Thank you, M.J.,-- I say this often, but it's truer here--you are too kind. A mute is a discontinuation of the edgy repartee. I abdicated the fight. I'm not sure how to conduct a back-and-forth with someone whose sole argument is a version of, "No, you're stupid!" I have never been on X/Twitter or Facebook, but I did once sign up for Nextdoor at the invitation of neighbors, and boy, did I regret it. By the time I unsubscribed I think I had muted a good third of those whose posts appeared in my feed.

This is a much longer conversation, but I long for an environment in which people regularly say, "Huh, I didn't know that" or "I learned something from you " or (God forbid), "I was wrong about that. Thanks for correcting me." We're in the Age of Doubling Down (the Agnosticene?), and I see no end in sight.

All best, brother, and happy 2024.