In a silly Vlogbrothers post, John Green repeatedly asked his brother Hank, “What is the meaning of life?” One time, Hank replied, “I think the meaning of life is to be in relationship with other people and pay attention.”Paying attention sounds like an excellent idea. As a librarian, I am always looking for BS on my social media feed. I see people declare that person X died when they hadn’t. Person Y is attributed to have said or done something that did not happen, or someone with a similar name or look did.
The one thing I have had to learn is that I can’t fix the Internet. I’ll point out typos to long-time blogger buddies. When I find something egregiously wrong on a government website, I would have left a comment in 2024. Now, at least on federal websites, I need to ascertain if it is a casual error or intentional disinformation. This makes me sad. l will still try to correct state government sites.
Some of the lack of paying attention is dangerous. I’m mildly surprised that my wife hasn’t run over someone who walks out into traffic while they are looking at their phones. She’s an excellent driver, but please stop testing her reflexes, people.
It may be a professional curse, but I find myself paying close attention, from removing obstacles on the sidewalk to noting where most people sit in church.
Zee ask
If you have a query that requires my attention, you may Ask Roger Anything. Masochist that he is, he will answer almost any question, no matter how absurd, and in short order.
You can leave your questions in the comments section of this blog, in my email, referenced elsewhere on this blog, or on my Facebook page (Roger Owen Green); always look for the duck.
