My Pollyanna Bubble has been officially burst.
My dad used to say they were only two things you could never discuss…one was politics, the other religion. I think yesterday I may have proven him right.
I was trying to have a social media discussion about my own perspective, concerns and feelings on a particular faith related issue. On that page I was summarily dismissed as having an invalid opinion, and even had epithets hurled at me. All on a prominent Catholic’s page and by other Catholics.
Something I viewed as a religious issue of concern was met not with thoughtful discourse. Instead, it was met by a lack of acknowledging another opinion and even by angry hostility. At least one very loud individual transformed my concern into a political attack. Suddenly Trump and perceptions of those who might have supported Trump became the focus…none of which were even remotely referenced in my concerns.
Which brings me to a sad conclusion. The religious world needs to be careful. It should not imitate the temporal world in methods of discourse. Discussions should not be the breeding ground for people with battering rams. If fellow Catholics cannot have a civil discussion, how in the world can we expect it in secular arenas? My conclusion is that we unfortunately have digressed even in the world of faith to a boxing arena, rather than an arena for the exchange of ideas…even those with which the other may not agree. Conversational charity may be on its way out among the faithful.
So expect a lot of jokes and pictures of my culinary creations today on Facebook. Hopefully my latest baking attempt won’t bring former President Trump into the comments thread.
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