Division

It starts innocently. A wrong assumption about someone or something. A rumor or whispered comment. A "friendly" conversation and warning. A social media post referencing some obscure "expert" in the subject with no facts to back up the claims. Then the escalating war of words among friends and colleagues. Then we get a national debate that only divides.

I have stayed on the sidelines as so many narratives are debated on Facebook and other social media platforms. I have marveled at how some of the smartest people I know have reposted "information" that is easily debunked with well-respected and accepted facts. I have wondered aloud how these ideas take root and fester and grow into the hate and divisiveness that is so prevelant in our society. I have privately thought about how I would change people's minds toward a more logical thought pattern....

But I stayed silent.

It is not a time to stay silent in our America. The divided way of approaching any subject must stop. We all need to think of how we can come to agreement rather than destroying an opposing viewpoint and the person attached to it. We need to get back to "America First" thinking. We need to love our neighbor instead of hating him/her. We need to practice tolerance.

I read articles and news stories every day that only work to divide. The news departments in TV and newspapers used to present a balanced view of any story. They were in business to present both sides of any story or controversy. Their job was to be fair and complete. Our job was to take that information and form our own opinion about an outcome. We didn't need to be told what to think or how to feel. We were smart enough to figure it out on our own....

But not anymore apparently.

We have grown to accept the talking heads' analysis of anything. We don't need to use our brains anymore cause we're told what to think. We have become "brain lazy". It's like we have forgotten how to exercise our brains and have instead decided to feed them the pablum of mush fed to us by media manipulators. We have become programmed robots instead of critical thinkers.

But, it's not too late. We still have working brains. We are still thinking beings. We can still make decisions on what we consider to be worthy subjects and worthy thoughts. We can have civil discourse on important subjects rather than quibble about what makes a good Tik Tok video. We can still discuss subjects like Critical Race Theory or transgender transformation or civil disobedience without getting into name calling or actual violence. We don't have to agree with everyone or everything, but we also don't need to disagree in a disagreeable way.

Civil discourse is a novel idea....

I know we can do this. I have confidence in us.

These are my thoughts. Let me know yours.....