The slide or avalanche towards truth-as-I see-it continues unabated.  We have become an "as if" culture built around a subjective view of reality as the handmaiden of our own wishful desires and presuppositions.  Truth now services, and services promiscuously, the current social narrative.

Take as Exhibit A the ravenous desire to be "in dialog"...

AS IF...engaging in dialog is an accomplishment in and of itself.  It really doesn't matter if the dialog a) accomplishes nothing but the generation of huge amounts of greenhouse gas; b) actually exacerbates the subject of said dialog by opening up old wounds.  End results are not the focus when the process is all.

This process-as-accomplishment is actually a setup lurking in the shadow of Lenin's directive to "make everything a political issue."  Take personal choice and ethical activity out of the hands of the individual and plop them right down in the public square, so all can cast the stones of politically correct opinion at any issue.

AS IF...dialog is to be entered into as a social contract of equally valued opinions instead of fishing expeditions looking for secretly held views beyond the social narrative's boundaries of what is acceptable and what is contemptible.

"A little race dialog with your latte, Sir?"  Sure.  "Could you put a little open-mindedness and toleration in the drink as well?"  Sure.

I pastor a multiracial congregation.  While standing in the buffet line at a recent judicatory meeting, a longtime minister acquaintance greeted me.  The following "dialog" ensued.

"So," says he, "how's it going down there at the Shore?"

"Fine," say I.

"I understand it's a largely black group?"  I nod.

"How do you handle the racial thing?  What kind of dialoging goes on?" says he.

"Well.  We hardly ever talk about race...we're too busy talking about Jesus."

Scene fades to silence.

I'll paraphrase the quote-worthy Mark Twain, who said, "Sometimes travel narrows a man's mind" (from Innocents Abroad).  I would say, "Sometimes dialog narrows a person's mind."  For our words and actions are always the servant of our motives.

Come.  Let us reason together.  Not "Yakkity Yak. Don't Talk Back."