This one will require you to stay with me for a bit. On a whim recently, I picked up Jaron Lanier's book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now. I don't have social media accounts, so I'm basically the choir, asking to be preached to. Anyway, read this little excerpt from page 48 and see if it strikes you the same way it struck me.
"Each of us has an inner troll. In the early days, before everyone was doing it, the air was clearer and it was easier to notice how bizarre it is when your inner troll starts talking. It's like an ugly alien living inside you that you long ago forgot about. Don't let your inner troll take control! If it happens when you're in a particular situation, avoid that situation! It doesn't matter if it's an online platform, a relationship, or a job. Your character is like your health, more valuable than anything you can buy. Don't throw it away.
But why, why is the inner troll there at all?
It's such a common problem that it must be a deep, primal business, a tragedy of our inheritance, a stupid flaw at the heart of the human condition. But saying that doesn't get us anywhere. What exactly is the inner troll?"
Have you ever read a better description, by an unbeliever, of original sin? Don't let your inner troll take control!
