We increasingly live in a world of snap judgments made from the top of false mountains. Respect for people’s opinions are viewed through a prism of not just our own sense of entitlement but the other’s career and where their status fits inside that box.

The emergence of Facebook with its enabling of declarations regarding which school one attended, level of degree attained and not just occupation but where their rank is in said profession has always perplexed me. Some have enthusiastically told me it’s about networking. “Don’t you get it? It’s a social network. You should really sign up to LINKEDIN it’s perfect for you, HAHA!” Nope still don’t get it.

Obviously for some these affirmations of the self are indeed a status symbol like the flashy car, getting your kid into some fancy school or lately a yoga mat and a pet. For others tho I suspect it’s about control. Here is my life, I will present to you all my information inside the bubble I created and its echo chamber. Thing about Facebook is that you have no control, that’s kind of the gimmick or is it the trick?

Somehow what should be the only qualification for respecting and having compassion for one another, being a fellow human being, has been lost in favor of all that is superficial. We all have the right to share ideas without declaring our bona fides in an effort to justify them. Reason is all that’s required. And it’s available for free in equal measures to everyone from your checkout clerk to your lawyer, not inside a resume full of bullet points.