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to say exactly what you mean to say. ~Fastball |
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But with rights come responsibilities. |
 You are eventually joined in your ramblings over the fields by a pretty yellow pony whose
face is dotted with cheerful freckles. Her hair is pink with a green streak in her mane, and her symbol looks rather like
an olive branch. She falls into step beside you, matching your stride. She does not speak a single word,
and yet she seems to bring with her a feeling of great peace and harmony. Finally, you stop short and turn to face her.
Smiling at you, she does the same. "Hello," she says with a slight bow of her head. "I am known as Tact, and you have
found the home of my campaign."
This calm, peaceful little pony is the leader of a campaign? "Yes," she nods. "I certainly am. If you've spent some time in CloverFlower Fields, you've probably noticed that it is a very peaceful place most of the time. Lady Minty works hard to make sure that everyone gets along. Most ponies are by nature very peaceful creatures, and Minty gets upset when things get out of hand and tempers flare up. She keeps the peace around here, and we all get along quite well. "However, this is not always the case in the rest of Dream Valley and all of Ponyland. Sometimes ponies act in ways that are irresponsible (according to Minty), and their words and actions can greatly hurt the other ponies. Minty loves a fair debate and mature disagreement, but "fair" and "mature" don't always have a place in peoples' opinions. "That's why Minty asked me to form the TACT Campaign as a part of CloverFlower Fields. She and I have been friends forever, and she felt that I would be the best pony for the job. Minty in no way wants to stop ponies from forming and expressing their opinions. She just believes that with that right should also come a moral and ethical responsibility. In other words... "Just because you can say something in a certain way, doesn't mean you have to. "For example, let's say someone wanted to express their dislike of the new MLPs (since that's the most firey issue among ponies at the moment). "They could say: I don't like the new line of MLPs. I don't think they're as well-designed or as pretty as the originals. I don't include them in my collection. "Or they could say: The new so-called MLPs are ugly anorexic little donkeys! They look like druggies and I hate 'em! I wish we could have a big bonfire an toss 'em all in! They stink and they're not worth the plastic they're manufactured from, so there! "Please understand that neither of these are my opinion, nor are they Lady Minty's! But the difference is, the first one is more tactful; it states an opinion while still respecting and caring about the opinions of those who might like the line. The second one is tactless and kind of nasty. These were both hypothetical examples, of course, but I've seen similar rants in real life. "Another example: Suppose someone wanted to disagree with the opinion expressed by another. "They could keep an open mind and try their best to understand why the pony holds the opinion, even if they don't agree. "Or they could call the other pony names. "Which do you think is the best method to use? "The basic point is that we at CloverFlower Fields feel that the most responsible way to state an opinion is through the use of tact. This is true on both sides of this particular debate, and applies whether the speaker is talking about ponies or people. Another part of the concept is -- if someone else stoops to name-calling or other tactless measures, it is equally tactless and degrading to stoop to their level and flame back.
"If you'd like more information on the campaign, here's a brochure which outlines the specifics." Tact hands you a
folded piece of mint-green paper which reads:
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T: Truth -- stating your true opinion. I'm not in any way trying to squash opinions. A: Appreciation -- keeping in mind that other people have other opinions, and appreciating and keeping an open mind toward those opinions even when you strongly disagree. C: Care -- caring enough about others to value their feelings over your emotions about a toy. T: Tact -- the actual stating of your opinion using tact. Tact is defined as "a keen sense of what to do or say (or in this case, how to say it!) in order to maintain good relations with others." I don't think that's such an objectionable goal. Yes, we're talking about toys, but when people are as involved with a line as many collectors are about MLPs, flaming a particular portion of the line (or whatever -- just using the new MLPs as an example again) can be very hurtful. Maybe it shouldn't be, but it is.
Overall, we're just trying to promote peace and happiness in the pony community, and one way to do that is to avoid the unneccessary hurting of feelings.
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Don't agree? Then just go on your happy way and forget you ever saw this. Just like the Support Pony Acceptance Campaign, it's just CloverFlower Fields' opinion. However, if you agree and you'd like to help spread the idea of tact through the pony community, feel free to save one of the below banners to your own computer and use it on your site. Just link it back to this page. Also, if you'd like to become a member of the TACT campaign, just email Lady Minty at Minty12_MLP@yahoo.com with your pony name and website addy, and she'll pass that info on to Tact who will add you to the list. To view the current list of members, click here. |
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Tact... It's a beautiful thing. :) |