By That Much

THAT much Chief

Holding right index finger roughly a quarter of an inch, 6.35 mm, from right thumb, indicating the distance from current status to future one, I say aloud ‘I am ‘this’ close’. Risking the obvious imagery of Maxwell Smart’s ‘missed it by ‘that’ much’, the reference is to the social media site favored by over 2.7 billion people, owned by some guy named Zukerburg and often the go-to medium for manufactured propaganda of every subservient order, crack-pots to auto bots. It is not so bad that my messages, responses and comments are commonly taken out of context or, worse, ignored, the larger issue is the one of privacy. If my innocent google searches are used as marketing data to exploit a cause or causes that I am in complete disagreement with, or to garner numerical support for a candidate or policy issue or be included in a poll used for sheer propaganda, it have problems with it. BIG ones. 

Not that I have anything to hide, mind you. I think, I genuinely hope and trust, that my ideologies, beliefs, ambitions and goals are known to all. I make no attempts at covert operations. I will tell it to your face, not try to pick your digital pocket and then sell the data back to you. There is no deep state here. We do not gaslight and we do not spin alternative truths. We (mostly) respect the opinion of those in disagreement with our agendas, be they political, religious or scientific. In turn, please respect mine. 

But things have taken a radical turn for the violent. That is the line in the sand I will not cross. I have no problem with you chowing down on a quarter-pounder with cheese (because it's all you can afford) when I promote a vegetarian diet. Similarly, if you choose to love another of the same sex, have at it, love is the goal. If you want to courageously improve the living conditions of those included in your family, I respect you for your decision and bravery. If you want to pursue a life in the military, I salute you, although I want you to be cognizant of the political nature of the assignment. How hypocritical would it be of me to suggest that YOU reduce YOUR consumption and ride a bike when I regularly drive my four-cylinder cargo van just for a loaf of bread? You want to worship Allah, Mohammad, Buddha, Smith, Jesus or Yahweh as your Lord and Savior? Amen brother. Do what you like but please do not force me to do likewise. 

In this eloquent article by respected pastor John Pavlovitz, I see common ground. Read through his bullet point listings and see if you draw the same conclusion that I did. We are being used. I am a far-left radical libtard because I would like to see more love and less hate, more happiness and less fear, more sharing and less hoarding, more equality and less greed, more peace and less war, better schools and fewer jails, more compassion and less angst? REALLY?

The fact that when leftists default to their basic core beliefs, it is all good. It may not align perfectly with modern capitalistic objectives and be nowhere near a nativist, isolationist, bullying dictatorship, and that is the point. When right-wing conservatives default to core values it is all propaganda, lies, bullshit and cover-ups. Think about fiscal conservatism and family values then gauge the current allegiance to GOP traditions. 

Does social media play into this scenario? Does social media manipulate the data from cookies, google searches and is Alexa keeping score? 

A concerned liberal populace wants you to know that we are this close.