I just realized, after 9 years of having consistent access to the internet, that I have a quirk.

I assume that every time someone posts something– anything– to the internet, they intend to start a rational, civil,  discussion.  I assume that they are soliciting comment; I assume they do not want to engage in mere ideological boosterism, but rather explore and defend their arguments, or change their minds.

As it turns out, I’m wrong.  There are forums where such thinking is valued (http://www.hatrack.com is good for this type of atmosphere); but the vast majority of communication on the internet is empty preaching and  choir-calls.  There’s no attention given to rationality; no devotion to civility; no adherence to principled disagreement.  Most internet conversations that take a stand on  anything are little more than a request for like-minded people to gather and nod their heads, or wag their tongues about those benighted souls too stupid to agree with the initial poster.

I’ve decided to invest less in these discussions, both time-wise and in terms of mental processing.  Life’s too short to deal with middle-school treatments of adult problems.