Have you noticed normal content going haywire lately?
If there was social media in ancient times, perhaps the same would have occurred.
History, we can learn, brings out the best and the worst in people. Times when we are challenged, especially in a long-duration event, can make us recoil into the worst of humanity..
After 9/11, the last time the world was shook to its core, a large swath of people chose to go with antiquated racist beliefs and attack Muslims.. It was the “kinder and gentler” George W. that actually did the right thing and made it a policy as a nation to visually be seen with Muslims and have events that mitigated the zealous rage against them. Of course the next choice the American government made was to embroil itself into two wars in the Middle East that largely decimated any good feelings after September 11…
But during COVID, we are also reminded of the similar events in history in which societies became enraged and inflamed. Just because WE are living through something does not mean WE are the first. That belief system is extremely selfish and narcissistic.
Now narcissism? Maybe that is surging in the modern era more than past times. 😉
From medieval times to our current crisis, plagues often accelerate extremist movements according to a Washington POST article
From the Washington POST piece:
Adam Crigler used to feed his YouTube following a politics-free diet of chatter about aliens, movies, skateboarding and video games. Then came the pandemic. Now, he devotes much of his talk show to his assertion that mask mandates are an assault on personal freedom and that Democrats somehow stole the 2020 election from Donald Trump. Result: a much bigger audience.
“The pandemic has made more people want to blame someone else because they’ve lost their jobs or they’re lonely,” Crigler said.
And so many others.
But when this pandemic ends–and it will–what happens to society? How do we go back to mindless videos on social media again.. Or do we?
Does it change back? Or does a new generation forget mindlessness and innocence .. until the next generation is born and makes it happen..?