Crickets

That’s the sound in the quiet that let’s you know it’s quiet. And it’s the metaphorical sound people bring attention to when we are silent in times of crisis. I stopped writing this for a second just to stalk my Facebook news feed. What did I see? Top 10 dunks from a guy who used to play in the NBA, a post about the apparent dearth of organic baby food (specifically peas), anniversaries and birthday shout outs. Can I just say that none of these are bad. They are great and Facebook along with other social media wouldn’t be what they are without this very human aspect of life sharing.

But if there’s a shadow side to this moon, it is the way in which sensitive discourse is conducted in the social media sphere, namely as it pertains to race and politics. The congenial camaraderie indulged by millions is interrupted the minute we realize my work associate actually possesses some pretty divergent views from mine. Somehow it seems like the Facebook flagship has produced a false sense of inch-deep social comfort in which we can like, post and share so long as none of it breeches my presumptions about the world.

The death of Michael Brown was classically divisive. A teenage African-American male of questionable character is shot and killed by local law enforcement. It was a conflagration from the start composed of all of the usual combustibles… Race, Authority & Possible Abuse thereof and Media opportunism. During the waning months of 2014, I watched FB chatter as people launched their flaming arrows masquerading as arguments into a night sky of disoriented discourse. Rather than exchanging ideas, people angrily sketched out circumventions that only told part of the story. People “unfriended” people, which is not so different from actually taking your ball and going home after day of play gone rancid.

I may have even been expunged from a friend list or two. For the record, I ain’t “unfriended” anybody over the controversial issues of 2014. It’s good to listen and even better to figure out how to communicate about significant issues with those who stand across the diameter from us. There are crickets chirping in social media as we avoid the hard shit. But we actually do well to silence the crickets with a noise that features a willingness to listen and understand. Listening doesn’t mean forfeiture of convictions. It just means we’re interested in hearing all perspectives and not defining society by a love for surface relationships. Historically, figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Aung San Suuu Kyi, Mohandas Gandhi and the like thrived in the difficult exchanging of ideas. They were resolute in purpose but also skilled in listening so that they might understand the complexity of transformation in a country like the United States of America. Leaders and their mobilized contingents know that life is neither easy nor devoid of hard conversations.

Crickets are notoriously disturbing when talking humans should be drowning them out. I’m sure there were crickets chirping when Jesus engaged a woman at a well who, during his time, was taboo for lifestyle and racial reasons. By moving past the societal norms of social interaction, he changed a life permanently and communicated an unconditional, unparalleled love.

Here’s to a 2015 chock full of frustrating dialogues and meaningful communication across divides. Here’s to not punking out on the chance to have conversations like never before. Oh…and here’s to talking to people you love about hard stuff and comforting those who need it.