“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”
This quote is usually attributed to Albert Einstein talking about the horror of World War II, particularly the atomic bomb. Following social media or reading the comment section of any newspaper or show, I believe he could just as well be talking about the current age of the computer and the 24/7 news cycle.
Read any article or post and you will find in the comments people who join in not to disagree, ask questions and share thoughts, but to put out bumper sticker slogans and call other people or their beliefs names using whatever their favorite term is. Terms like socialist, communist, fascist, Nazi, woke, DEI, etc., usually not even knowing the definition of the words they use. Or you see made up words like feminazi and libtard.
Commenters also use broad generalizations like liberals are violent or conservatives are racist, again not even using any kind of standard definition of liberal or conservative. There are dozens of beliefs along the political spectrum, yet people use liberal or conservative as if those are the ones that everyone fits into.
I had truly hoped that once this past election was finished people would talk to each other. Crazy idea. It has only gotten worse. I will read an article online and then the comments. I often wonder if the commenters read the same article I did, or if they read it at all. Did a word in the headline or a sentence in the article trigger them?
It wasn’t all that long ago that computers were not available for most people. The news would come out once a day as a newspaper, maybe three times a day on TV, or every hour on the radio. Opinions about the news were in editorial pages, or in short segments on a broadcast. The facts were laid out and people pretty much had the time to process that and form their own opinions.
Our everyday lives took precedence. People who wanted to disagree with something were limited to calling in or letters to the editor. The all-news channels came along and eventually turned into mostly opinion shows. Now anyone can go online, often with a hidden identity and say whatever they like, without fear of consequences.
And that is the key point. Freedom of speech means that the government cannot punish you for saying what you think. That is one of the foundations of the democratic process.
It does not mean you can say whatever you like and be free of consequences from private businesses and people. It is so easy to hide behind a keyboard and insult or demean others. People say things they would never say in person. Add the coarseness of our political discourse these days, from politicians and talking heads, which gives a sense of permission to say whatever hateful thing comes to mind and it is no wonder that anger and hatred show up.
I have my beliefs. I get angry. I will debate people on a subject I feel strongly about. I do not throw around terms loosely. I ask everyone to think before commenting. Is that word accurate? Is this even worth commenting on? Am I trying to understand? If I strongly feel about something, why?
Do some real research. We cannot continue this way. The divisions that continue to widen only weaken us as a country, a fact that enemies will exploit. Talk to each other, not at each other.
Scott Perez is a former working cowboy, guide and occasional actor. He earned a master’s degree in natural resource management from Cornell University and lives in the Animas River Valley.
