Goodbye to Facebook
Today I finally did something which I've been thinking about doing for months now. I've finally logged off Facebook and washed my hands of it. I call Facebook "The Great Experiment Gone Terribly Wrong." It is one of those ideas which seemed great in theory: keeping connected with friends and family you don't get to see often. What a great way to stay in touch!
Sounds nice.
But something happened on the way to heaven, as Phil Collins would say.
At some point Facebook got ugly. It got gross. It happened about four years ago, toward the dawn of the presidential election of 2016. A line was drawn in the sand. It became the MAGA cult (by definition, that's what it is) on the attack and on the defense, against the rest of the world. Democrat versus Republican. It quickly dissolved into a perceived Good versus Evil. So-called Patriots versus Snowflakes. And there it has remained.
Civilized discourse was severed like a head in a guillotine. Friends started fighting with friends. Family started arguing with family. I learned quickly that I was not entitled to an opinion. And I don't take kindly to being called an idiot. Ever.
As a result, I've lost some friends along the way. It saddens me, but life goes on. I guess they weren't really friends to begin with. I am very slow to anger. But once I reach the boiling point, it is over. The door is shut and locked forever. I don't have a "forgiveness" button. That's probably not healthy, but I do a lot of things that aren't healthy.
The biggest disappointment with the whole failed Facebook affair was seeing the true colors of many people I thought I knew. I was (and am) astounded how people are incapable of seeing the big picture. Sure, you are absolutely entitled to an opinion, but understand and acknowledge there is another side of an argument which is just as legitimate. You don't have to agree with it, but you can't discount its validity. After all, you might be wrong. Imagine that!
That's the problem: many people can't fathom being wrong, even when presented with cold, hard facts based on science. This kind of willful ignorance is unimaginable (one of the hallmarks of a cult is willful ignorance; another is the leader is never wrong). Tunnel vision with blinders up leads to extremism. And extremism is very dangerous.
In fact, I think we are seeing the beginnings of the downfall of the United States. There is a split in this country right now which seems irreconcilable. There's the conspiracy theorists, the QAnon nut jobs, a morally bankrupt president who specializes in gaslighting -- all of it is contributing to the death rattle of a nation.
Again, you can say I'm wrong, you can say I'm a snowflake liberal (in reality, I lean more right than left), you can say I'm "un-American," but I know corruption when I see it and there is a metastatic cancer in Washington right now. You can say there's always been a cancer in Washington, and you're not wrong; but there's little doubt that cancer has never been more aggressive than it is now.
So here is the place I get to air my thoughts without being eviscerated. I don't "advertise" my blog anymore. I used to think it was fun to write for entertainment, but I'm beyond that point in life. I know not many will read this and that's okay with me. I just enjoy writing.
