Critical Mass

"To err is human, to forgive, divine." - Alexander Pope

Day after day, we suffocate under waves of negativity, a veritable clownfest of criticism. Pick any topic, scratch the surface and meanness literally runs forth like spring sap.

A baby cries on an airplane, and the pilot wonders whether Sidney Crosby is on board. The NSA listens in on a few phone conversations and George Orwell's classic 1984 gets invoked. Students and their parents think they're entited to interest rate relief available to "Too Big to Fail" banks. Politicians say they make decisions because God spoke to them. Sox fans expect Jon Lester to be Sandy Koufax. Where's the subtlety? When did hyperbole get elected...or even nominated...to replace common sense?

The Internet is the capital of the "content without context" community. Facts become fungible accessories in any discussion. Anonymity allows posters of any political stripe to represent as facts that which would make "Liar's Club" panelists blush. For example, nobody likes paying taxes, but that bastion of liberalism at the ChamberofCommerce.com acknowledged that "Americans are currently paying the smallest share of their income for taxes since the 1950’s." Who knew?

Where is the great satire, like Mayor Deebs from Roxanne, "I would rather be with the people of this town than with the finest people in the world?"

Seriously, we can benefit from learning how to be critical without being mean. We can recognize strengths and need areas and work to be solution-focused rather than problem-oriented. We can separate facts from opinions. We can value the adage, "you are entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts."

Wearing a cloak of anonymity and spewing vitriol is just too easy, isn't it?