I just saw a post praising someone for being something. By inference it gave the impression that if you weren't "that something" you were nothing... or, not worthy of recognition.
I never want to take anything away from someone who deserves praise and admiration for who they are, even by the luck of their birth, and what they do... have done. But, I have noticed a trend in the last few years... maybe it's just because of the internet's ability to give a voice to everyone... including me.
It seems that so much is "my way or the highway" these days.
People putting forth their ideas, feelings, beliefs, have almost always concentrated on their own "agendas", or praised from their point of view.
That's normal, probably.
However, in past eras, not everyone had access to a pulpit, bully or otherwise, and, there seemed to be an agreement in place not to attack in presentation. There also seemed to be reasonable voices available to mitigate the rush of emotion attempting to overwhelm fact and logic.
In today's "anyone can babble" (including me) social engineering media world, so many voices clamor to have their beliefs and opinions pushed to the front of our minds. The proponents of views, from every angle, seem to consider disagreement, or even an alternate view, to be a direct attack against their most firmly held beliefs.
We learn by listening, not so much by talking.
So, I'll shut up now.
Donovan Baldwin