Cooling the temperature

Temperature can be artificially manipulated with outside factors. A stove can be turned up or down. But once water hits a roaring boil, there’s no making it boil any more.c

Here’s the thing: culture ebbs and flows. Violence is a catalyst for more violence. We are aware of the research that has shown the spread of these ideas, in particular, from mass shootings to suicides. The internet, while it can be a place to learn, connect, and share art, is often a place that breeds hate, discontent, and sorrow.

There’s no temperature regulation for the internet. And people are more complicated than a boiling pot of water. The “us” versus “them” culture is worth examining. For instance, when half of the voting population votes for one candidate and the other half for another, it appears to be a clear divide. And the temptation with any finite game is to “beat” the other side. This isn’t possible. 350 million people are never going to be on the same page. Not ever. The answer is to find a space that allows us to coexist.

The internet has been weaponized to shame people into compliance. Mass media continues to highlight the “emergency.” And so much more that I don’t need to tell you. Where is the off-ramp for this madness? More importantly, is there any way to control the temperature? Perhaps simply hitting the pause button to see what happens next is the right course of action.