You Can't Spell Toxic Without X

Extended Mix, with Appeals to Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius

I’m not fully satisfied with the following thoughts. There’s more to be said, and, perhaps, less. There are some things at the end that may seem specifically for Christians, or specifically for certain kinds of Christians. But appeals to St. Paul, Henri Nouwen, and MLK don’t belong exclusively to self-professed followers of Christ.

I’ve dipped a toe back into that thing we used to call Twitter. Why? Well, it can be a good place to connect. It can also be terrible. I used to want a Tesla and to not use X. Flipping those virtue signals is a lot cheaper.

Honestly, I’m not sure how the ethics all shake out when it comes to the platform. We’re all part of the same hypocrisy, Senator Geary. The Left tears itself apart as efficiently as the Right. Which is not to say these are the same, but both could learn from Rule Number 3 of the Coyote/Road Runner shorts:

I found this, of course, on X.

In some ways, even terms like “Left” and “Right” feel meaningless. The liberal and conservative norms of my (90s) youth have largely vanished. Those labels weren’t all that accurate, either.

I’m being a little obtuse. Flu and strep have been reported among the Easter guests and I’m not sure if I’m just tired or coming down with something or both.

Without further, murky adieu, some thoughts I’m not entirely sure about. But not before I ask if you happened to catch Bryce Harper tonight. He was unreal.

You Can’t Spell Toxic without X

Right there in the middle of the word “toxic” is X, the everything app.

Headlines last night were about how people have stopped buying Teslas because Elon has become too toxic.

I think that’s probably true. And there’s been a retraction in the EV space in general. I’m not completely sure why. But I do know, anecdotally, about a lot of self-styled experts who say the cars are no good, wherever they’re from.

A lot of it is fear. A lot of it is certain demographics holding on to the internal combustion engine because they feel like they’ve lost everything else.

As for Things Elon Does. I’m completely off Twitter/X. Not necessarily because of him, bu that’s part of it.

I have this theory, not particularly well-developed, that Michael Jackson was a gestalt figure at the crux of celebrity, race, exploitation, and child endangerment. He personified the symptoms of our disordered relationship with art, commerce, and the end product: superstar. Elvis had some of that, too. Whatever else he is, Donald Trump is a gestalt célèbre, a self-identified symptom of what’s sick about our political system in general. He has said so himself (“the system is rigged, she knows it, and that’s why she won’t fix it. It benefits her and her donors.” Chappelle makes a very good point about that). In the same way, Elon Musk is social media personified. He needs to unplug. He needs to touch grass (the real kind). We all do.

Headlines this morning were about how 40% of adults go three days without in-person interactions. That’s part of why keeping us polarized has become so damn easy. Shares of Truth Social may have plummeted, Musk may have all but destroyed Twitter, but people are still making money keeping us so hell-bent on hating each other. If you’re sucked into this matrix, if you think these billionaires want to save you, maybe turn your phone off. If you’re one of these 40%, left, right, or middle, go talk to a neighbor. Volunteer somewhere. Take someone soup. Do something in person. Remember that people are complicated, we all work from faulty assumptions, we’re all prone to fooling ourselves. Play pickleball (if you must). Find a way to connect, flesh and blood, Vitamin D, birds chirping. The good stuff.

St Paul put it this way: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Henri Nouwen said this:

“If you know you are the Beloved, you can live with an enormous amount of success and an enormous amount of failure without losing your identity. Because your identity is that you are the Beloved… The question becomes ‘Can I live a life of faith in the world and trust that it will bear fruit?’”

Nouwen’s not so-secret secret? We’re all the Beloved. If you struggle to see the image of God in others, congratulations, you’re human. But part of that burden is trusting that putting your faith into work will, indeed, bear fruit.

In November, we’ll elect a president. We are not crowning a Messiah. Celebrities have agendas like the rest of us, and it turns out that not even the technocrats will save us.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” MLK said that, paraphrasing Jesus.

This post is a work in progress. More to come as I have it. But some need reminding: stop worshiping political figures, celebrities, and internet clout.