Hitch was right

I left Facebook a while back. I wasn’t sure why at the time but I was just overwhelmed with frustration, thoughts, and emotions so I needed a break from it. I didn’t close my account. I’ve even gone back to check some of my groups and interests but I won’t look at or interact with individuals or post any of my thoughts. At this time, I don’t know if I’ll ever do so again.

The catalyst for this was a conversation I had with someone very close to me. I don’t want to call it an argument. I’ve known and loved this person for some forty years and can’t ever recall anything near harsh words between us. It hurts to think we’d come to that over something that shouldn’t be more important than our relationship. I still love this person as much as I ever did but I’m frustrated at not being able to have an open and honest conversation.

I wasn’t able to express my frustration at the time but now that I’ve had time to reflect, I realize that what was on the surface wasn’t the problem at all. Was I upset that my loved one believed differently than I? No, not really. Was I offended by the derogatory video that was posted? Actually, no, not really. I post things that represent my views or that I find interesting—sometimes just to promote a discussion—and I realize someone could be offended. I welcome comments and, if something I post is factually incorrect, please let me know. But I wasn’t offended. Certainly I wasn’t offended by the jackass in the video. I’m used to that sort of thing and people like him and dismiss them with an eyeroll. No, my initial reaction was to correct the two misconceptions that he used as his strawman argument. I honestly thought that my loved one would accept the information and realize that the guy was wrong instead of defending and agreeing with him. In no way did the facts that I presented mean that my loved one had to change her beliefs; just that this particular bit of information was not true. Still, I’m not offended; it just hurt my feelings. In a way, I regret that I ever said anything but, in another way, it was a good lesson because it made me realize a few things and reinforced some others.

Most importantly, Hitch was right when he said that religion poisons everything. Something that prevents people who have loved each other for 40 years from having a well-reasoned discussion is poison. I’ll explore other revelations in future posts.