Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Politics and Social Meda

[The following is admittedly rambling in nature, being a very "rough draft", but hopefully it is still able to sufficiently explain my views on this issue.]

One thing my friends will notice is that I very rarely comment on posts of a political nature on Facebook, and almost never make such types of posts. There are two reasons for this. 

The first is quite simple. It is for the same reason I usually do not make comments or posts in general concerning anything of a controversial nature. I personally find Facebook (other than perhaps through private messaging) to be a very inconvenient format for carrying on serious discussions of any kind. I realize others may not have such difficulties, but I do. That being the case, if I do wish to publicly air my thoughts on something that could generate some controversy, I find blogs to be much more convenient.

But quite apart from difficulties arising from the Facebook format, there is an even more important reason why I generally refrain from political discussions in particular, even on blogs. In the abstract, I suppose it would be best to state my political views, such as they are, so as to contribute to the general civic discussion. The main difficulty with that, however, is that these days there is no "civic discussion" in which to contribute; there are only mutual sneers. Certainly not on Facebook will you find any "discussion". (That is a slight exaggeration; there are always exceptions. But I am referring to the general rule.)

Politics has always, of course, been something that can greatly engage someone's emotions, and so has often been (along with religion) something that people tend (rightly or wrongly) not to discuss when trying to keep a calm atmosphere. Such volatile debates which resulted in the past did not occur because people necessarily hated their neighbors (whatever they might have thought of their politics), but simply because in the heat of the moment, they could cross the line and say something they would regret later.  That was bad enough. 

Unfortunately, these days it goes far beyond that. It appears that far too many people *do* hate their neighbors if they have embraced what they consider "political heresy". Our polarization has become such that far too many people automatically assume ill will of anybody who adopts a political postion different from theirs. It isn't simply that they think their opponents mistaken, or even outright dupes (they are not broadminded enough to consider that possibility.) Rather, they assume their opponents to be *evil*. In a parody of the quote often attributed to Mark Twain, their approach seems to be "Never assume stupidity (much less an honest mistake) whatever can be sufficiently explained by malice." Scratch that; they simply always assume malice, period, even when it obviously fails as an explanation. 

As a result, far too often we do not see any civil "discussion" at all. After all, why try to convince someone with the tool of reason when you already know them to be, not simply mistaken, but outright "evil" or a "bigot" or what have you, right? Much better to simply sneer at them, insult them, post memes that somehow "prove" your moral superiority or your "wokeness" or what have you. Anything other than treat them as a human being.  As has often been observed, the very anonymity of the internet, combined with not speaking with a person face to face, helps increase such tendencies of dehumanizing your opponent. And people from all positions on the political spectrum do it.

(Indeed, I do not mean to exempt myself from such a generalization, either. I have a bad temper as it is, and my first instincts are such that far too often I mentally find myself doing the same thing at first. Now I am usually able to restrain myself from an exterior expression of such thoughts, and- I hope, anyway- have a more charitable approach once I have calmed down as well. But I'm still affected both by original sin as well as the general culture, all the same.) 

The question is, why is this the case? Why has politics become so extreme in these days? Not on this issue or that issue (as before), but politics in general, resulting in such a polarized society? I think the suggestion I have seen others make is the right answer. People are treating politics as a religion. Except this is a religion that, while it may embrace your entire life, is one that makes no moral demands. It doesn't require justice, much less charity. (Other religions often do, and so are consequently able to a certain extent, though even then not entirely, help cool down passions. But this "religion" actively repudiates such an approach.) 

And when you see such an all-embracing approach to life, but one severed from charity, you see (quite literally) Hell on earth. For the powers of Hell find a very fertile field in which to reap their poisonous fruit. And they don't do so simply with those people "over there"; they do it even with "good people", people who in other areas of life are the best people you can know. The powers of Hell can (if you give them the chance) do it with you, just as I know they can (and have in the past done it) with me. For original sin affects all of us. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously observed:

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.
That being the case, I do not wish to contribute to such a poisonous field, and hence why I do not post my thoughts for all to see. Not simply because of others, but because of my own failures. (There are individuals with whom one can engage in rational debates at times, devoid of the excess of passion, as I hope I myself am, at least in my better moments. But it is only as individuals that you can do so. Hence, why such discussions are best carried out one on one, or at least in very small group settings.) 

Perhaps in other times, things would be different. Politics has always been polarizing, of course, and I don't mean to suggest otherwise. But the level of polarization we see today is something else. Only rarely have we seen such levels, such that talk of "civil war" could seem to be anything more than simply hyperbole. 

While there may be situations (indeed, there *are* situations) in which it is imperative to discuss political issues, depsite the dangers listed above, I do not think the context of social media is the best format, generally speaking. Rather, I think it does far more harm than good in that context.

Others may disagree, of course. There are no doubt others who are able to overcome those obstacles, and as such can fruitfully engage in political discussions on social media. Indeed, I know some of my friends are able to do so. But such people seem to be very much the exceptions. In any case, I am mainly explaining what I view as the general situation, and so why I personally refrain from such types of discussions in that context (at least usually). 

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