Perhaps the one mistake we have in assuming is that the media mirrors all cultural aspects of our lives. What we see on TV and read on the internet must reflect on all of our attitudes and behavior.
Cable news, social media, and talk radio have created an angry right and left divide. Pundits on all sides yelling and interrupting each other on so called news outlets. From there, people in the streets trying to outdone another by shouting and holding up signs in street theater, vying for attention. If aliens obtained our digital signals, they would never arrive here for fear of landing in a war zone judging by what they seen and heard.
Sometimes, though, you just have to go outside, leave the digital bubble, turn off the TV, and put down you smart phone to see what is really happening out there.
I did that, disheartened after seeing more news about the anger brewing in our country. So I left the house and entered the daylight and went to a café of people of varying views and race. Laughter, debate, discussion, people making friends, but no yelling and casting aspersions. Just everyday people of different backgrounds who came together by happenstance and enjoying a communal environment together. I guess when you meet people face to face, you no longer see an enemy or stereotype created by other people or prejudice, but just another person just like you trying to navigate life's problems.
A good time, new ideas, fresh perspectives, and a reminder there is a life of kindness and tolerance beyond the digital world.
Cable news, social media, and talk radio have created an angry right and left divide. Pundits on all sides yelling and interrupting each other on so called news outlets. From there, people in the streets trying to outdone another by shouting and holding up signs in street theater, vying for attention. If aliens obtained our digital signals, they would never arrive here for fear of landing in a war zone judging by what they seen and heard.
Sometimes, though, you just have to go outside, leave the digital bubble, turn off the TV, and put down you smart phone to see what is really happening out there.
I did that, disheartened after seeing more news about the anger brewing in our country. So I left the house and entered the daylight and went to a café of people of varying views and race. Laughter, debate, discussion, people making friends, but no yelling and casting aspersions. Just everyday people of different backgrounds who came together by happenstance and enjoying a communal environment together. I guess when you meet people face to face, you no longer see an enemy or stereotype created by other people or prejudice, but just another person just like you trying to navigate life's problems.
A good time, new ideas, fresh perspectives, and a reminder there is a life of kindness and tolerance beyond the digital world.
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