Sunday, November 13, 2011

Perspective

Is anyone out there noticing an uptick in meanness these days?

For example, I find disturbing the ways in which people vault their expectations online on comment boards in mean-spirited, uninformed, and utterly cynical sharing. I rejoice when I see both balanced and fair understanding in commentary, and when I see the positive (since it seems so rare these days).

I am wondering--why does it seem so hard for people to find joy in the world and too easy to find fault? I understand there ARE some things that really do rot out there--I'm not so naïve that I cannot see there's a need for critical perspective. My point is, there seems a lack of real--well, perspective. Rot can and will always exist--can we bring some kind of constructive rather than destructive perspective to it at all?

Look at almost any commentary on news, writing, art, etc which exists online and you will find a bevy of commentary from bored, hung-up, perhaps disgruntled people who spend so much time online that perhaps this has become a a recourse, a way to vent, grandstand, that sort of thing. Often news is gloom and doom and the utterly preposterous; often we can find ourselves exasperated at extreme points of view out there just waiting to get licked by some kind of strong accountability via such a public thing as social media.

Now, I'm hyper-aware here I do write a blog, and share it. I mostly do not grandstand, but I've had some moments, this among them. I guess I felt compelled to put into words my desire to find, out there, the real and good in the world--the ways in which humans are capable of being genuine with each other, not just witty and inane for the sake of this.

One comment at a time, perhaps we can zero-out the rot of the world.