The ongoing circus that is social media

It has been said on this page before, and it likely will be said again, the evils of social media far outweigh the benefits.

It’s entrenched, as-necessary-as-oxygen presence in society’s younger generations - now plural - has ruined psyches and lives in every corner of the globe. While simple things like a young lady’s makeup or eyebrows - I’m talkiing to you Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber - can set off an internet war.

While all that is ridiculously silly, you have serious trolling of the highest levels on a daily basis - and that is before you get into the Russian and Chinese bot antics which just turns up the heat on manufactured drama.

Last week, in the U.S., we had Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Milley having to explain at a Congressional hearing that he is not a communist because he has researched the topic.

“I’ve read Mao Tse-Tung. I’ve read Karl Marx. I’ve reada Lenin. That doesn’t make me a Communist. So, what is wrong with understanding, having some situational understanding about the country which we are here to defend?” he stated.

What ends up coming out of the social media pipeline thanks to anyone looking to discredit the man is Milley is a Mao sympathizer. In Canada, we get parallel versions of this. On social we see Pierre Poilievre calling out just about anything Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does as coming from “the radical left” just about daily.

It should be easy to reach a concensus the right is every bit as “radical”. This was made popular, of course by Mr. Trump and served little purpose to inflame his electorate and heighten hate among his countrymen at alarming rates. Is that what we want for Canada? Politicians across the board need to check themselves and stick to core issues and eliminate ridiculous name calling. M.W.