Rage Bait

Division. Rage. Conflict. I’ve felt it loudly as I’ve walked silently through this time in history.

The extremes of both sides have closed their ears and left their mouths wide open projecting undigested hate.

Hardened hearts send sparks that start wildfires. Pundits fan the flames from both sides. Agitators add fuel. And as a society we combust. A constant steam of divisive rhetoric is vomited from the screens.

Minds have set into the stance of conflict, wrong or right, all sides have trenched in. Even those who agree on the bigger picture find conflict in the nuances of individuality.

Biases rule the airwaves and rarely offer retractions. And so misdirected we march confidently forward without a working compass.

The repeal of the Fairness doctrine in 1987 marked the last unbiased newscast. And as viewers we hear the talking points filtered through old wounds and influenced by half truths while listening only for confirmed biases. Both sides find the other side impossible to hear through the echo chamber of their own positions. No one is listening. Both sides declare they are done playing nice as if the viciousness of today is working.

Neighbors fluent in the same language no longer understand each other. Families are split on political lines drawn by strangers that continuously move. People of the same ilk have turned on each other—dividing us all even further.

We are called to love, but minds and hearts have been twisted into a posture of hate.

Life is heavy already. Hate only makes it heavier. Personally I’ve needed to set boundaries against the teachers of hate—from the extremes of both sides that scream the loudest, dominate the conversation, and justify hateful actions.

Someone once said, garbage in, garbage out, and that has never been more true than it is today.

Destruction of each other will only lead to our mutual downfall. And so let’s end the civil wars that politicians, the media, and social media influencers have ignited in our circles. Life is truly short and tragic already. Divided we are falling into the trap of rage bait.

If you use my words to attack one side or the other, you are missing my point. I am simply saying to be heard we must remove the venom from our language.

Talking politics, religion, or current events today is like walking straight into a stream of pepper spray and so to escape the pain all the messages go unheard.

We can completely disagree with each other and still act in love. We can have different opinions and still treat each with respect. When words become unhearable, love through your actions.