Why I don't write posts on hot issues people think I ought to have opinions about. See the 2nd paragraph especially.
When I see people desperately trying to pick fights with someone as gracious as @reihansalam [on Twitter], that previous tweet is confirmed.
The interwebs seduce us into trying to solve all problems by argument, because argument is what the interwebs can do.
One of my chief goals in the coming year is to learn to have a meaningful online presence that doesn't involve debating issues...
...because the way we have defined "debating" and "issues" in our online lives is destructive of the social fabric.
The challenge is to learn to *be* in a certain way online, rather than always challenging or making a case. Blake: "Enough, or too much."
Online "debates" don't just hurt the social fabric, but also the selves who depend on the adrenaline jolt of disputation.
All addictions make people destructive and self-destructive. The junkie needs drugs; the online "debater" needs enemies.
