Is it just me or has the world gotten meaner? I had dinner with a friend the other night and was presenting my theory and I think it is valid. I walked in a fog of grief and pain for over two years after Mr. Virgo died. I have just in the last 6 months or so felt like I’m waking up and rejoining the human race. I’m different, certainly. But, I am much more aware of what’s going on outside of my shell now. And, I’ve gotta tell ya…this world has gotten mean. Was it always like this and I had my rose-colored glasses primly planted on the bridge of my nose? Perhaps. Was I so in love and enjoying Mr. Virgo’s relatively new presence in my life that I wasn’t really paying attention to the world around me? I’m sure. Did it get meaner while I was checked out in my grief battle? I truly believe so.

I’ve never been particularly vocal about politics. Like religion, I feel that is a personal issue. I don’t want someone pushing their agenda on me so I certainly don’t push mine on them. There have been 44 Presidential Elections since this country was founded. I have been eligible to vote in 7 of them. I grew up during the political unrest of 1968. I’ve witnessed the assassination and attempted assassinations of past Presidents on television. I know what it felt like to lose JFK, MLK, and Bobby Kennedy. I’m not about to touch the third rail and get into a political debate here, but merely from a sociological and anthropological standpoint, I am deeply troubled by what I am witnessing.

There seems to be so much hatred in the world. So much anger. There seem to be fewer social boundaries defining what is and is not acceptable behavior when in mixed company, let alone on national television. I cleared out my personal Facebook page and unfollowed those whose rants were upsetting to me. I don’t watch television. I read very little print media. I do catch my news online from trusted media outlets. But there is a fine line between protecting myself from the angry rhetoric and putting my head in the sand. It bothers me that no one skipped a beat when Justice Scalia died…they went right into screaming matches over the next appointment to the Supreme Court. It took till today for me to see a post by a member of congress expressing his condolences to the widow and family. What is wrong with us? Where are our manners? What happened to our humanity?

There are many of us here who have an intimate understanding of what’s going on in the Scalia house this week. I’m embarrassed to say I know very little about the man’s politics. I’m looking at this purely as an empathetic human. And my heart is with a new widow.

❤️

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.”

Psalm 116:15 NIV