Opine

Before the world-wide-web-thingy, as some of us old geezers are wont to call it, there was the world. And it was real; not "reality" real, but really real. And people had opinions, which they mostly shared with family, friends, and co-workers. And they were considerate about how they shared them because they were sharing them with people with whom they also shared these things called connections and relationships. And when they shared their ideas and opinions, even if the concepts were a little "out there", the responses they received were respectful, even if disagreeable.

Back then, it was said that opinions were like elbows; most people had a couple, and they served reasonably helpful purposes in the social realm. If people wanted to share their opinion on a wider plane, they had to find a typewriter, compose and peck-out a manuscript, put it in an envelope, mail it to a newspaper or magazine, and hope it was worthy of an assistant editor's attention, so that there was an outside chance that it might show up in print somewhere, marketed to a limited audience for a limited time.

Today, a significant portion of people residing in the developed world can pick up their phone and hack out an opinion or response, no matter how puerile or rude it may be, and put it in front of millions of strangers with a few taps of a touchscreen.

We seem to have convinced ourselves that, by virtue of the fact that we have access to nearly-unlimited news and social forums that reach millions of people we'll never meet face to face, we are suddenly experts who must use all manner of vitriol and belittling to straighten out a world gone mad (i.e. one that disagrees with our own provincial wisdom). The next time you feel a blistering post or response about to launch from your keyboard or touchscreen, why don't you go old-school for a moment? Step back and ask yourself, "Would I talk to my grandmother this way? Would I want someone else to talk to her this way?"

You get the idea. Try to think relationally, before you launch your sortie. If we don't find ways to keep ourselves in this together, we will soon find ourselves out of it, apart.

Carry on, not with histrionics, but with respect.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins