Losing Our Motivation (to be or think or speak)

 Let me just vent, please. I have so much stuff to get off my mind. I'm so tired of "culture" and "social media" and the general wastefulness of brain power by everyday people. It's my opinion that all our technological progress is being wasted on so much that is meaningless. 

• Stop focusing on random, dancing and singing and the see-me, see-me, and wanna-be-me crap. If I see one more #nextlevel post about someone showing off their skill at rocking out or rapping or "sick" dance moving...
• Detox from Facebook and TikTok and Instagram for at least 3 hours a day. Where are people finding the time to post a photo of every meal they eat or every move they make or every thought they have in a day? Do you folks have anyone you talk to just one on one without sharing the conversation with the rest of social media?
  
  
  

• With access to the internet and all the wonderful technology we now have, how many people are using it to learn and grow and improve themselves as individuals? (I know that there are a lot of people using it for useless entertainment and brain-frying distractions.
• While all the attention is focused on the 85-95% of us doing makeup videos, true crime podcasts, and non-news news shows, there are people still trying to learn how to actually think critically and dialogue productively about meaningful things. No one hears so much about that. We hear more about MAGA and BLM and being "woke" or being Christian nationalists than we do about people trying to be peaceful and calm and neighborly. 
• If you are Christian, stop thinking that this world is the "Kingdom".
• If you are anti-Christian, stop thinking that all Christians are every Christian.
• If you are Christian, stop thinking that all non-Christians are any more sinful than yourself.
• If you are non-Christian, stop thinking that every Christian hates you. 
• Stop saying that you are anti-this or anti-that and work on being a better individual citizen.
• We have too many wanna-be revolutionists and feminists and "bros". Be a person first.
  
• While so many of you are learning lyrics to the latest raps and songs, who is reading classic literature, the Bible, and history? Who is learning a second language (I'm talking to my fellow Americans)? Who is learning why math is important - or biology or economics or physics?
• For all of you who talk about "my body, my choice", are you treating your body with respect? For those of you talking about being anti-abortion, are you taking care of unwanted children - or the hungry, wounded, traumatized children?
• Of those who call themselves Christians, are you reading the Bible? Studying the Bible? Trying to understand the message of the Bible? Or are you just sitting in a pulpit and listening to whatever someone else tells you about the Bible?
• For those of you who think of yourselves as beautiful/handsome, what does that matter in the final scheme of things? Are you helping anyone with that attribute? What would you do if you lost that attribute?
• For the so-called "influencers" - what are you influencing? How are you using your influence in any positive or meaningful way?
• If you are a "Have", are you content - or do you want more? And why or why not?
• If you are "Have Not", what do you really want more of - other than food and shelter and kindness? Why?
• For all of you living the bulk of your lives via the internet, what would you do without it? Could you do without it? Could you be happy without it?
• When is the last time you lived a phone-free life - even just for a few hours?
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  What was the last positive thing you did for someone other than yourself?
• When was the last time you spent time just thinking - not reading or eating or distracting yourself with devices and material things?
• Do you think of yourself as unique? What's the last thing you did unselfconsciously? When is the last time that you didn't dress or act out of being trendy or out of being totally rebellious to society?

I rant about these things and I am guilty of some of them myself. But I'm so tired of everyone losing themselves to trends. 

It's not "trendy" to speak your mind anymore. It's not trendy to say how you really feel about something. (I'm not talking to the people who are rude and call it being "blunt".)

Somehow, in our society, it no longer seems that it's okay for people with opposing opinions to have a discussion about anything without there being a fight. 

People have forgotten how to debate in a thoughtful and meaningful way. That's because we all have to apologize for or violently defend every viewpoint.

Recently, I saw (for the zillionth time) saw a post in a forum about the effect of "billions and billions of years" of evolution. My instinct was to voice my disbelief in evolution (I hold a Christian and biblical worldview of all creation) but I didn't include my comment on the post. Why? Because I would have been verbally attacked for my views. No one would have engaged me in a debate about why I believe as I do. There would likely not have been a civil or thoughtful back-and-forth discussion. Ideally, we should be able to voice our views and walk away (whether or agreeing or not) with something to think about on both sides.

Since we do have the internet and all these social media platforms, I wish we wouldn't waste them on thoughtless and meaningless things. I wish that there was more robust and honest discussions happening - more content that exercised our brains instead of our sarcasm or hidden-behind-a-keyboard bullying. 

Because I am tired of being pinned down by whatever this society is becoming, I am going to do another post where I voice my opinions and viewpoints - no matter who they might offend. I won't be doing this to offend. I will be doing this because I think it should be a thing. Anyone is free to agree or disagree - because that should be a thing. I hope that everyone who reads the post will - even in private - consider thoughtfully why they agree or disagree.

Since this rant is mostly about the internet, I will leave you with this:

Q: How many of you know where, how, and why the internet started? Here's a teaser: It has to do with CERN.

A: Click Here (for the long answer)  Or here, for the simplified version.

I can't change how other people behave and interact but I can change how I behave and interact. It starts now.

Peace

--Free