In A World of Alternative Facts

I was thinking about Twitter earlier tonight. I know, we're all supposed to call it X, but it will always be Twitter to me (I usually write it Twitter/X these days). I joined it in 2008, at the behest of some of my students. Everybody said it was really influential: a lot of well-known reporters, politicians, broadcasters, and celebrities posted there. And while I didn't spend a lot of time on social media, I agreed that I should probably have a presence there, even just to read the Tweets of people whose work I cared about.

Back then, Twitter was a fascinating place. Yes, it had its share of trolls, but it also had a wide range of folks who just wanted to keep up with what was going on. I met a lot of wonderful people on Twitter: many were Rush fans, many knew me from radio, some had read my books or articles, and some were colleagues (past and present). Now and then, I had to block someone who wanted to argue over politics and decided that calling me names was the way to do it; but 95% of my interactions, even with folks whose political views differed from mine, tended to be friendly and courteous. 

I miss those days. Since the ownership changed in 2022 and Elon changed the name to X, the number of trolls has increased, and the courteous conversations have decreased. I still maintain a presence there, for the same reason that I joined in 2008. Yes, most of the journalists and many other folks I respected, have left, frustrated by how the platform became more open to angry and hateful messaging; but there are still some nice folks there, and I stay to maintain my communication with them. I also think it's important to hear viewpoints that aren't just the ones I agree with.

But staying there isn't always easy, especially when I find myself verbally attacked for having the "wrong" political views. Twitter/X has become the home for folks who are pro-Trump. I am the same center-leftie I always was, and that never used to be a problem; I had some conservative followers and we chatted about the news all the time. We saw things differently sometimes, but we never felt the need to insult each other. These days, however, if I say anything even mildly critical about the president, there are folks who are quick to tell me what a horrible person I am. 

Of course, I'm not the only person to notice that when it comes to social media, we've self-selected into two parallel universes, especially about politics. There are the pro-Trump spaces (like Twitter/X), and the anti-Trump spaces (like Bluesky). And that means two very different realities. For example, in the pro-Trump space, President Trump gave Zelenskyy what was coming to him, since the Ukrainian leader is just an ungrateful moocher and Vladimir Putin is the one who should be admired. But in the anti-Trump space, Mr Trump put on an embarrassing display of rudeness and pettiness, insulted a heroic ally, and made us look bad on the world stage. 

I admit I don't understand why folks on Twitter/X seem convinced that Putin is wonderful, and I'm sure some folks there can't understand why I'm no fan of Donald Trump. But at least the prior version of Twitter/X wasn't so hostile to debate, and fact-checkers weighed in if something was demonstrably false. These days, "alternative facts" are drowning out what's actually true, and this president's relentless (and often undeserved) attacks on journalists have diminished the public trust in actual reporting. And what keeps worrying me is that some folks are fine with that. They no longer seem to care about respecting "the other side"; they don't value dialogue, and they see basic courtesy as weakness. Some folks are fine if we have an autocratic leader who loves to insult his perceived enemies, and who constantly spreads alternative facts. And for those who like that sort of thing, Twitter/X is the sort of thing they like.

I Will Choose Freewill

As many of you know, Valentine's Day was my birthday. I turned 78, and to my surprise, more than 1,100 folks reached out to me on social media to send happy birthday wishes. Some were Rush fans, some were baseball fans, some were former colleagues, some were former students, some were folks I play Wordle with online, and of course, some were friends of mine. But I sincerely didn't expect such a large number, and I tried my best to get back to as many of them as I could to express my gratitude.

Over the past few days, I was thinking about what it means to be 78. By some standards, it's considered "old": in the 1950s, when I was a kid, I remember that people in their 70s were called "elderly," rather than the more euphemistic "senior citizens." If they weren't living with their adult children, many elderly usually lived in "old age homes," and it was highly unusual for someone of that advanced age to still be working. In fact, even reaching the age of 78 was seen as quite an achievement back then. 

I was raised in that time before the internet, but I also grew up in the era when cable TV was new. There was no expectation of instant information, and news anchors were generally admired (as were policemen, firemen, and doctors). Inflammatory talk shows were unheard of; if you were angry about something that happened in your community, you wrote a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. I guess I grew up in a more courteous era, when politicians and celebrities would never say anything vulgar in public. It was also a time when people felt a duty to their communities, and believed in trying to make society better; lots of folks either belonged to civic organizations or they did volunteer work. And there were few public discussions of politics or any potentially divisive topics. 

But let's be honest: it wasn't a paradise, even if some folks today want to remember it that way. It was a time when conformity was valued and people perceived as non-conformists were made to feel unwelcome. I lived through an era of anti-war protests, civil rights marches, and frequent disagreements between the generations: in fact, when we young people questioned authority, the older people said we were wrong to do that. And while many things gradually changed, not everything did: well into the 1970s and 1980s, traditional gender roles were still being enforced-- even the idea that a woman should be paid the same as a man for doing the same job was controversial.   

But this isn't just a trip down memory lane. I've always been able to adapt to whatever the trends, and I still keep up with what's going on (I'm still an avid reader). As the technology changed, I learned to use a VCR, then I learned to go online, and then I joined social media. Today, folks can find me on a variety of platforms, where I love to talk music, or baseball, or politics, or broadcasting, and of course, I enjoy talking about a certain Canadian rock band with whom I have a 50-year history. 

And that leads me to the lyrics of the song "Freewill," which has been on my mind recently. It's often misinterpreted as a song that opposes organized religion. That is certainly one possible interpretation, but to me, it's a song about the importance of making choices, rather than just going along with whatever others are doing. I've never heard any of the guys in Rush tell people what to believe. They simply asked you to make a choice based on reason: in other words, if you believe in a Deity, do so because it makes your life better, rather than out of a fear of hell. Similarly, if you are (like me) in your late 70s, and people say you are "too old" to do something, think about your options and then make your own decision.

I've always found it interesting that Neil's lyrics ask us to "choose" freewill (or free will, if you prefer). If we already have it, as most religions and philosophies say we do, why do we need to choose it? Because there have always been societal forces that want us to conform, to give up our choice, to do as we are told. But if we get discouraged, if we feel overwhelmed, if we give up our ability to choose, then we make it easier for those who want to hold us back, those who don't want us to succeed. So, even though sometimes, things don't look very hopeful, even though I may not always be able to accomplish everything I want, I shouldn't use that as an excuse not to try... or worse yet, as an excuse to let others make the decisions while I sit on the sidelines. And so, that's why, for as long as I'm able, I will continue to think for myself, I will continue to stand for ethics, and as much as possible, I will continue to try to make this world a better place. I may be 78, but that doesn't mean I'm done yet. And so, today and every day, I will choose freewill. What about you?