My “enemies” are better than me

She was not the first, and she won’t be the last, but in a column published Wednesday, The Washington Post’s media critic Margaret Sullivan makes a very sane argument for why we should all abandon Facebook:

“After all, it’s a source of global misinformation whose effects have been dire. It promotes political tribalism and division. It makes me jealous of my friends’ seemingly perfect lives. And it keeps trying to lure me into buying overpriced, unnecessary (and beautiful) blouses from a place called Frank and Eileen.”

While using Facebook may seem to be not only fun but free, Sullivan is probably right when she argues that “the price is astonishingly high” for the Facebook user posting wedding photos or recipes, doing research, or finding that old friend.

Yet, as I sit next to my wife in the Intensive Care Unit as she struggles to fight off the ravages of septic shock that developed post-surgery, I can easily say there is no price too high to pay for the connectivity, and community Facebook can foster in trying moments like what our family is enduring.

For those old enough to remember or for those not on social media, there was a time that when people were forced to go to an ICU … or cursed with a debilitating disease … or struck with the loss of a loved one, the news of such a trial and tribulation was slow to spread — if it spread at all.

Fifteen years ago, had my wife suffered the same calamity, it’s doubtful the number of people who would know what’s going on in an instant would be a higher number than what I can count on my two hands.

Today, we are lifted in prayer by thousands (!) of people, most of whom we do not know but are connected to through social media. If you believe in prayer, as we so strongly do, volume counts. By that logic, does not Facebook bring us closer to our Creator?

But it’s not just prayer; it’s an entire blanket of embrace that would only be happening with the immediacy of social media.

We are blessed to have been inundated with offers of assistance and with displays of support.

One friend had Joe’s Stone Crab overnighted to our home; a legislative staffer who probably would be better off watching their pennies sent a Starbucks gift card.

The generosity of so many — especially those with their own set of challenges and burdens to bear — reminds me of one of my favorite stories in the New Testament — “The Widow’s Offering”: