I would offer this piece as part of my reason, Daniel. I didn’t say or even imply that Zuckerburg is responsible for all the sickness that is in all humans, not just in our society. You’re welcome to your take, just as I have mine. However, to your point, you don’t have to stoop to insult to make your point. That is precisely what is sick in our society: our inability to disagree without demeaning. You’re obviously thoughtful and intelligent. You could have chosen to make your point without doing your best to demean mine.

“We” don’t cure society, Daniel. We cure ourselves. That’s deep personal work. You speak of society as though it’s an entity outside yourself. You are “society” just as I am. You could have offered some perspectives that you feel I should consider. The unfortunate fact is that you demonstrate the very behaviors that add kerosene on the fire. In other words, what the Silicon Valley megabrains created that touched into and unleashed our very worst natures: the inability to control the impulse to insult when we disagree, rather than to posit another viewpoint and engage in thoughtful discussion.

This is an observation about a behavior, not a character assassination, Daniel, and there is a very important difference. I don’t pretend to know you or your motivations. All I have is what you do. You could have chosen to write a response, walk away, consider its potential impact, rewrite it, rinse and repeat. That’s what I did with mine. Because emotional intelligence, what of it I may or may not possess, begins with the self. The ability to manage our reactions rather than fling shite at each other simply because we disagree. That is part of what is sick in our society.

You’re welcome to think I’m “silly” or any other opinion you may harbor. But to give voice to that as opposed to offering your version of proof, another way to think about the issue that clearly annoyed you, is also part of the problem.

Zuckerburg unleashed the worse of ourselves in society. And part of that is the instantaneous, knee-jerk, uncontrolled reactions that allow us to do damage without considering the consequences. I’ve just rewritten this at least four times. Why? Because I respect that you have an opinion. And, because it’s a great way to work out whatever childish reaction may exist in me, as it does in us all. That doesn’t make me right and you wrong. It makes us different. If I respond in kind, I’m part of the problem. If I don’t, and give thoughtful consideration to your take, which I have, then my hope is to be part of the “cure” you reference above.