There was never a time when people didn't lie. misrepresent or use coded language in an attempt to dehumanize one another. It's been that way since we first developed the means to talk. There was no golden age when we spoke freely and without guile... 1/
I'm not so naive to as to believe that. However, the trend of culture and society seemed to indicate that we were approaching a place where we had accountability for our words and agency to hold others to account. Admittedly, that may be influenced by my upbringing... /2
I went to a school where personal accountability was drilled into me - and by God, it took years. I had to own my words & articulate them clearly. I was called out for cheap rhetorical tricks by a great bunch of teachers that wanted to produce articulate, moral young men... /3
In many ways, I feel like both a conservative and the counter-culture these days. I feel like a conservative because I believe in basic, long-standing notions of respect, tolerance and stepping in bullying occurs. They are beliefs I tried to express through my own teaching... /4
I feel like part of a counter-culture in that, when I call people out for racism, or homophobia, or for xenophobic dog whistles, I feel like the odd one out, like a relic, like these aren't the values of these times... /5
All I know is that it feels like the world is more full of deceit, obfuscation and bad faith than ever before. Some of this is recent geopolitics, some of it is hatred as old as the human race. All of it has been enabled by the internet and a cadre of actors... /6
I refuse to cede ground however. As much as it has an effect on me - and believe me, it does - I feel like sticking up for efforts to find the objective truth, promoting decency and respect and standing up to bullying is too important... /7
I won't let them destroy the world that has been built through language. I won't let them destroy language itself. I will never settle for a world where words like 'multiculturalism' and 'diversity' are used in a derogatory fashion, among others... 8
If you agree with this, you don't need to retweet it or anything. This isn't a popularity grab, or some effort to 'virtue signal'. Just let me know with a fave, a comment or a DM - all of this can make me feel mighty lonely at times! /9
The words on my banner are of Thomas Muentzer - a doomed 16th century preacher looking for heaven on earth. They mean 'All things should be in common'. It doesn't just mean resources, it means the bonds we have with our fellow man, the love we have for one another... /10
Of course, Muentzer ended up having his head chopped off after leading a peasant revolt. Not a lot of brotherly love in16th century Germany.
That doesn't mean we can't remember his words when trying to bring a little peace, civility and respect to our 21st century spaces. FIN.
That doesn't mean we can't remember his words when trying to bring a little peace, civility and respect to our 21st century spaces. FIN.
