Sometimes I wonder whether it is wise or not to read some of the posts my former students have left in various places. Whether on Facebook notes, personal blogs, or forums, the younger generations are flocking to sites where people will listen to what they have to say. In fact, I am doing the same thing as I type! And yet, does this personal expression actually do anything productive or useful for them, those they debate or discuss with and culture in general? From what I have seen and read thus far, my answer would have to be "NO."
Let me start by saying I do not believe these medias are bad at all. In fact, I believe these "journal-like" avenues of communication allow people to better express themselves and communicate with each other. What I am conflicted over, however, is the content of these communications.
I am a presuppositionalist when it comes to logic. I enjoy evidential reasoning from time to time, but if you can cut to the chase and deal with the root of the issue philosophically, it saves a lot of time and energy. The main problem is, that many people do not know what they believe or why they believe it so they end up with a hodge-podge of mixed presuppositions that contradict each other. Unfortunately, these folks rant and rave about a great many things without ever stopping to smell the roots of their worldview. As a result, they just sound stupid.
Case in point: I was perusing some notes on Facebook written by former Christian school graduates who are now in college and think they understand debate and philosophy. One of them posted about their problem with a God who judges people unfairly, condemns them to hell unrighteously, and then points to open-mindedness as a potential solution. Shortly after this post, along comes our Christian evidentialist, who does the old 1...2...3...4 throw Bible verses and argue point-by-point over the sub-issues instead of getting to the heart of the matter. From then on, for about 5 days, canned arguments, dated back to high school days, with a bonus helping of ad hominem and a dose of Wikipedia links.
My stomach sank as a read on and I left not feeling as though I had read a good paper between two intelligent men, but rather a laughable attempt at playing grown-up by six or seven fools who all think they are right. The saddest bit to me is that several of the posters were fence-sitters, who randomly threw in Amens! when they were not even sure where they stood.
If I was in a less critical mood at the moment, I might have some constructive plan to help such people. Unfortunately, I just feel irritated and depressed, which is sad because I would rather be laughing at the antics of Miss Teen Usa South Carolina-esque people. Instead, I am saddened because I know them personally and I fear for where their logic leads!
Wait...strike that...I suppose I have already suggested an answer. These young men and women simply need to learn to deal with the issues that govern their logic then they might get somewhere. The only other problem is getting people to see this...
**If you have some time to peruse a blog a friend sent me on this similar wavelength, feel free to check this out: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google **
