Last night my friend mentioned getting a one star review for some weird political issue.

I said "sounds like bot activity."

I wasn't trying to be flippant, I've just come to the conclusion that we're being manipulated into hating one another via tech. Something that's become painfully obvious in leaving legacy social media and coming to Nostr.

But it was interpreted as flippant.

"No this is a real person! Look at their Instagram! Others call and yell at us! Everyone here is hateful and evil! Look what they're saying on Facebook! Everything is terrible!"

Increasingly I think the calls are bots too. I think most of what is on Instagram and Facebook is not real human interaction.

When I meet people in person even through whatever brainwashing flavor is their preference they seem to act the same. First they're clearly defensive acting as if I'm "on the other side." When I don't get upset and take the bait, they shift to "oh you must be on my side."

Like, no, honey baby sugar pot pie. I think the way you're understanding "sides" obfuscates the true war that has been under way for almost a century now. Maybe even longer, who knows. It is bigger than you or me, I think it's bigger than any of us humans, and all these issues fall away to be nothing in the next news cycle. Because it's an outrage treadmill to keep us down.

We are fools to let rage over ephemeral things promoted by bot farms distract us from focusing on building love and peace in our communities. We are fools to fall to despair over what we see on social media.

One of my favorite current philosophers is Sadhguru who simplified things down to just focusing on discipline to do what is needed. The current situation is constantly changing, there will be no good path that fits all situations. We must have the sense to do what is needed to go closer to the world we want, however you're understanding that. We must have the sense to do what is needed despite our personal compulsions. Often our personal compulsions are diametrically opposed to what is actually needed to build peace.

So when we see something online, do we react with despair and depression? Or do we think, ah, I am being given a signal that my world is not going the way it could go. What can I do to build what might help?

When we see someone in distress over a psyop do we laugh at them while they cry? Or do we reach out and have a maybe awkward conversation that can help bring humanity back into the conversation and help someone feel less despair?

The friend who I mentioned at the beginning of the post? In person I've seen a community flourishing at their business even with it only being a year old. I've walked around festivals eavesdropping on strangers singing their praises. And honestly I've not once heard anything in person against them. Because being against the idea of a restaurant is incredibly silly. But instead of seeing all that good that they're creating in the real world, they are deeply depressed over what they see online.

Our world's become what we focus on 🫂