People can be pretty terrible on Social Media.  But thankfully, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien can provide us some timeless encouragement…the following Lewis quote is lengthy, but well-worth our attention.

“Suppose one reads a story of filthy atrocities in the paper.

Then suppose that something turns up suggesting that the story might not be quite true, or not quite so bad as it was made out.

Is one’s first feeling, ‘Thank God, even they aren’t quite as bad as that,’ or is it a feeling of disappointment, and even a determination to cling to the first story for the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies are as bad as possible?

If it is the second then it is, I am afraid, the first step in a process which, if followed to the end, will make us into devils.

You see, one is beginning to wish that black was a little blacker.  If we give that wish its head, later on we shall wish to see grey as black, and then to see white itself as black.  Finally we shall insist on seeing everything-God and our friends and ourselves included-as bad, and not be able to stop doing it: we shall be fixed forever in a universe of pure hatred.”

Here’s my truncated, modernized take on Lewis’ musings:

Suppose one observes Social Media influencers who obnoxiously promote their own agendas.  Meanwhile, the insecure puppets of The Establishment react to the propaganda with their own pedantic and emotionally-charged rhetoric.  Comets of contumely and meteorites of malice hurtle back and forth across Cyberspace.

But maybe you learn that person with whom you ideologically disagree actually does some pretty awesome pro bono service…and maybe that insufferably abrasive gal you heard on a Podcast promoting her brand is actually a loving mom.

Is one’s first feeling a sigh of relief? Or is it a feeling of indignant schadenfreude, hoping they “learn their lessons” and maybe even “have a heart attack to wake them up”?

Perhaps the Twitterverse is already a universe of pure hatred.  But maybe even the Gollums of Instagram deserve some grace.  C.S. Lewis’ friend J.R.R. Tolkien provides some relevant insight in this quote from Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.  This conversation occurs after Frodo laments Bilbo’s failure to slay Smeagol in the past:

 “Pity? It’s pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.”

Go love some people and do it with humility.  Cast your misconceptions, annoyances, and anger into the fires of Mount Doom.  Be a light in the darkness, and point people to the Light.  And maybe, just maybe, that hubristic jerk will see that light, escape his artificial universe, and join you in a reality where love wins, truth prevails, and real fellowship thrives.