Polarize

It seems that more than I can ever remember, people are gravitating towards the poles, and there is little middle ground to negotiate anymore.

I used to be more of a middle ground kind of guy, but when I take a step back, I see that I have moved away from center. It's easy to see in my athletic endeavors: I used to do triathlons, but I have given it all up for cycling this year. I literally have not run one mile in 2015. Not one. That's hasn't happened since about 2002. And I quit swimming in the spring. Everything has gone into one bucket: cycling.

My views have shifted too. I'm not just talking about politics. I mean my views of life. I see more black and white than the greys these days. Is it that I'm getting older and find myself wanting to shout GET OFF MY LAWN more because of it, or do I really want people to get off my lawn?

It may be somewhat of a stretch, but I blame technology for the polarizing trend. Not only tech, but social media even more so. I seems to me that social media has made each of us a little bit more judgmental. I think this is because we have more exposure than ever before of what our family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances think by way of the pictures, posts, tweets and likes they post on social media. As a result, we have more clarity about our collective view of people that matter to us than ever before. This brings stuff into sharper focus more for me. With more precise focus comes more decisiveness. And it seems this leads to polarity more often than not.

All of this makes me think of the Babel Fish from the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

The Babel Fish is a small, leech-like, yellow fish, and by putting this into one's ear one can instantly understand anything said in any language; this is how Arthur Dent is able to understand the other beings he encounters on his travels. The Babel fish has led to important profound consequences for the Universe; apart from the philosophical implications the Babel fish has started more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.

Unlike the Babel Fish, social media probably won't start any won't. Probably. But who knows? Perhaps we shouldn't know that much about people outside our immediate small circle. Perhaps some boundaries are good. Yes. I think I'll stay away from social media for a while, and erect some media fences for my sanity. Fences can be good. Robert Frost said so many years ago.

At any rate, I think I shall go ride my bike. I always feel better after a bike ride. That, and Shim's Instagram posts. Oops, there I go again with social media. Sorry Shim, I'll have to go without.

But speaking of bicycles, it's an Omaha bicycle weekend. Yay Omaha!

I'm racing all three days, and have my eyes set on taking the Omaha Corporate Cycling Challenge stage outright.

Race schedule:
Friday: Arrows to Aerospace Twilight Criterium (7:20pm)
Saturday: Papillion Twilight Criterium, Papillion (7:00 pm)
Sunday: Corporate Cycling Challenge!!

Happy Friday. Thanks for Reading