Seriously, Folks?

When I go into the town square called Facebook, I start to worry about some of my friends.   Really.   Smart, respectable people who suddenly become downright maniacal when it comes to political issues.

Such was the case one more time when Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died.   Admittedly, this is a big deal because only nine people in the world have this job.  And, of course, as the Supreme Court has become super polarized, any change in the judges has a dramatic impact on what goes on in America.

Of course, Scalia's death has the potential to significantly shift the balance of opinion from slightly conservative to extremely liberal on the bench. According to a lot of my friends on Facebook, this is stupendous news.   And was met with a wide variety of exultations.

"Good riddance."

"No tears on my pillow."

"I'm so glad he's finally dead."

"We win."

Who the fuck is "we?"   I thought we were all in this together.   Apparently not.

And that's sad and frightening.

The venom from normally decent folks on Facebook towards Scalia's death was equivalent to a scene from "Day of the Locusts."  I mean, Scalia wasn't exactly Adolf Hitler or Osama Bin Laden.  He was probably a decent, wise man who simply had opinions that half the country disagreed with.   That's it.  But, to read the glee on Facebook, you would think that the man burned down an orphanage.

Hello, is this on?  Can you hear me?  Doesn't this bother you just a little bit?

Of course, I'm liable to read equally nasty thoughts from the other side when Ruth Bader Ginsburg finally buys the farm she's been looking at for the past five years.   And that will be just as vile.  

Truth be told, the Supreme Court of the United States has become a joke over the past thirty years as politics and the media turn this concept into one more reality show.   Where there are bad guys and good guys.   People who need to be there and people who need to die and leave.  Really?
Wow, this has become one callous society.  

Unfortunately, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who first turned this Supreme Court idea into a parlor game where he could craft his policies over a nightly martini with Lucy Mercer.   And, for what was originally a good idea by our founding fathers, it's been downhill ever since.  

As far as my political views go, you will never see them on Facebook.   Largely because they differ from the 99.9 percent of the nation who are battling it out like they're in a Marvel Comic book.  You can all have your opinions most definitely.   But, think long and hard about how vociferous you sound.   

And un-humanistic you appear.

Dinner last night:  Steak and cucumber salad.