text
if you disagree
in even the smallest way
from trending dogma
you are swiftly unpersoned
with no chance for redemption
notes
I created this Haiga using Pixlr.com and a free use image by cg world on Pixabay.
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/monster-evil-internet-vpn-safety-6320010/
You are welcome to use the Haiga, but please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl and provide a link back to this blog.
The content of the Senryu/Tanka was inspired by a prompt from Mindlovemisery's Menagerie.
https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2022/09/07/story-swap-7-controversy/
The prompt was to write about something potentially controversial.
However, these days it is impossible to have any kind of nuanced discussion about certain subjects. Doing so might lead to ostracization and worse. Critical thinking is in short supply and, to quote the late Dr. Martin Luther King following the assassination of Malcolm X, "I think we have got to learn to disagree without being violently disagreeable."
Dr. King also said:
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. ... Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
The following is an editorial from the Cincinnati Enquirer. It is worth a read.
~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~
So true. I watched part of a documentary and students are actually requesting less freedom of speech at American universities. A university is a place to learn, grow, expand your mind. I think it is absolutely necessary for critical thinking skills to develop to be exposed to different view points. A lot of our fear and biases stem from ignorance so how on earth can we come together as a community if we don't speak to each other particularly on sensitive and vital issues. MLMM
ReplyDelete