A Safe Devastation - Psalm 139 on Twitter

"I am become death. The destroyer of worlds." J. Robert Oppenheimer upon witnessing the success of the Manhattan Project.  In other words, one of the men behind the creation of the nuclear bomb realizing the gravity of such a project.

Destruction is a safe sport to engage in nowadays.  Drones can rain fire and death upon anyone across the globe while putting its pilots in no danger whatsoever.  Devastating missiles can level entire communities from the safety of an office or a ship hundreds of miles away.  Indeed, the US in particular can engage in safe devastation.

But that's not what I want to consider today.  I want to consider a much more subtle, a lot less deadly, but no less rage-fueled display of safe devastation.  I want to consider social media, where the meme is a safe devastation.  Social media is a safe place to exchange dialogue and mutual learning for a certain reputational bloodlust that is borderline perversion.  I realized it this week, when I commented "Grow Up" on Richard Sherman's post-game interview on Sunday evening.  I wanted him to be embarrassed for his adrenaline-fueled rant.  I wanted other people to "like" and "share" my sentiment so that his behavior would create a tidal wave of tsk-tsk from the world, forcing an apology.

And I was wrong.  In fact, as I am beginning to see, it may have been a little bit racist as well.  With social media at my fingertips, I didn't stop to think about the impact of competing narratives and the stereotypes which emerged from the rant.  Please forgive me, readership, I did not see myself clearly enough to question my activity.

But in the wake of trending scolding for Richard Sherman, the delight of Twitter upon the firing (without chance of apologizing or seeking help) of Justine Sacco of #HasJustineLandedYet fame, and now the arrest of Justin Bieber, social media is once again the place to mock, scorn, shame and destroy people because... umm... Internet!

Psalm 139 is my favorite Psalm because it combines the intense desire to know God with the ugliest side of humanity (rage) and then brings those two together in a desire to be freed and led down the path of light.  If Psalm 139 didn't end with a desire for reconciliation and deep transformation, it would be the ugliest psalm in the history of rants.  It would be self-righteous and condemning.

I wonder if social media has become for us (read: me) to live out self-righteousness (most people only post their best selves) while also seeking the disaster of others.  For the Church, this cannot be the case.  I am reminded of the Belhar Confession, which is best summarized by "Unity, Reconciliation and Justice." Without all three, the darkest impulses of humanity are satisfied.  With all three, the Gospel is satisfied.  I hope that the Church can grow in its capacity to seek reconciliation, starting with me.