I've been thinking about this a lot lately. It's everywhere. The TV, print news, social feeds and more. You can't escape it. Everyone is yelling and everyone is outraged and offended by something.
Somewhere along the way we forgot how to talk to each other.
Everyone's offended now. About everything and all the time. You can't say anything without someone jumping down your throat. Doesn't matter what side you're on. Doesn't matter if you meant well. Someone's going to find a reason to be pissed off.
And while everyone's busy being offended, nobody's actually listening.
That's the problem. At least in my opinion. For what its worth. We're not having conversations anymore. We're having shouting matches. Two sides screaming past each other and nobody trying to understand. Just waiting for their turn to be outraged.
Social media has made it worse. The algorithms reward outrage. Angry posts get engagement. Reasonable takes get ignored. So everyone cranks up the volume. Everything becomes the worst thing ever and every disagreement becomes a war.
Nuance is dead and context doesn't matter. You're either with us or against us, there is no middle ground. There is no room for complexity. Definitely, no space for "I see your point but here's another way to look at it."
I'm a 20 plus year Marine veteran. With over 30 years working in communications systems and IT. I've been around all kinds of people. Different backgrounds. Different beliefs. Different opinions. We used to be able to disagree without hating each other. We used to be able to have a beer with someone who voted differently. Now people cut off family members over politics. That's fucking insane.
The outrage machine wants us divided. Angry people stay engaged. Engaged people see more ads. More ads mean more money. We're being manipulated and most people don't even realize it.
Here's the thing. Most people aren't that far apart on most issues. We want the same basic shit. Safety. Opportunity. A decent life for our families. But we've been convinced the other side is the enemy. So we fight each other instead of the actual problems.
I don't have the answer. I just know this isn't working. We need to start listening again. Even when it's uncomfortable. Especially when it's uncomfortable.
Put down the pitchforks. Turn off the outrage. Try to understand before you react.
Or don't. And watch it all keep getting worse.
What do you think? Are we too far gone or can we figure this out?
Thanks for reading,
Joe
Notes:
-All content is mine unless otherwise annotated.
-Images are my own unless otherwise noted.
-Photos edited using MS Paint and/or iPhone SE.
-Page Dividers from The Terminal Discord.