In or Out? || Nation’s State - Part II

Because of social media, identity has become far shallower than it ever has been before. Personally, I find "trends" to be potentially the most fruitless and damaging element of modern day society - participation is nearly mandatory, or judgement by one's peers becomes overwhelming. Every account seeks to grow its own following by separating those who enjoy their content from everyone else; even well-meaning Christian influencers and commentators are guilty of this.

It's a guaranteed side-effect of attempting to convert our four-dimensional world into a two-dimensional medium. When all that matters is what you can see and hear, maintaining the sound and appearance of a loyal follower becomes foremost in one's mind.

The clearest picture I can paint of this section of the issue: inward vs outward.

It's a fundamental mindset. Do you look outside of yourself to find an identity? Do you go and seek out membership in one social group or another, hoping that after a while - if you find enough different places and are committed enough to each one, you'll eventually feel that those terms in your bio will describe who you are, and not just what you are?

If so, that's an outward-minded identity. You take in pieces of the world around you and stitch them together into a patchwork fabric that essentially defines "you". Your soul, core, consciousness - whatever you want to call it - resides outside of your body in each and every place you call a social home. Annnnd... yeah, you're looking in the wrong place.

An inward focused identity, however, means that all of those core parts of you exist fully and solidly inside your mind and body. You define for yourself who you are, what you like, and what defines the fundamental You. The social groups, classifications, hobbies, passions, and ideologies you "belong" to may define what you are - but not who you are.

For example, my Twitter/X bio reads:

“Storm chaser, SKYWARN spotter, music producer, husband, Christian, Conservative, NASCAR fan, and esports driver.”

Those titles do define what I am, in terms of society and culture. But none of them define me.

Politics is probably the most impactful branch of this identity virus. No longer is it two perspectives on one way of living, the American Dream. The Democrat and Republican parties might as well be two different species - at least, that's how it may seem online. As usual, the true reality is somewhere between real life and on the internet. Yes, you can absolutely have far more reasonable conversations and discover that most people are much more normal than how the media and socials may paint them. However, there is also a clear vein of extreme, unwavering personal realities that both sides possess, driving people to the point of murder - as was seen recently with the multiple Trump assassination attempts.

Finding common ground is still possible - but it's far more difficult in some situations than it ever has been, or ever should be. Speaking from the side of a conservative, there are clear examples of people that simply are pointless to try and work with. Hardline pro-abortionists, pure socialism or communism proponents, and frankly - most larger internet personalities and pundits. They are all so incredibly set in their own mindset and reality that it's pointless to try and convince them otherwise. There's another major element to this as well - pride. But, I'll discuss that in a later post.

Stay tuned for the next one! We’re going to get practical.