I've been amazed if not amused about the "outrage" and "celebration" I'm seeing on social media these days. Not that it is being expressed...but that even the things we celebrate and show ourselves indignant against have become infected by the divisiveness of our times.
Example: The unemployment/jobs numbers come out today, and the news is good...right? Well...it depends on what "side" you are on. If you are on one side you are saying, "Yea! This just shows Trump is making America great again!" If you are on the other "side," you are sayng, "Hold on now! There is such a high margin of error in the jobs numbers that it may not be that great. And what about Trump saying that jobs numbers were "fake" when Obama was in office and now excitedly leaking them in a tweet before the actual job report was to be announced?" I am thinking, "Why does this have to be politicized at all?" But that's just naive little ol' me.
Example: and these are legion...a person says despicable racist comments, or perpetrates bad behavior of a sexual nature. How do we respond? Again...depends on the "side." If the person engaged in such language or behavior is on your "side," then the response is "It's a witch hunt...a smear campaign...fake news reported by a biased media!!!" If the offending party is on the other "side," then it is bursting fireworks of righteous indignation! "Ban them! Sue them! Throw them under the jail!" Sigh...
And don't get me started on the use of the "H" word (hypocrite)... by BOTH sides...each trying to out do the other in self-righteous pot-calling-the-kettle-black finger pointing.
As a young man I was warned by my teachers in both school and Sunday school about "situational ethics." I was taught to make your values your values (my own are centered in being a follower of Jesus Christ) and to use them as your "true north" for your life's compass. Most of my friends would agree to this as a life philosophy. And yet, I am seeing by some is what I guess is a political ideology replacing everything else as true north. Am I being overly dramatic to call this a fight for the soul of America?
