Virtue Signaling

A think piece in the Christmas Eve Globe asked:

Have you changed your Facebook avatar to support a cause? Did you take the ice bucket challenge? Have you ever offered your thoughts and prayers in the aftermath of a disaster? Do you express your beliefs through hashtags?

There’s actually a name for that: virtue signaling. This newly prominent phrase sums up actions (mostly online) that send the message “I’m a good person” — though they might not be accompanied by doing anything good at all.

The windbags of the right, you know, the all talk, all instigate, all war (as long as it's you or your kids) crew, have co-opted the phrase as a way to slam the left. In doing so, they're attempting to appear (not be, just seem) more virtuous.

Catriona Stewart of the Scotland's Herald notes,

The charge of virtue-signalling is a lazy tool of those on the right to condemn the left as woolly-thinking and naïve.

Yeah, what she said. I'm neither naïve nor woolly. Nor am I so insecure or narcissistic that I need or want to advertise my theoretical goodness.

Could it be, maybe possibly, that when everyone's Facebook profile pic is bathed in the colors of the French or rainbow flags (or whatever) it's not about anything beyond expressing solidarity with your buds. Possibly it's shorthand—more concise than Twitterspeak—for saying. Look what happened and here's how I feel about it. Dunno about anyone else's motivations but my own.

I DO know that many, perhaps most, of my Facebook friends have far more politically varied chums than I. The extremest right wingers (redundant?) have generally been booted from my page for grossly offensive, inane statements and/or memes or because they've tried to pick fights with me. I don't go on Facebook to have pointless arguments with the fact challenged who will never agree with me. Nope.

To the folks, with their pics and posts, who are honestly trying to affect positive change/growth by provoking discussion with the stone cold hearts and minds crowd, well, more power to ya. I hope it works and you succeed. Really I do.

Having said that, yes, we should all do more and do it more often to make our country better than it is. Protest marches are grand but, often, not much more effective than Facebook posting. Want more effective rallies or protest marches? Check out Mister Mahablog's post—he totally nails it.

Volunteering time isn't as much fun or as rousing as a rally BUT it might just move the ball down field faster. Michael (Mickey) Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney gave their lives as voter registration volunteers. It's a lot less dangerous now AND helping folks register to vote is still badly needed. Being an active, informed participant in our society is a good, grand, big start down the road of improving this country. Get involved with Rock the Vote and check out Particip8.org.

Also too, research the candidates stance's. Weigh the pros and cons. BE PRAGMATIC and remember that superheroes and unicorns are, sadly, works of fiction. Remember the long view. The real world doesn't get resolved in 60 minutes (not counting commercial breaks).