Gossip (it was a speech)

I'm not sure if I put it into the right subject, and I hope it helps a little with whatever you may need to do...

Gossip is a nasty and unnecessary thing that was probably started by the first people on earth. Although the term 'gossip' is not in the bible, the concept is. It is something most people do almost every day of their lives. Gossiping can leave people feeling hurt and can break people down mentally. It may also destroy friendships, marriages, business and lead to murder or suiciding.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines gossip as "conversation or reports about other people's private lives which might be unkind, disapproving or not true". However, speaking the truth (no matter how harsh) is not classified as gossiping. Most people here are guilty of gossiping. In fact, I doubt that there is anyone who is completely innocent of it. However, just because we do it, doesn't mean that we are bad people. Many feel very regretful after they have gossiped because they may know what it feels like to be gossiped about or know that another will be hurt. For the victim, the pain may be torturous. A loved one may have said something that is untrue about them. Doing something that makes us feel bad about ourselves lowers our self-confidence, self-respect and self-love. People with high self esteem tend not to gossip much.

Gossiping is usually something that is done without the intention of good will. This means that you could feel jealousy, hatred, the want to feel more superior to another or the desire to belong while gossiping. It is hardly ever from respect, care, understanding, etc. Don Miguel Ruiz once said, "Using the analogy of the human mind as a computer, gossip can be compared to a computer virus. A computer virus is a piece of computer language written in the same language all the other codes are written in, but with a harmful intent."

However, not gossiping is a hard thing to do. It takes bravery and effort.

You need bravery to stand up for yourself. When you are part of a group which likes to gossip or does it without much awareness, it is easier to go along with it rather than saying that it is bad as it tends to make you feel left out of the group.

Effort is needed because gossip plays such a big part in our society nowadays. Everywhere you look, people are engaged in conversations and are likely to be gossiping. There is also a constant source of gossip in the media. When we listen to the radio, all we hear is about celebrities' lives and what's going on with them. You need to put in effort not to be a part of it. The temptation is something that is difficult to resist.

Gossip may be a form of entertainment and is usually said from another's perspective. Each time a story is told, the end of the story changes. For example, during the holiday break, a short exercise was done. The first person created a short story and passed it on to the second person. The second person then told the story to the third person and so on until it reached the tenth and last person. The last person to hear the story said it aloud to the group and the story was completely different from what it started off as. You may now be asking yourself why. The answer to that is the fact that many people have different religions, cultures, values, experiences, etc. Because we are all unique, the stories were seen differently in our minds, causing us to alter it a little each time.

Gossiping is like taking drugs and smoking; it's an addiction. Giving up is hard, but afterwards, it makes both you and the people around you feel better. You may get a boost in self-respect, self-confidence and self-love. In the near future, we should ask ourselves these three questions before talking about others: Is what I'm about to say coming from love or good intention? Will what I say hurt others? Is what I'm about to say the total and utter truth?