Hey everyone! It’s John “Not-A-Horse” Branyan with another thought on life in America, “Land of Opportunity.” Before I take one more step into the toxic minefield of public discourse, let me carefully, genuinely, lovingly, compassionately, earnestly, and sincerely offer a DISCLAIMER: This IS NOT MEANT TO DESCRIBE EVERYONE IN ANY PARTICULAR GROUP.

Before I take ANOTHER step let me say that the need to write the above paragraph concerns me far more than any germ or virus. COVID-19 cannot destroy a soul. But hatred can and will.

I thought about posting some of the comments from my Facebook page. I decided against it for several reasons.

1. There are too many. I’m afraid pasting them all into my blog will overflow the internet. (DISCLAIMER: That is intended as a joke. It is meant to exaggerate the number of comments on my Facebook page and should not be understood literally. I know the internet doesn’t ‘fill up’ like a physical object.)
2. They are vile. Contrary to some opinions (DISCLAIMER: Not EVERYONE shares this opinion.) I do not enjoy upsetting people. It is not my place to subject my blog readers to the language of Hell against their wishes. The link is provided for context. Clicking it is your decision.
3. Individual comments are unimportant. (DISCLAIMER: The PEOPLE who wrote the comments are important. I am not de-humanizing anyone.) I want to consider the commentary as a whole without regard for the individuals behind each statement. (DISCLAIMER: The individuals should be afforded the highest regard. People are important.)

Some people believe the internet has multiplied the amount of evil in the world. These people say that social media fans the flames of outrage and creates divisiveness. They say Facebook makes people mean. I think those people are mistaken. (DISCLAIMER: Mistaken people are still worthy of respect and love. I do NOT think people should be destroyed for mistakes. I do not think mistakes and evil are the same thing.)

Facebook has not created more evil. It has EXPOSED the evil that is already present. Evil that is all around me. Evil that consumes people who I thought were friends. (DISCLAIMER: Not all of my friends are consumed with evil.) Evil lavished upon me from people I don’t know at all. From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Social media is just a megaphone that amplifies the volume. (DISCLAIMER: Using social media is not an act of evil. Sometimes Facebook contains wonderful content.)

I’m going to say something that is not intended to be bragging. (DISCLAIMER: I know bragging is obnoxious and wrong.) I’ve never felt like destroying someone’s life. I know the identity of the people responsible for sending the demonic hordes after me. If I felt like it, I could launch a counter-strike. I could damage them. I could hurt them. But…I don’t want to.

I can’t take credit for lacking the desire to do harm. Something inside of me is preventing my human nature from taking charge. For the past couple of days I’ve felt a lot of emotions and some of them were quite dark. Yet, the darkness didn’t last long enough for me to act on it. I didn’t have time to amass an army of hateful warriors and point them toward my “enemies” before my motivation for “revenge” disappeared. That is not because I’m a great person. (DISCLAIMER: I’m not a great person. I’m saying that goodness is coming from a source other than my natural self. I am not claiming any personal virtues.)

When this quarantine is finally lifted and we get back to normal, the evil is still going to be here. All around me. It will masquerade as compassion. It will insist it cares about all people. It will pretend to be a selfless servant – but it is a serpent. (DISCLAIMER: The term “serpent” is a metaphor. I am not suggesting that snakes are evil. Animals can’t be evil. Also, it is not evil to keep a snake as a pet.)

(DISCLAIMER: You can skip the following two paragraphs if you’ve never contacted a stranger and told him to go F*** himself.)

You cannot fix evil by yourself. The rage and hatred in your heart will destroy you. It will destroy your family. It will destroy every trace of joy in your life. If you’re thinking, “Who are you to preach to me, Branyan? I’m out here risking my ass saving lives while you sit home and mock me! Go F*** yourself!” – That’s the evil talking. It’s clouding your soul. It is killing you.

Curse that evil and beg for God’s help. Ask Him to replace your heart. Ask Him to renew your mind. Ask Him to reveal truth. The truth will set you free. It is an indescribably good thing to be free.

What will remain when the quarantine is lifted – is evil. It will fill the hearts of truck drivers, police officers, utility workers, farmers, food service employees, postal employees, communications professionals, and let’s see…did I miss anybody? I don’t think so. (DISCLAIMER: None of the occupations listed are evil in and of themselves. And there are certainly members of all occupation groups who are not filled with evil.)

Evil will not subdue me. It will not silence me. I will endure whatever punishment I deserve for speaking truth. I know the end of this story. Evil does not triumph.

(DISCLAIMER: I am not going to riddle all my future posts with DISCLAIMERS. I’m attempting to demonstrate the tediousness of communicating in our hyper-sensitive, thin-skinned culture using what I intend to be light satire. I am fully aware that some people will find it “not funny” and I respect their opinions. Some have asserted that other comedians are funnier than me and I have no sufficient rebuttal for that claim. I celebrate these people’s individuality and wish them nothing but good for the rest of their lives. At the same time, I know that satire has the potential to hurt someone’s feelings when it is taken personally. (DISCLAIMER: This article was written to address characteristics of human beings in general. Any similarities to specific individuals is coincidental.))