On Facebook

My relationship with my parents has been slow. I missed a lot of the stereotypical milestones: I didn't rebel in my teenage years, and wasn't embarrassed or estranged from them in my twenties. I've always respected them, and while some of the things they believe are strange, they put a high value on being honest with me and instilling in me a love of the pursuit of truth.

So things have been kinda chill... until Facebook. More specifically, about the time they (and one of my grandpas?) started using it to "like" things that were tritely religious, vaguely racist, and/or misinformed/misleading. Particularly bad were the bits that were religious on the surface, but smacked of a weird blend of triumphalism, conservative talking points, and urban legends.

Now, I know, posts like that are very common on Facebook. But it's been really disheartening to witness my own parents'... descent(?) into the illness that is "viral theology".