Dear Friends,
When I was a kid I remember that the Lincolns [the automobile] of the late '50s had "canted" quad headlights. In that case, canted means slanting with respect to a particular line. In going over certain points in my fave dictionary [A DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN USAGE, Bergan Evans and Cornelia Evans, 1957, p. 115], I noticed the word "cant" in a new setting: "constructive criticism. [...] has become one of the cant phrases of the day." In this sense, new to me, cant can be defined as "the phraseology peculiar to a religious class or sect." and "the insincere use of pious phraseology." - WEBSTER'S NEW COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY, 1977, p. 163.
Following the Evans' opening comments on constructive criticism, we read:
"It is true that under the guise of criticism mockery and hatred often vent their spite, and what professes to be a fair and EVEN HELPFUL analysis of a situation or policy becomes a malignant attack. But the proper answer to that is to expose the malignance and so point out that it is not criticism at all. Most whining for constructive rather than destructive criticism is a DEMAND FOR UNQUALIFIED PRAISE, AN INSISTENCE THAT NO OPINION IS TO BE EXPRESSED OR COURSE PROPOSED OTHER THAN THE ONE SUPPORTED BY THE SPEAKER...." [CC: emphasis]
In a recent thread regarding the 2007 YEARBOOK, we read and commented on the words of the Governing Body: they truly love the sheep and are interested in the welfare of the flock, but in any of their protestations of love, there is the explicit understanding that what they tell JWs is for their own good and.... [see the emphasized text above]
So then - do you have any "constructive criticism" to offer? The tables are turned and the GB could well benefit by listening to and applying our gentle suggestions.
Compound-Complex