A Different Perspective: 4/17/2024

Everyone has their perspective on any given issue and is subject to modification or even complete reversal as information, conditions, and circumstances change. It can be argued that there is no time like an election year and social media to see the broad spectrum and panorama of those differences.

This is not meant to be political commentary. Still, I’ll touch on some classic examples, as well as some from another touchstone of controversy: religion, since it is another place where widely diverse opinions grow wild.

The reality of good education, experience, and common sense fight it out with ignorance, unrealistic expectations, and peer pressure. Then, throw in the current age of instantly available ”news,” with little or no sorting or filters for truth or bias and the ability to immediately respond with a gut reaction, and you have the perfect recipe for opinionated perspectives unleashed on the world.

All of the comments on a Facebook post this morning triggered this article. The subject was the decision to put contaminated soil into the Berkeley Pit. Dozens of people commented, with various reactions (mostly negative), not just about the plan, but everything that even touched on it. Of all those expressed feelings, from good ideas to the end of civilization on this planet, only a handful had any basis in fact, and I didn’t see a single one that offered another solution.

Well…I have to say that I did. It’s so obvious and simple that I can’t believe all the experts didn’t think of it. Just have Scotty beam all the hazardous waste into the sun!

Another fun game these days involves getting people on any social media to accept your opinion on a subject and see it come forth from the electronic device they control. How satisfying is that? Very, if they’re thoughtful, smart, and caring people.

Then, some of those same people who validated your perspective will post a piece that has been around for years to cure a problem on the site and will do nothing of the kind.

“I have just found out that if I share this, an agreement to worship plankton and provide wood chips to Mark Zuckerberg’s mother’s neighbor’s coworker in Zambia, I will no longer get targeted ads, all my friends will reappear, and I will win the lottery.”

Validation never felt so empty.

If you’ve read any of my drivel previously, you may know I really enjoy history. A part of me would like to agree that this is the most divisive and trouble-filled time in history, but I research old newspapers that lead me to believe it’s always been this way, just at a much slower pace, without electronic connections.

Candidates twisted facts and lied. Women and ethnicities were minimalized and abused. Religious and other zealots voiced their opinions and found followers. Elected politicians postured and argued while news and entertainment moguls ruled the world. Life wasn’t fair. 1890 or 2024?

In all likelihood, the newspapers and “yellow journalism” created the Spanish-American War. Is it happening today? Is your perspective to believe that or not?

It makes no difference; your perspective is your business, except on a social media platform.