What does "taking a person's words out of context" mean and why is that a problem? Use examples to amplify your explanation.

Words taken out of context can be misleading. Consider, for example, "I smoked 50 years . . . today I can run a marathon." We might interpret this to be a reasonably unambiguous statement suggesting that smoking is not always physically detrimental. The only clue that there may be more to the story is the three-dot ellipsis. What were the words that the author omitted? The out of context quotation was sliced from this, "I smoked 50 years ago, when I was in high school. But only a few cigarettes just to see what it was like. It was cross-country season, and my coach told me that I was one of the best in the state. He said that if I started smoking, I could kiss the state championship good-bye. So, I quit smoking before I ever really got started and stayed away from cancer sticks ever since. Because I quit smoking and because I've worked out several days a week all of my life, today I can run a marathon. That and go to the funerals of my classmates who did smoke." Seeing the author's words in context, our interpretation becomes the opposite of what it was at first. Now we know that the author is advising people not to smoke, instead of saying that it might not be a problem. Putting an author's words in context not only permits us to make an accurate interpretation, it helps us not be misled by unscrupulous individuals. Intellectual integrity and a strong habit of truth-seeking are needed when we summarize and de-contextualize the words and ideas of others. Accuracy is important, but so is a truthful preservation of the author's original intent. Unfortunately these days the disturbing practice of taking an opponent's words out of context in a political message, talk show, or public debate has been raised to an art form. Oh yes, the quote was technically accurate. But, still it was intentionally untruthful. Misleading by taking words out of context is only a step short of its cousin, the abysmal practice of intentionally misconstruing an opponent's remarks to confuse other people about what the opponent meant.