My base level is a state of constant panic. Even though I feel like I have good intentions, I’m worried that I inadvertently and unnecessarily might cause harm to others by holding opinions that are wrong and not realize it when it counts.
Because of this, I am completely exhausted. All I want is to be reasonable and associate myself with people that are as well, but the more I look for that sort of thing the more I find myself thinking that everyone is wrong more often than not.
Liberals and conservatives at the extreme ends of the spectrum are shrill annoying bigots who think that two wrongs make a right. Additionally, anyone who tries to exist at the center of that spectrum also falls into a level of pretention that, in its own right, is self-aggrandizing and prejudiced.
Of course, a large portion of the population is decidedly reasonable, but it is hard to feel that way when looking at anything on the internet. Everything from, comedy to music to drywall is somehow politicized and warped into something that is adhering to an agenda.
I think that the reason why we are at this point in American culture is because of how we are choosing to misuse language. We are in the midst of a language war, where conservatives, liberals and centrists warp terminology in such a way, with the help of memes and emojis, that misrepresents the opposition and avoids nuance like vegans avoid animal products.
The President and the people who oppose him both equally misrepresent facts as a way of condemning each other and it has resulted in an extreme departure from anything resembling objectivity.
President Trump condemns the press for misrepresenting him, and does so in a way that makes it appear as though the institution of journalism is inherently bad. At the same time, the press goes too far to portray him as evil when it isn’t necessary or ethical. Whatever he does that is negligible or malicious should speak for itself without exaggerations that give him a reasonable excuse to condemn the first amendment.
I don’t think anybody commenting on a public forum has any interest in representing anything accurately whatsoever, and God forbid you actually try to contradict anyone online. That just activates the smug echo chamber of other people who agree with them and act as if playing devil’s advocate means you are throwing out personal attacks.
We have accepted that because of how difficult it is to deal with modern problems that it is acceptable to misrepresent the people who we disagree with because our gut tells us that we are correct, or on the right team. But, it scares me that everyone else is not constantly in a state of existential confusion about the ability to hold beliefs that aren’t wrong and harmful on some level.
I don’t think that everyone needs to be as panicked as me, but they should at least be a little worried about whether or not they are wrong about something important. But, I suppose things aren’t that simple.
We are in the midst of a language war because it is easier to weaponize language than it is to confront the reality of how complex modern problems really are. It is easier to misrepresent the opposition than it is to face the fact that you might be wrong.
