by Tom Bradley

This is my first post of 2021 and I didn’t even have to write it. In an exchange of emails about my December 5th National Post column, a reader, Kelly Morris, explained why he preferred to email me as opposed to commenting in social media.

His sentiment is something we should all think about as we start 2021, so I’m reprinting a segment of his note (with permission).

“... in today’s social media environment, I much prefer to reach out to individuals such as yourself personally, rather than suffer a potential barrage of unsolicited criticism or support from individuals conveying a bias I have no knowledge of.

Please don’t confuse the above with any reluctance toward intelligent conversation, and the examination of different perspectives, the exercise by which all advancement starts, as I see it.

The missing components in social media are knowing who I’m speaking with (credentials, life experience), and provision of common courtesy I associate with polite conversation that forwards a view while at the same time expressing genuine interest in hearing another.

True wisdom, I think, evolves from the discovery related to arriving at an understanding of each perspective.”