OPENING THE MIND

Every few months I click on a link to a place I want more information from and it directs me to facebook. I have an account there but I almost never go there. It was opened as a window to a world I was otherwise uninterested in and too busy to bother with and, as I said, I hardly ever go there.

I went there tonight and found that in my absence some 'friend' had taken over whatever that page is that records all the thoughts of your hundreds of friends and lays them out in chronological order for your perusal. What I had before my eyes was a solid stream, screen after screeen after screen of screeds of hate for anybody to the right of Jimmy Carter. This 'friend' went on and on and on and every fleck of spittle was visible in her disdain and hatred for the stupid dolts and morons that make up the sizeable minority of the US population that voted for Trump.

I already have one fb friend who has the same inclination to share the passionate beliefs of people who dress in black, riot, attempt to kill free speech and think inflicting bodily harm is fair provided it is only inflicted on wrong-thinking, red-necked sorts. He has a Ph.D in Ocean Engineering and a distinguished career with patents to his name and he was at Pearl Harbor the day the Imperial Japanese Navy showed up to express their interest in fighting the United States. He may be a bit more gaga then I remember him from the last time we met in a pub several years ago. At any rate, one loon is enough.

I went to the handy link that lets one unfollow the feed from someone tagged as a friend and pulled the trigger. As I did so, I thought about this place and wondered if it too was beginning to bear some of the hallmarks of someone who is a crazy mad frothing-at-the-mouth lunatic and I decided, not yet. I still prefer to find the humor in just about any situation. It's usually there, somewhere.