What is hell like? Comedian Lewis Black remarked that his answer to that question is Middle School. I agree. But it’s also a pretty unfortunate observation about the times we’re living through. We don’t need to wait for hell to experience never-ending Middle School on Earth. I say this because Middle School is a time of narcissism, self-centeredness, shallow opinions, and bullying with the goal of making some look good and others look bad, regardless of truth or logic.
The US has always been a nation of, “You’re not the boss of me,” “You can’t make me,” It’s a free country,” and “You can’t tell me what to do.” We are arguably the most individualistic country on Earth. Our movies and media foster “rugged individualism” and our work ethic encourages “individual responsibility.” The mere mention of the word, “collectivism,” sends shivers up and down our collective spines. We tend to want what we want, the way we want it, and when we want it. No excuses. My way or the highway. Either you’re for me or you’re against me, regardless of the logical fallacy.
It’s no surprise that as media personalities inject their suspicions and prejudices into the national discourse, and as the internet provides a platform for all sorts of uninformed and misinformed opinions, many people have reverted to Middle School attitudes. Debates sound like exchanges in the halls and playgrounds of a time I would not like to re-live. We were supposed to learn back then that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It seems to me that those who haven’t learned from history have doomed everyone else to repeat it. Perhaps we should all leave Middle School behind.
Talking points often boil down to accusations. “Democrats hate our country.” “Republicans are traitors.” “Liberals don’t want x.” “Conservatives don’t care about y.” Claiming the opposition “hates America” because they have a different point-of-view is a tactic straight out of Middle School. Back then, we were supposed to learn that we should be able to state accurately what the other side proposed before we could critique their proposal. Anything else, as we should have learned a little later, is a straw man argument – a misrepresented or exaggerated position, easily attacked and defeated because it is not real. Yet, knocking down a straw man proves nothing.
Bullies will do anything to dominate when domination is assumed to be a “win.” Personal attacks are common on the playground. So is guilt by association. Not everyone who met or listened to a certain “radical” believes likewise. Not everyone who reads or talks about socialism, communism, or Marxism, is a socialist, communist, or Marxist, just as not everyone who goes to church believes the tenets of that faith. I lived across the street from a Catholic Church and even attended a couple of masses, yet I am not, nor have I ever been, a Roman Catholic. However, I try to respect what Catholics believe.
What some commentators say (and the smug way they say it) has much more in common with Middle School than a mature evidence-based discussion. We are expected to believe that the outrage-de-jour is an existential threat because a certain person had something to do with it and it’s all wrong because some cherry-picked incident somehow represents the whole idea. In the late 1960s, well-meaning Baptists taught me to believe that Catholics were going to hell because they worshipped Mary instead of Jesus, followed the Pope instead of the Bible, or didn’t practice baptism by immersion. I was surprised to learn that my Catholic friends believed many of the same things as Protestants. If we want to find guilty parties or embarrassing events, no religion can escape indictment. Every religion has spawned evil done in the name of good. The question is how can we maximize the good?
If we want to live in harmony, Middle School tactics must go. We must grow up. We need to stop lionizing the bullies and idolizing the “cool kids” who made Middle School such a difficult time. Recently a well-known talking head stooped to the level of hurling untrue accusations at his first-grade teacher – just to score a few points with his viewers. He was being a Middle School bully. It is neither brave nor admirable to make wild allegations, engage in personal attacks, distort an opponent’s beliefs, insinuate wrongdoing, or play upon people’s irrational fears. It’s childish and cowardly. It’s fine for someone to speak his or her mind, but never at the expense of truth, fairness, and decency. We all should have learned that in Middle School.
MurrayWorks 