Whatever happened to...?

I don't know where to start. It's been two years... YIKES!! Two years without posting a single blog, recording some funny happenings in the Farhadi household, saving memories of my girls for when I don't remember anymore. And then today, there it was. The old bug that said to take a look, and I found myself looking at old posts and laughing at the things my kids did years ago which I didn't remember anymore. So I got back to this, trying to figure out whatever happened to my blog. 

I think it was Twitter. Much as I admit to love Twitter, it did have an unintended side effect. It gave me the opportunity to immediately react, comment and move on, and the need for further exploration or expression was gone. Twitter killed my blog. Or perhaps I did? 

And then I got thinking about this, and of course went on to something else - to the realization that this immediate gratification we have grown accustomed to (gross generalization) is ruining more than the blogging. This constant connectedness and busyness is turning us into reactionary people - we get emails no matter where we go and immediately respond. We find the news on the move and are always informed (at least of the headlines, which isn't really informed). Everything is urgent, everything is immediate, nothing can wait any longer. 

We are too busy to take our time, trying constantly to jam something else, since now we can. And in the process we are growing used to expressing our opinions without weighting the unintended consequences. We spout thoughts we haven't refined, we argue our points in opposition, and we forget along the way to look deeper, to play in the grey, and to look at the many angles.

I am the queen of that parade - the strong opinion parade. There. I own that one. Those of you who know me are nodding vigorously and agreeing with me. Admit it. You just nodded again.

I am the queen of the strong opinion parade, but all this is making me want to slow down enough to realize that nothing is truly black and white (which, let's admit that too, really rattles my world). We have the right to free speech and to express our opinions, but do we truly have the right to judge others as harshly as we do these days? 

Exhibit A: same sex marriage. No matter where you stand on the issue, chances are you have a strong opinion about it, have expressed it, have gotten into more than one heated argument along the way. 

Exhibit B: Abortion. Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, the same applies. 

Exhibit C: Zimmerman case. 'nuff said.

And the ultimate fact is we don't have all the facts. The truth is many of us are not the people who have to live with these issues, these realities, and the laws that affect their lives more directly than anybody else's.

So, whatever happened with slowing down, taking it all in, considering the facts, and just plain having compassion for each other? I know... coming from this queen of the parade, that's saying something...