Algorithms are bringing out the worst in us, but the worst in us is nothing new. We hear daily how media and especially social media are tools of polarization. Humans have always had their instruments of polarization and animosity. What we are experiencing now is a new speed with which words of animosity and caricatures of fellow humans can travel.
Although it is human nature to draw lines between ourselves and “those people”, it’s not our only option. And praise God for that! One of many beautiful differences between humans and the bless-ed technologies we create is that humans have spirit. I may be stating the obvious here, but stick with me. A spirit is able to rise above the coldest and most lifeless of situations. A spirit can create beauty despite cold, hard data (think of the flowers that insist on growing between the cracks in pavement).
Although bots can emulate feelings and emulate the ability to reason with us, their primary dealings are in facts and data.
The thing is, facts are like stats. They can be interpreted as an individual sees fit. Wisdom is a safeguard against vice in the face of “facts”.
But how does one attain wisdom? Asking that question is a sign we’re looking in the right direction.
Information void of wisdom and relationship can be the single-ingredient recipe for hatred. Let me explain. I’ll use one example and maybe you will recall some of your own. When SNAP benefits were suspended last fall, I witnessed social media posts from people I know in real life that made my stomach churn. One example was this meme and others like it:
My body reacts pretty strongly to my emotions. Maybe we’re all that way. My muscles tightened. My stomach felt twisted up, and my heart rate increased. I’ve started trying to pay attention to these reactions. Thinking through what feelings are beneath them, I felt a sense of horror, hurt, and refusal. Horror over flippant and hateful (even if unaware of the hatred) inside thoughts being so real that they became a public post. Hurt over being a recipient of that indirect hatred. And refusal to abandon the hope I have for humanity’s ability to see ourselves in our neighbors.
My Experience
As a child, I was a recipient of government assistance for a time— while my father was serving in the Navy and my mother was working full-time.
Our use of government assistance was temporal in large part due to familial support. My grandparents let us live with them and became the extra hands that helped care for my brother and me while my parents tried to make a better way for us. No one in our family was rich, but we had a support system. My parents were able to go to college and tech school while working and raising a family.
Concern Over Not Seeing Our Own Vulnerabilities and Dependence
I raise the element of familial support because many who have been blessed to not receive government assistance have been very well supported by their families, even if they were not from wealthy families. It takes wisdom to see and appreciate that.
My parents do not have an inheritance to pass down to me in a dollar amount, but I experience great economic relief through their support. My mother has helped me care for my children while I work. She uses her experience and education to advise me on academic paths for my children. My father has fixed my used cars countless times and repaired most anything that breaks in my home. Although their support does not come via bank account, it has saved my family thousands of dollars that we often did not have to expend. This is great wealth. The life of abundance I have is in stark contrast to the lives of others and even to the lives of friends I love dearly who lack this support.
Relational Deficiency
This leads me to a deeper observation about the inseparable tie between wisdom and relationship. I talk to my friends and get to know people from other walks of life more than I watch the news or spend time on social media. This is not a flex, but an invitation.
I can quickly refute a nonsense news headline such as, “The Haitians are eating our cats!” — seeing it for what it is. You know how? Because I grew up with Haitian friends. My family is from the Dominican Republic, which shares the same island as Haiti. I’ve seen how our dear Haitian brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic are hated for the poverty they did not choose— how they are forced to sit in the worse seats on buses, or worse not allowed on at all. I’ve developed a keen eye for the propaganda that seeks to instill fear and hatred in millions toward millions through a single phrase or image.
The same goes for propaganda about our immigrant brothers and sisters, of whom I am a descendant. My friends whose parents immigrated here are not murderers; they come over for dinner, and we take care of each other’s kids. Our family friend who is in ICE custody has always worked to provide for his family. He helps those in need, his eyes light up when he sees his sisters, and he prays to the same God I do. While behind bars, he is teaching his fellow Latinos English and praying with them.
So when the news says, “They’re murderers and rapists!” I know the truth— or at least, I can say with confidence I know the truth of my friends’ lives and of their character.
There is a Better Way to Gather and Use Information
My invitation is that we get to know more people in our community whose stories are different from our own. If that feels like too large a gap to cross, start with a book about someone of a different race, nationality, or economic class. If that feels unrealistic, try an interview on YouTube that lacks words in its title such as “destroys/owns/defeats/absolutely crushes (so and so)”.
When we treat fellow humans as humans instead of memes or stats, an entire world of better ways opens up to us.
Extras:
We Are Humans playlist for our We Are Humans Series
Some fun for your ears— and maybe even your feet if you feel like dancing.
allll the books!
(the links are to Amazon, but I highly recomment the library and thriftbooks.com for all your book needs)
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri: A memoir of an Iranian refugee written from a young boy’s perspective. This is a fun and tearful read.
Terraform by Propaganda: This book addresses how we are the creators of culture and we get to choose how to cultivate its soil.
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass. A first-hand account of slavery. A must read.
Generous Justice by Tim Keller: This book lays out a framework for pursuing justice for our neighbors by facing our prejudices and having a vision for setting things right using the Bible’s posture toward human suffering.
Great Speeches by Native Americans: This is great because it has multiple short reads— some less than a full page. I have not finished this one, but multiple speeches in this book are shaping a new framework for me that is much appreciated.
Quilt of Souls by Phyllis Biffle Elmore: I feel too deeply about this book to put to words.
Writing here is a highlight of my creative life. I hope this becomes a place for you to see and be seen. You can find much of my work (music, social media, and blog posts) here.
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