I mentioned last week that my understanding of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict was through my network and called on me to work out, from differing viewpoints, what I think on the matter.
I also finished listening to Game Of Thrones last week which constantly challenges our desire to work out right from wrong as several times the good guys turn into the bad guys, and sometimes back again!
Lastly I posted about celebrity and the way that our fascination with certain high profile individuals gives them disproportionate power and influence, whether they merit it or not.
All three topics raise the issue with which I began my book – we all need to grow up. Deciding right from wrong is hard work, we avoid doing it, we avoid thinking about it, we get others to do it for us. But when things start to change faster, become more unpredictable, and we learn as much or more from each other as we do from “experts”, then we need to accept the responsibility that this places on us.
Whether we like it or not, in our use of social tools, we all have a volume control on mob rule (another chapter in the book). We get to choose what we link to or like, which flames we fan or douse. We need to think before we share horrendous images of suffering on our newsfeeds. Are they an effective way of sharing our righteous indignation – or are they just disaster porn?
None of this is easy, we used to allow other people to do it for us, but now we need to work it out – together.
The Obvious? 