Many years ago, I came to Joeuser out of loneliness. My husband was on yet another deployment and I was in a strange new city with two young children. I needed adult interaction online while building RL relationships in our new community.
I stayed for the varied viewpoints, interesting topics and people.
I don’t know if it is just me, but I tend to associate in real life with people who share the same values I do. We don’t agree on everything. Who does? But, there are fundamental values we all have in common. Deal breakers if you will.
JU was a great place to step outside RL and flesh those values out by debating them, and showing where weaknesses resided in my logic. I often found myself pondering points of view never considered. Sometimes I changed my mind. Sometimes I didn’t.
Here it is many years later and I can’t find that kind of dialog anywhere. Not online. Not in RL. People are polarized, angry and the world has lost its mind.
It’s like a haze has settled over our land. It makes the sun less brilliant, people less kind and a constant need to ask, “what now?” I’ve lost friends and family who have become toxic over things we can’t control…and it only seems to be getting worse.
I see the crucible coming and can't do anything to stop it.
And I mourn for our country. I do.