My efforts on social media tend toward the mundane: feline antics, ways in which I”ve tormented the teenager — that sort of thing. Yet I scroll through everything from political rants to clever quips on matters of substance.
Well, over the weekend one of those ”I knew it!” posts appeared in my Facebook news feed. It purported to show an ignorant tweet from Rupert Murdoch, blasting critics of the new Hollywood epic on Moses and the Exodus.
I”ll assume everyone recognizes the name. No — not Moses, the other guy.
In the post, Murdoch appears unable to comprehend why anyone would complain about all those white people wandering around Old Testament Egypt. Folks from that part of the world, he wrote, are as Caucasian as Roger Ailes, or something to that effect.
Yeah, many will assume Murdoch capable of contributing such thoughts to the global stream of random blurts that make up social media. But could I truly turn and relay a “did you hear what Murdoch said?” to the next person in line. Not being a friend or follower of the man I cannot prove he actually posted such a thing without a little research. And I”m not inclined to dig into the matter when I just noticed an old Bugs Bunny cartoon on TV.
All too often, however, people will pass on tidbits without challenge. If it fits their view of the world, they assume even the most ludicrous rumor to be fact.
Yeah, it is great fodder for late night comedians when an ill-informed politician lectures on, say, the armies deployed by ancient Greek city-states, the beliefs of this nation”s Founding Fathers or the root cause of the Civil War. Having studied such topics with great intent for many years, their interpretation of the past makes me both cringe and burst into incredulous laughter at the same time.
Instead of journalism, you see, I spent a decade in the graduate study of military history, with secondary research into American history and the ancient world — which pretty much ensures I”m an ill-suited guest at just about any light social situation.
You”d be surprised how few people at cocktail parties are interested in a detailed account of the battle of Antietam.
What interests me about loaded material, whether on Facebook or on broadcast talk shows, is the absolute sense of right that develops along the way. And perhaps this has always been the case — an unfortunate aspect of human nature.
In any community there are those who harrumph when new ideas take hold, who wag fingers at any who raise a positive voice or introduce little improvements. This negativity takes many forms. One person gripes at any project that requires public funding. Another groans at the thought of growth and the traffic it might bring. A third just stamps at anything that affects staid personal ways in the slightest.
Oh, sometimes this response is justified. I mean, kids today listen to the worst music, right? Yet too often it stems from that same entrenched mentality on display in social media and in the consumption of news. A source continuously feeds erroneous information until it become “fact” — and anyone attempting to reverse this tide with a breakwater of reality is assumed to hold a nefarious agenda. Anger swells, in the end. Even worse, purposeful conversation is shut down.
Thoughtful dissent is always a good thing, to be certain. Automatic naysaying or a staunch defiance based upon misinformation, on the other hand
While progressive sorts put forward ideas to improve the local economy, to provide a foundation for young people, to generate tourism or little boosts to the general welfare, there are those who fight back loudly against community advancement.
Why? I won”t pretend to know. Yet it hardly helps matters if the people hoping for improvement dismiss this group.
Essentially small towns with empty store fronts to farm out are fighting the same sort of entrenched attitude as those on a national level trying to kickstart Congress and the White House. Now that I think more about it, however, those lazy folks so easily distracted by cute cat antics don”t help much either.
