Since day one I have looked at Face Book as friend and enemy......I see that it can be an extraordinary social media tool.......I use it to announce my yoga classes, to let friends and fans know when/where we are playing,
to send birthday wishes, and short notes, and share photos and information.
Since day one, I have seen FB show it's dark side too......the heated taunts between fans, the rantings
of political and religious beliefs, the mean spirited conversations when people forget that what they post goes public.......I spend very little time on FB. I find myself getting sad and depressed, seeing the comments that are left, realizing that more and more of us are letting FB create an even greater divide between us, well maybe FB is just showing the divide.
Ken Burns did a great show on PBS about Prohibition a few weeks ago......I read an interview with him before the show was aired and he said something so profound that it rattled the very foundations of my soul.
He talked about how during Prohibition, politicians manipulated the masses by creating an atmosphere of
"no doubt".......that people were either dead set against alcohol or totally for it, there was "no doubt" no in between.......that the same thing was done during the civil war and in various other times in history when darkness overcame civilization.......much the way it is happening now.
We seem to all be so sure, so positive of our thoughts and beliefs, that there is no room for doubt. When there is no doubt, there are no open honest discussions, no questions, no acknowledgement that maybe you might be wrong.........you just might be wrong. Paul Thorn has written a killer song by that same title.....You
Might Be Wrong. Where did this absurd arrogance come from? This thinking that our way, our path, our thoughts, our beliefs, were the only ones. If it wasn't so sad and scary, it would be comical.
When did we get here, how did we get here........nobody thinks they're wrong.....everyone thinks their way is the only way, the only path.........honestly, think about how ridiculous that sounds. We are not all right, we are all not all wrong and we have to get to back to the center, to the middle somehow.......to save our selves,
to save humanity, to save civility.
Daily now I try to practice doubt......if I find myself saying something, or reading something, I do my best to remind myself, to question, to look at my self in the mirror and doubt......and to say at least once a day......
You might be wrong. It has been freeing, and humbling........you might be wrong........I might be wrong.
Monday, October 24, 2011
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This is excellent. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteWell said and a bit ironic that I deactivated my Facebook account today.
ReplyDeleteWell said. I have had a few of my old cherished beliefs shattered along the way.
ReplyDeleteFacebook:Never had it never will.My friends are nearby,and I see them regularly.I look at some accounts and wonder what could be interesting about someone telling you:I woke up and had coffee:)
ReplyDeleteWell that is not too bad actually but other day there was this programme about one facebook account where you can post gossip.Mostly young people with appalling msg.i.e 'girl is a slut if you need top up her cell phone nr is': I was disgusted.Facebook surely should close accounts like that.People that hide behind the monitor and behave like that are disgusting too.I bet you in real life they wouldn't dare to say it in your face.And if they would than they need profesional help
Grey areas are great! I always stay there whenever I can! Unfortunately I always meet people who live in the black and white. I always think how it must be so tiring for them to think they are always right! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWise words, Jilda, thank you! Take care
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I so often find myself a fence sitter. I think we need to validate someone's right to an opinion. Not necessarily validate the opinion...but everyone has a right to an opinion. I'm usually open to having mine examined and perhaps changed...
ReplyDeleteThoughtful posting tonight...thank you~
To add fuel to the fire Jilda...we live in a time of sound and information bytes. Peoples' opinions are so often derived from mis-information.
ReplyDeleteLiving in a gray area is so much kinder. Keeping an open mind, and more importantly, an open heart is better for all of us.
As for F/B...it's just a tool...no more, no less valuable than a shovel to dig in the garden with the same power to be misused.
Nice post. I personally have no reason for facebook. I have tried it a couple times because my family and friends are on facebook. But that is not how I want to spend my time. To each his own. And I make mistakes and am wrong over and over. I so agree with you how it seems like we live in a society of "my way is the only way". I give everyone else their right to their own way, and I want that same right.
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