Every day, it seems, there is something new we’re supposed
to be upset about.
Over Super Bowl weekend, it was this Coke video, causing a
few to spout umbrage and the many to spout umbrage over the original umbrage.
(In this case, the umbrage appears to be sponsored by
Progressive.com, though it’s likely they’re just spot-sponsoring just about
every video CNN produces so we shouldn’t assume that Flo either approves of or
takes umbrage at the umbragic brouhaha.)
Today it’s a tweet by Stephen King, who is begging for
mercy, being new at the whole Twitter thing.
It’s perfectly fair to have opinions about things. But as we
share those opinions, and as we read them, we ought to be ready to read what’s
said and either dismiss it as nothing worth our time or at least have a
reasonable discourse about it. Of course, the way our national media and social
media are set up, it’s a lot more fun to let things just get up our noses and
stay there.
Part of the problem is that the umbrage over the umbrage
gets applied wider and wider and wider until we go from understanding the upset
belonged to a few people to believing the upset belongs to a larger group. I’ve
seen this Coke ad thing explode from “a few” to “some” to suddenly
“conservatives” all hating on the ad, which is false. But the umbrage over the
umbrage of a tiny few too often spills over into latent umbrage against a
larger group which, of course, makes everything easier and encourages everyone
to want to talk things out over a beer, doesn’t it?
Getting upset feels like we’re doing something. But it’s
doing nothing. It’s the equivalent of yawning after someone else yawns. It’s
contagious, but doesn’t really do anything for us but get more oxygen in us for
the next time we have to get mad about something. It’s clear proof that we’re
not listening to what the other has to say, just getting ready with our own
retort while they’re still talking.
I’m as guilty as the next ass, I know. I’m cutting back on
the umbrage I spew and concentrating more on listening and agreement, even if
that agreement is an agreement to disagree.
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