In 2008, right before the Presidential election, I told my wife that my biggest concern was not who won, but how we would treat the new President afterward.
I did not vote for Mr. Obama and I do not agree with all of his ideas, but I respect him as my President and I realize he has an extremely difficult job, and honestly there are some things I do like about him. The biggest issue he has to deal with, in my opinion, is constant criticism. In our technological age, we are not only able to access information very quickly (just look at the latest news stories), but we can make our opinions known on the "World Wide Web" just as quickly.
For elected officials, world leaders, public servants, etc., this can be a nightmare. The slightest misstep opens you up to waves of negativity. I know because I have experienced this firsthand as a public school teacher.
Technology has changed our culture, and not necessarily for the better. We seem to be less grateful, more selfish, less forgiving, and more critical. I wish I could say with any confidence that I believe this will change for the better, but the pessimist in me has gained the upper hand: I think it will only get worse. We are slowly descending into a culture of hatred, and that may seem overstated, but based on the news we read each day, I believe that is where we are going.
If there is any hope for our culture, it will be in the form of some unanticipated miracle. It would be nice if we, as a people, simply became tired of the constant backbiting, mudslinging, name calling, and undermining. Realistically, I don't see that happening. More likely it will take a major catastrophe of some sort to bring us to our senses and cause us to look for a better way, but I certainly hope and pray that I am wrong.
I did not vote for Mr. Obama and I do not agree with all of his ideas, but I respect him as my President and I realize he has an extremely difficult job, and honestly there are some things I do like about him. The biggest issue he has to deal with, in my opinion, is constant criticism. In our technological age, we are not only able to access information very quickly (just look at the latest news stories), but we can make our opinions known on the "World Wide Web" just as quickly.
For elected officials, world leaders, public servants, etc., this can be a nightmare. The slightest misstep opens you up to waves of negativity. I know because I have experienced this firsthand as a public school teacher.
Technology has changed our culture, and not necessarily for the better. We seem to be less grateful, more selfish, less forgiving, and more critical. I wish I could say with any confidence that I believe this will change for the better, but the pessimist in me has gained the upper hand: I think it will only get worse. We are slowly descending into a culture of hatred, and that may seem overstated, but based on the news we read each day, I believe that is where we are going.
If there is any hope for our culture, it will be in the form of some unanticipated miracle. It would be nice if we, as a people, simply became tired of the constant backbiting, mudslinging, name calling, and undermining. Realistically, I don't see that happening. More likely it will take a major catastrophe of some sort to bring us to our senses and cause us to look for a better way, but I certainly hope and pray that I am wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment