Big Deal!

By Chris Pelicano ( bio - articles ) | Apr 18, 2012

"Being offended" is in such vogue these days. It is either the basis for or the dominant element in most major news stories. "Offense" is a kind of fuel that keeps the fire of "righteousness" alive. And "righteousness" is crucial to news stories, it is what gives them urgency and relevance—it is what makes the story a big deal.

Free eBook:

Free eBook: Breaking Free

But, not all offenses are created equal. There are mortal offenses, venial offenses, and even phony offenses. It is important to know how to tell the difference between them. To do so, we cannot just rely on the ardor of the "offended" to show us the gravity (or even reality) of the "offense." No one is more prone to exaggeration than a person who has been "offended." And the one who screams the loudest is not necessarily the most wronged—they may just have the biggest mouth.

To ascertain the truth one must look for the truth. Some real effort must be made to find the third side to every offense—to find the substance of genuine offense beyond the relativism of personal indignation of what "he said" and what "she said." But alas, this sort of investigating and reporting falls outside the limits of sound bite journalism. In fact, sound bite journalism was invented because substance no longer really matters, and "being offended" is really just for effect anyhow. It is a garment, an article of clothing that provides the appearance of "righteousness" intended to make the story or the issue appear more important than it really is.

As long as this is the case, I hope more and more people will respond to the endless stream of people "being offended" by saying ... "Big deal!"

Christopher Pelicano is a graphics artist who has both designed and written for CatholiCulture.org. Chris has more than 30 years of experience in graphic design, illustration, and creative problem solving, including many Catholic projects. Among other things, he created the author bio sketches on this website.

Show 3 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments

• Posted by: John J Plick - Apr. 23, 2012 4:57 PM ET USA

  This IS a “big deal” when modern “judges” “listen” to the “offended” and empower them to take down crosses, modify school curriculums, alter historical monuments and even history itself. It is also bad enough when we are assaulted by the “offended” from outside the Church, but it is a truly a travesty and a horror when the “offended” are allowed to assault us within the Church as was the case in Gaithersburg, Va. and in Austria under the guise of “human rights...”

• Posted by: demark8616 - Apr. 20, 2012 12:59 PM ET USA

  I suppose this trend is, as is usual among the worldly, in contradiction to the good oldfashioned virtue of humility and is another manifestation of Pride that gets them the attention they seek. Agreed, there is always the third side to every 'offense', just wonder if it's always worth the waste of time finding it.

• Posted by: - Apr. 18, 2012 1:34 PM ET USA

  Tell that to Bill Donohue when he fails to pick his battles and acts like the color of the Empire State Building is a huge offense against Catholics.