Sunday, February 17, 2013

Surround Sound Separation

Somewhere on one of my blogs is an entry about exclusivity. Carl Sandburg thought "exclusive" to be the ugliest word in the English language. After a visit to Carl Sandburg's birthplace, this was the moment I remembered, this quote.

I have been accused of having an exclusive club on Facebook, and I have been accused of not wanting to listen to opposing opinions of others. That is not the first time I have been criticized for this on Facebook. I know the specific traits I do not like in a Facebook "friend" and I now unfriend quickly without much regret.

I want to say that Facebook is not a club. And I want to say that I have never turned down a "friend" request. But somehow those justifications do not seem strong enough to counter the Carl Sandburg attack.

I have decided that I am definitely correct in limiting harmful influences from my life. There is only so much stress I want to expose myself to. And I have a very public job.

Facebook was wonderful tonight. I have such a great group of "friends." It really made me feel good to see the community of like minded folks interrelate and express themselves, if only for a short while. Everything is so interconnected that I cannot really think that my slightly exclusive page makes a dime's worth of difference in this dynamic atmosphere. I am but a tiny aspect of a greater whole. I might influence a small amount, which is all I do in real life.

When I was younger I thought I could change the world. I now see how wide the world actually is. Yet I also at times have marveled at my ability to affect things in some small way by joining others in action or thought. I am relatively new to Facebook and I see such potential in social media. I started less than a year ago to think that world changing events could result from the community resulting from the Internet and I have found nothing better than Facebook that represents this open social movement.

And further, I enjoy my life so much more surrounded by kindred spirits. Carl, when I think the accusations of exclusivity are truly warranted, I promise to try harder. But time and age are large parts of the reason I have less of an ability to withstand the stress of seemingly mindless disagreement. I have a role to play and it is a different role than it was in my younger years. Carl, I guess I just want to make a distinction between being exclusive and being reclusive, which I know you can relate to.


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