Are we going to talk about that thing that no one's talking about

HoustonSaint68 said
I suspect that strong emotion you felt then, elicited from an external source who you didn’t know personally and which pushed in a direction you weren’t naturally inclined to go on your own, is at the root of all of this bullshirt.

Not really sure how to take this.

HoustonSaint68 said
This is definitely not a personal criticism in the slightest. That emotional response is simply part of the human condition - for folks on the right, the left and the middle - and it’s exacerbated by the non-stop barrage of social media and the 24 hour news cycle. And somehow we need to find a way to stay centered on ourselves, and carefully cultivate the external sources we use to challenge our own held beliefs while avoiding the echo chambers that cement our current beliefs.

The 24-hour news cycle is definitely not overall a good thing. I love the ability to access info and to "shrink the world" by being able to talk to people via social media all around the globe but it's not my only frame of reference. Now, I didn't grow up in the internet age, but I did grow up as the TV generation and the same things were said about us and our lack of socialization to the world and how TV would rot our brains. But this is different and they are only beginning to suggest that children should not have their own cellphones below the age of something like 13-15, I think. I don't think you can unring that bell now if parents hadn't already realized that for themselves.