A man who presents himself as a spiritual guide recently posted the following, both quotes nestled together in a single offering:
“I was not scandalized by Trump. I was scandalized by the Christian leaders who were not scandalized by him.” ~ Beth Moore
And then, without so much as a seatbelt:
“Everyone is screwed up, broken, clingy and scared, even the people who seem to have it more or less together. They are more like you than you would believe so try not to compare your insides to their outside.” ~ Ann Lamott
The post has almost zero interactions but all of them are agreement that Trump is truly awful. This is encouraging. It tells me that nobody is reading this spiritual leader’s posts (except me). That doesn’t mean people aren’t looking at the words and using them to formulate a point of view.
A sponge dropped in a bucket of water will be filled with water. A sponge dropped in a barrel of pickles will be filled with brine. The sponge just absorbs whatever it touches. It’s like what you do on social media.
Scroll. Absorb outrage. Scroll. Absorb empathy. Total saturation by whatever philosophy in which you’re currently emersed. Whatever you believe at the moment will be replaced by the next meme or video.
It’s not that you’re hypocritical. Like a sponge, you really are full of genuine beliefs. But the beliefs are temporary. When an idea comes along, your current belief is wrung out to make room for the new, completely contradictory perspective. That’s why you can say ‘Amen’ to giving everyone empathy and then give a thumbs up to hate directed at Donald Trump. Your beliefs are sincere. You just can’t believe more than one thing at a time.
“John, you jerk! You think you’re so smart!!! I can hold complex, nuanced views!!!”
Of course you can. For several seconds at a time. You are not juggling ideas. You are hosting them one at a time, like house guests who never meet.
The sponge has no memory of the liquid it absorbed five minutes ago. Absorb, release, repeat. Water, brine, whatever is poured next.
And the internet is very good at pouring.
If you feel insulted right now, scroll on. You’ll feel different in a moment.
(Proverbs 4:23) Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
One Response
MAGA is simply indoctrinated ideology. You know how it works. The sponge holds whatever amount of info for a long time for most normal people, especially those affected by the ugly policies of this government.