Rational, independent thought: kicked to the ditch on the divided social media highway to hell

Thanksgiving season is a great time of year; crisp fresh air, harvesting this and that, fall colours, and the day itself is a good reminder to be thankful for everything we have (which for most of us is a lot).

Thanksgiving also brings memories of big conversations with people we don’t see every day, and a reminder to avoid politics. Nothing ruins a good meal like a leftie and a rightie coming out of their corners over turkey. Gratitude shmatitude. It’s been this way for a long time, but we are in a new world. We don’t just voice our opinions when we see each other, we often do it every ten minutes, and for the whole world to see.

That’s because we’re Facebook/Twitter/whatever junkies. Social media wants to know. Social media needs to know. The participants make it easy for you. Here’s a Trump quote, for example – good or evil? You can’t ignore it, silence is complicity. Vote now with a like (or in the comments section); pick your bucket. There are only two. Do you or do you not approve? Once you pick, it’s like international soccer – that’s your team for life. And the judge/jury/executioners are the unforgiving mob that scours the web every minute looking for friend or foe, making the decision at warp speed.

But maybe you’re a social media misfit.

What if you believe Trump is the worst leader ever, but also believe that the “swamp needed draining”?

What if you believe that Trump is the best leader ever, but also believe Black Lives Matter is a good thing?

What if you believe the environment should be our number one priority, but also believe climate hysteria is a terrible fear-based strategy to smuggle in another form of government?

What if you believe that climate change is an existential threat to mankind, but also believe that free markets work best?

What if you believe free markets work best, but also believe that masks are the best way to corral coronavirus?

What if you believe coronavirus is not serious and the economy should be immediately opened, but you also believe that systemic racism exists in various places?

What if you don’t believe in systemic racism, but think that taxes on the ultra-wealthy as proposed by Green New Deal supporters makes total sense?

What if you think the Green New Deal (or the Canadian soft-equivalent now taking shape in Ottawa) will end civilization as we know it, but you support Indigenous rights to sovereignty of their traditional lands and resource development?

What if you think Wall Street is debauched and dangerous and therefore see the Green New Deal as the best way to fight back, but you also understand the energy challenges of keeping 7 billion people alive and fed and not-rioting all at once?

What if think Wall Street is a critical clearing house for international trade but hate how the big financial institutions abuse “too big to fail” in horrible ways?

What if you think nuclear power is terrible, but you support “net zero by 2050” – a goal that can’t be achieved without nuclear?

What if you think nuclear power is the answer to all our environmental woes, but you support Greenpeace?

What if you think…

What if you think?

Forget the mainstream parade of energy ignorance and disinformation. Pick up “The End of Fossil Fuel Insanity” available at Amazon.ca, Indigo.ca, or Amazon.com