I look at what’s happening in the world today and I’m left with only questions.  What happened to make us so angry? How did we lose compassion for one another? The common sense, and reason that most of us were raised with?

How did we lose respect for each other’s points of view? Is it social media? I wonder if it is.  I wonder if we’ve all been emboldened by the lack of human contact.  If we feel like we can’t see the effect of our words, it becomes easier to dehumanize people.  To ignore them.

Or is it just that people are unhappy with their lives, and don’t know what to do? Maybe they’re afraid of what happens if they quit a job they hate, divorce a partner? Is it that fear of the unknown causing people to lash out? There’s an element as well of blame.  People are quick to complain, and slow to do anything to fix it.

How did we lose the idea of understanding each other? I hang out on Twitter a lot, and follow politics. It becomes increasingly impossible to have a civil disagreement with someone about something.  I have friends I disagree with.  Conversations between us usually include laughter, listening, and nodding. One of us might even realize the other might have a small point about something.  It’s all in good fun.  There’s a sense that it’s lost, and it’s not coming back.

I wish I had answers for all of these questions.   I don’t, I only have personal experience.  At the start of 2018 one of my quiet resolutions was to do more of what makes me happy.  Reach out to more friends, try the odd new thing. So far six months in, I find myself more fulfilled by doing these things than by almost anything else.