Cheap shots

“Tune out the cheap shots people take at you. Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all.” ~Angel Chernoff

These days, I limit the amount of time I listen to the evening news. Political rhetoric is nastier than ever. I’m tempted to turn away from the cringe-worthy and risk being uninformed — even though I know better. At the end of the day, what worries me most is the fact that nasty political rhetoric seems to have a ripple effect on the folks we encounter in our daily lives.

It’s important to spot the difference between constructive criticism and “cheap shots,” as Angel Chernoff points out in today’s quote. Cheap shots, or deliberately nasty comments, are destructive to our personal, political, and professional relationships. We need to remind ourselves that they only reflect the character of the people who made them. ~CL