can we offer freedom to speak out without teaching tone to do so? That's a growing problem that could kill our protected right to be different....
The Dixie Chicks are part of a growing number of celebrities and leaders who hold creative and often great ideas … that could strengthen us as a nation… but who lack the mental tool called tone to create the change they seek. Tone is part of our introspective intelligence and this mental acumen can be developed and sharpened…. To use good tone is to express different viewpoints about controversies that impact all of us … such as war and peace…. The opposite is to simply stagnate…buy into flawed ideas which could promote more wars in the future … or even further frustrate our nation’s reputation overseas…. I am glad the Dixie Chicks spoke for what they believed…. And I admire them for their courage….
I’m also glad these celebrities brought attention to our dire need to teach and model tone ... so more people can speak out effectively when they spot change opportunities…. The human brain holds remarkable tools for tone that would help the Dixie Chicks to express differences without drawing heat that defeats their message and loses them revenue for their work… My own admiration comes from the fact that these young women stirred a revolution that should alert us to the fact that once tone’s tools are activated … people can express differences in ways that motivate others to creative change…. To hear and engage alternative views ... is often to find a solution bigger than all of us... and tone makes it happen when we need it most.... Know anybody who models that kind of tone … the kind that allows thoughtful expression of differences… even when you disagree …?
You see this tone remarkably evident in leaders here at Know More Media… who rarely seem to hold back strong… creative ideas … and yet who speak their minds with amazing results…. I have detected it again and again...from
But ... back to the
1). Show respect for President Bush and found something he does well to value before stating their strong differences to his policies about war and foreign policy…
2). Suggest a few positive ways that we can all build better relationships with others outside the US in an attempt to win back respect that comes from arrogance others see…
3). Boldly state differences and at the same time ask a question to show an openness to hear from and value others' views on these controversial topics…
Maybe that’s a lot to ask from three young women who are trying to make it in what can be a cruel world… But those of us who are older... could take tone to heart ... and practice more civility that positive tone adds.... That way we could send more clarion calls for improvements we long for ... all because we say what we believe ... only in a better way....
Bring on the differences… tone can handle them all…. Hey...we might even learn a thing or two from President Bush or from the Dixie Chicks… in spite of ideas and backgrounds that differ….
What do you think?
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