Twitter has long been a toxic social medium. People don't generally know each other on the platform -- and some use fake or troll accounts -- so they say anything, often the most outrageous things, to attack one another.
That said, it has also felt necessary, at least in my line of work. It's "mainstream," unlike self-consciously conservative competitors which become echo chambers. It's got a liberal bias, both in structure and membership, but I like the challenge.
My strategy has been to ignore bad behavior through a judicious use of the "mute" button -- which denies those whom you are "muting" the perverse satisfaction of being "blocked." But things are much, much worse lately.
I'm not talking about garden-variety abuse. I'm talking about really toxic ideas. Example: CNN hosts a former congressman to claim Republicans are "authoritarian," and this is treated as truth, not as inflammatory propaganda.
One has to push back, but it is exhausting. And you become aware that so much of what is online is driven by some deep psychological wounds that some of these people can't find another way to address. They're driving us crazy.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
