Righteous Pondering

• Not having an opinion on everything
• Having a loosely held opinion
• Being confused
• Suspending judgment
• Gathering information before deciding
• Seeing valid points on more than one side
• Being curious instead of declarative
• Praying before posting

I say all this because the internet in general, and social media in particular, demand and reward loud opinions, exclamatory statements, hot takes, quick judgements. They do not reward slow thoughtfulness, deep study, progress toward conclusions instead of jumps. And none of this is doing any of us any favors. 

This is mostly a note to self, of course. I cringe at the number of ¾-true facts I’ve posted. After Rebecca Black’s “Friday” came out, I wrote a hilariously mean takedown and posted it before it occurred to me that I was an adult making fun of a child online. I know too that I’m not saying anything you don’t already know, and that hasn’t been said better by somebody else. It just seems a good moment in our collective lives to remind ourselves, you know? 

Principled stances are important. Thoughtful, informed opinions, especially on matters of justice, of life and death, matter. Publicly naming right and wrong matters. Relentless both-sidesism doesn’t help any of us move forward, and sometimes one side is simply wrong. 

But the situations are few and far between that require my immediate input. Even fewer and farther between are the ones that need my loud immediate input.  

Every once in a while, the world needs us to speak quickly, act fast. Usually what it needs, on the internet anyway, is a lot more thought and a lot more restraint. 

Prayer
Give me a pondering, righteous mind. Amen.

About the Author
Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas. Learn more about it and find him on Facebook at Quinn G. Caldwell.