Since some elected officials can not control themselves on televised committee fiascos, and since the chair won't control them, we need to take all congressional committee meetings of the air. Those who understand these are but times for the Senators and congress people to show case how hard they fight. Yesterday with the Director of the FBI being treated very badly by the Senate Dems, most of the yelling couldn't even be understood. The intelligent and informed turn it off, the ignorant and wacko partisans eat it up and get motived to do almost anything. If they can't set the example of what a civil society is, we don 't need to see their lack of leadership skills.
And further, some argue that humans are genetically programmed to be tribal from deep in the Paleolithic or pre-human times. Christian theology argues against this.
It takes a lot of effort to stay out of bubbles and even then you might just be deceiving yourself. This can happen in meatspace too. The witch hunts of early modern times and the Cultural Revolution happened without the help of social media. The Great Sort is a big bubble factor in personal interaction though it happens for perfectly logical reasons.
I don’t think we have the ability to stay “out of the library “ by our own means. It is not surprising at all that the rise of violence and hate follows the rise of secularism that is not grounded in a spiritual higher being , God. It is no coincidence that as many young people groping their way around their life are turning back to religion and God to ground themselves to deal with this chaos.
Thank you for this essay of common sense and civil discourse. In my humble opinion, we are more inclined towards tribalism and group think than at any time in my three score and ten lifetime. I put more responsibility for this on the political leaders and apparatus which have used the world of social, or more appropriately, un-social media, to juice the outrage, raise money, reward extreme views and candidates on both ends of the political spectrum and make it very difficult for candidates of moderate viewpoints to advance through a political primary. Our constitution was designed to work with a polity and governance that operated within the forty yard lines. Our "leaders " throw this to the winds for personal fame and gain. It is little wonder that the independent or non-party voter constitues a plurality of the electorate. I wonder how long this misalignment can endure, and more importantly, how much additional damage from this our country can endure?
Thank you again for offering concise and insightful wisdom to your readers.
So true and great work! As I said in my very first post to Substack, Trump is not acting like a king but like a president with both houses of congress and the courts on his side. That is actually how democracy works, and if progressives don't like it, they need to win back voters and win some elections again. The impending congressional shutdown is just a leftwing Stop the Steal, its own threat to democracy.
"The Library became the home for the city’s loneliest and most isolated people seeking to make some connections without any genuine human contact or real empathy." Cults like Heaven's Gate, the Moonies, the Branch Davidians, and the ghastly People's Temple are where the loneliest and most weak-minded people go to get some personal connections. We will always have them because every society in all ages has had some nut cases.
Agree! I am not on Social Media (she types as she writes a parasocial missive to a blog author), and I'm a big advocate of in-person connection. One habit changer: if you are in discussion with someone, don't laugh at their "lib" or "MAGA" jokes. Every time you would use one of those labels derisively, instead insert "My Fellow American". As in, "my fellow American thinks that illegal immigration needs to be better controlled". And - for the love of God - if you have a platform, use it to engage with ideological opposites and treat them with respect. Lastly, speaking of libraries, add "The Vanishing American Adult" by Ben Sasse to your queue. Thank you!
Since some elected officials can not control themselves on televised committee fiascos, and since the chair won't control them, we need to take all congressional committee meetings of the air. Those who understand these are but times for the Senators and congress people to show case how hard they fight. Yesterday with the Director of the FBI being treated very badly by the Senate Dems, most of the yelling couldn't even be understood. The intelligent and informed turn it off, the ignorant and wacko partisans eat it up and get motived to do almost anything. If they can't set the example of what a civil society is, we don 't need to see their lack of leadership skills.
And further, some argue that humans are genetically programmed to be tribal from deep in the Paleolithic or pre-human times. Christian theology argues against this.
It takes a lot of effort to stay out of bubbles and even then you might just be deceiving yourself. This can happen in meatspace too. The witch hunts of early modern times and the Cultural Revolution happened without the help of social media. The Great Sort is a big bubble factor in personal interaction though it happens for perfectly logical reasons.
I don’t think we have the ability to stay “out of the library “ by our own means. It is not surprising at all that the rise of violence and hate follows the rise of secularism that is not grounded in a spiritual higher being , God. It is no coincidence that as many young people groping their way around their life are turning back to religion and God to ground themselves to deal with this chaos.
Excellent. If only this column were reprinted in a major MSM outlet so fen more media might pick it up.
Mr. Halpin,
Thank you for this essay of common sense and civil discourse. In my humble opinion, we are more inclined towards tribalism and group think than at any time in my three score and ten lifetime. I put more responsibility for this on the political leaders and apparatus which have used the world of social, or more appropriately, un-social media, to juice the outrage, raise money, reward extreme views and candidates on both ends of the political spectrum and make it very difficult for candidates of moderate viewpoints to advance through a political primary. Our constitution was designed to work with a polity and governance that operated within the forty yard lines. Our "leaders " throw this to the winds for personal fame and gain. It is little wonder that the independent or non-party voter constitues a plurality of the electorate. I wonder how long this misalignment can endure, and more importantly, how much additional damage from this our country can endure?
Thank you again for offering concise and insightful wisdom to your readers.
Well, stay out of THAT library, but not libraries in general. September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/card
Absolutely!
So true and great work! As I said in my very first post to Substack, Trump is not acting like a king but like a president with both houses of congress and the courts on his side. That is actually how democracy works, and if progressives don't like it, they need to win back voters and win some elections again. The impending congressional shutdown is just a leftwing Stop the Steal, its own threat to democracy.
"The Library became the home for the city’s loneliest and most isolated people seeking to make some connections without any genuine human contact or real empathy." Cults like Heaven's Gate, the Moonies, the Branch Davidians, and the ghastly People's Temple are where the loneliest and most weak-minded people go to get some personal connections. We will always have them because every society in all ages has had some nut cases.
Agree! I am not on Social Media (she types as she writes a parasocial missive to a blog author), and I'm a big advocate of in-person connection. One habit changer: if you are in discussion with someone, don't laugh at their "lib" or "MAGA" jokes. Every time you would use one of those labels derisively, instead insert "My Fellow American". As in, "my fellow American thinks that illegal immigration needs to be better controlled". And - for the love of God - if you have a platform, use it to engage with ideological opposites and treat them with respect. Lastly, speaking of libraries, add "The Vanishing American Adult" by Ben Sasse to your queue. Thank you!