One thing that has always puzzled me is how people who are obviously intelligent in most things will believe utter crap, will defend their belief in utter crap and refuse to consider any other viewpoint.

And that is truer than ever in the current environment where social media seems to rule over all common sense.

Even before social media came along, the slide of politics into character assassination and demagoguery was evident. I don’t know if it’s politicians feeding the social media machines, or social media feeding the politicians, but it’s gotten worse, and fast.

In the fall of 1974 I was working as a truck mechanic. I had gotten a summer job working in the warehouse of Cathcart-Allied Moving and Storage in Chamblee, Georgia. On occasion the guys working in the warehouse went out with packers and helped pack up a customer’s belongings. Other times we went with a driver and helped load the boxes and furniture in the truck. Many of the drivers were owner-operators, contracted to the moving company; they owned the truck, but the company supplied the trailer. Other drivers were employees and drove trucks owned by the company.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I don’t know how many times my mother made me recite that as a child, but it was frequent enough that it is seared into my memory.

Wikipedia says, “'Sticks and Stones' is an English language children's rhyme. It persuades the child victim of name-calling to ignore the taunt, to refrain from physical retaliation, and to remain calm and good-natured.”