This comment was from NickMostly on the post “When Angry Commenters Find Common Ground.”
It appears we’ve convinced ourselves we have more control than we actually have. I think that illusion of control is really just another manifestation of fear; a belief that through small behaviors we can drastically change our exposure to harm. In turn, that leads us to be distrustful of each other, and to treat each other as potential threats.
This might seem like the right decision for ourselves, and for our families. I suspect that it actually does much more harm and undermines our goals for security. It creates a mentality of “us vs. the world” and prevents us from acknowledging and connecting with others.
This in turn leads to alienation and ultimately enables the type of antisocial behaviors we’re trying to prevent.
—Photo kretyen/Flickr