Ben Stein’s Confessions - Email Has No Eraser or Delete Key
I just received an email from a friend that contained a transcript of a monologue Ben Stein delivered on CBS. Reading the message, I naively assumed it had been delivered over the weekend. Towards the end of the message, I started reading things that only a conservative Christian would say, and this confused me. When did Ben Stein convert?
It turns out that the kind folks at Snopes.com have done some research on this little round-robin email message, and discovered that the message began when a rough transcript of the monologue delivered on CBS December 18, 2005 was circulated via email. Sometime in 2006, someone added commentary to the end of the message that then was passed on as Mr. Stein’s own words.
This is a great example of urban legend, and some very valuable thoughts from Ben Stein on religion in America for this time of year. Read the story here.
So what’s the point of this anecdote? It’s a simple reminder that what we write in an email can live on … and on. It can come back to haunt us, be forwarded, twisted, and propogated … all by people who have no idea of the truth or error of the message they send. Perhaps that should make all of us think twice before we send an email message or hit the forward button.
November 3rd, 2006
