On Tuesday, I waded into those waters with On Gender, Power, and Sin: The Evangelical #MeToo Moment because the mistreatment of women, especially in Christian communities, is just too important to ignore.
Those two posts could appear to be contradictory, Monday's post and Tuesday's post. But as I reflected on it, maybe not so much. I really do tire of of social media, and the effort it takes to participate in prophetic but redemptive ways. And honestly, I really do loathe Twitter.
But the issues that rage on social media aren't all products of the social media outrage machine. Silenced for generations, social media has allowed marginalized voices to be heard for the first time. The #MeToo movement isn't a culture war issue. #MeToo is exposing a dark and sinful aspect of the human predicament that demands our attention and action. What has been done in the darkness is now being brought into the light.
Plus, when you look back on your life, your children and grandchildren are going to ask you: Where did you stand when that was happening? Did you raise your voice? Were you silent, or did you speak out?
Still, you wonder about your motivations. Are you virtue-signaling? Do you see yourself as a courageous hero?
You also wonder about your effectiveness. Aren't people just going to see you "taking sides" in the clearly drawn battle between Us and Them? Are you just throwing bombs or are you actually persuading people? And does anyone's opinions ever change? Am I just contributing to the increasingly polarization and making things worse?
And on and on and on.
On Monday, I characterized my Tuesday post as a "rant." Some of you didn't think it was much of a "rant" when the post appeared.
Well, a lot of profanity had been edited out by Tuesday morning! Along a lot of other editing.
Still, Tuesday's post is about as ranty as I get. And as tiring as social media may be, some things just need to get said.
