The Bane of Social Media

I receive a daily email that contains headlines related to various news events in the county where I live. The following was in today’s email:

Two dead, another injured in two-vehicle crash

Here is the blurb that accompanied that headline:

OSP says that a GMC Yukon driven by Jimmy Brown, 35, of Tenmile, was towing another Yukon when it crossed into oncoming lanes and crashed head-on into a fully loaded Peterbilt commercial motor vehicle.

According to OSP, Brown, the Yukon driver, and his passenger, Jason Elam, 35, also of Tenmile, were pronounced dead at the scene. 

Other news reports indicate the accident happened at approximately 9:30 pm.

While it’s possible that alcohol (or some other substance) could have been a factor, considering the time of the accident and the fact that none of the news reports I’ve come across have mentioned this, it would seem the most likely cause was that the Yukon driver was distracted. Being able to pinpoint that distraction is, of course, now impossible.

But I can take a guess. And perhaps some of you can too.

In two words: Social Media.

Of course, there’s no way this can be proven since both occupants were killed. Nevertheless, when one considers how often news reports of fatal automobile accidents include the words “cause unknown,” it does give one pause.

Please folks. Focus on your driving. Keep your eyes on the road … not on your cellphone.

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Image by Photo Mix from Pixabay

Against My Will

I have tried (really tried!) to back off from political posts, but Heather’s recent newsletter … and particularly one of the comments in response to it … got the best of me.

She led off her newsletter remarks thusly:

Yesterday, Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where the audience cheered through his meandering speech, in which he insisted that he won the 2020 election. “The entire system was rigged against the American people and rigged against a fair, decent and honest election,” he said. CNN’s Daniel Dale, who has fact-checked Trump’s speeches for years, called the speech “untethered to reality.” 

And here is a portion of a comment offered by one of her readers. I found it spot-on.

Reason and honesty have vaporized during this entire circus. We used to be a nation of common sense, character and integrity. We used to look one another in the eye when voicing our opinions. Blame it on the underbelly of social media where accountability no longer exists or on the naive assumption that you can still believe what you read.

The ultimate reason is darker and sadder. Not only are voters being lied to, but they are now lying to themselves. People must know, deep down, that the Big Lie is, as Barr put it, “bullshit,” yet they suppress the truth within themselves in hopes of an unholy miracle of placing Trump back on the throne.

Again and again, I find myself asking … how long can this go on? Must we endure this *crap* until the next presidential election? Is there anything that could/might/will bring it to a close? I wonder …