When’s the last time you read an op-ed or watched a video clip that wasn’t dedicated to criticizing some politician, castigating some group, mocking some ideology, or warning of some looming danger? When’s the last time you encountered something online filled only with praise and admiration for its subject? If you’re like me, the ratio of critical to admiring content you find online is something like 10 to 1.
Society today suffers from a disease of skepticism and criticism, with angry words and controversies swirling ever higher and higher, enough to block out the sun itself. The truth is, critical content is fun to write and fun to read. It sells. Incendiary remarks stoke our emotions and stroke our egos. Barbed comments bring a perverse satisfaction to both writer and reader. Even here, I am not able to completely avoid it—I’m criticizing society for its addiction to criticism. The tendency is so hard to root out. It has become the unquestioned background to public discourse.
