The Muse: July 2019

Something unsettling has invaded our society. It's not another species of flesh-eating bacteria, and it's not more mountains of unrecyclable plastic (although we've got plenty of both).

It's the loss of critical thinking. It has been bulldozed by distortion so brazen and profound that even boiling frogs would be shell-shocked.

Ever read threads on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media? The comments at the end of an article? The topic doesn't matter. It could be the latest hot-button issue between Democrats and Republicans. Could be yet another study on why meat is or isn't good for you. Or a new product launch by a celebrity. Inevitably, you'll see the same categories of comments: those for, those against, and the tit-for-tat arguments between commenters that too often devolve into name-calling and personal attacks.

You can see it everywhere. Agendas, whether personal, corporate, or political, are infusing our discourse with distorted or outright false statements, blare emotionally charged headlines, and derail attention and resources away from, or to undermine, the serious issues we face as a civilization. Many in our political class have been doing it for a good long time, so they've honed it to an art. But the practice is now normalized throughout society. I'll try to summarize my personal take on it in a little nutshell.

First, we live in a system that prizes winning, power, and greed over collaboration, empathy, and equality. (Probably that alone is enough said.) Second, we live in a country of incredible diversity, in terms of ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation, education, economic wealth, and other factors (diversity in certain things is good, not so good in others. In any scenario it means we need to listen to each more). Third, because the English language is all but ubiquitous around the world, many more people can participate in the same conversation than ever before (generally a good thing, but see points 1 and 2). Fourth-fifth-sixth, our elementary educational system, together with our stellar record on healthcare *cough*, and our overconsumption of fatuous media content, make for a positively unhealthy civic environment.

Seventh, there's social media and the Internet. We no longer have to go to a dinner party, town hall, or conference to make our voices heard. We just log in. Much easier to type out a few strings in response to someone we've never met, or taken the time to know a little. No matter we might have misunderstood their comments or point, or that they might misunderstand ours. Real conversation isn't the point anymore. The point is making your point, others' views be damned.

The pendulum has a tendency to swing from one extreme to the other. The more we push it to one extreme, the more force it's going to gather to swing to the other. Unless we figure out how to slow it down and breathe in that golden middle path. One conversation at a time.

~ Birgitte