Words

I think it's obvious that the adage that "words can never hurt" is completely incorrect.

But perhaps less obvious or at least less focused on is the timing. Of course, content and tone are important, but there are also times when certain comments are inappropriate when they would be completely reasonable other times.

This past week gave us some great examples.

There was of course Kanye's rant, which, while no doubt rude and uncalled for, probably wasn't too off base as Beyonce's video did win Video of the Year. Now, if he had waited until after the show maybe like a day or week later and said that he was happy for Taylor Swift but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time, would there be any controversy? I don't think so. Instead, he stole Swift's limelight and is now being bombarded in the media and by society in general.

Then there was Senator Joe Wilson yelling "You lie!" at President Obama during a speech. This was incredibly disrespectful regardless of who was telling the truth. Of course his word choice wasn't the best either, but even the most well-crafted and respectfully worded statement would have been hugely inappropriate in the middle of Obama's speech.

And then we have Obama calling Kanye a "jack***" while being recorded. We expect the president to use cleaner words, not to use language we might consider beneath him. But this was in preparation to go out and address the media. He was pretty much just kicking it with some reporters. Let him be his own man.

Freedom of speech can be one of the most controversial and straight up confusing subjects. What kind of speech is appropriate? And when and where? Let it be a reminder to always choose your words carefully.