Confessions of a Former Meme-Sharer

The word “meme” has two primary definitions, according to merriam-webster.com.

The first definition of “meme” is, “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.” The scientist Richard Dawkins, who came up with the word in 1976, called it “a unit of cultural transmission.” Spending a lot of time on Facebook is an example of this kind of meme.

The second definition of “meme” is, “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media.”

Those of us who spend a lot of time on Facebook know about the second kind of meme. Many of us share them. We see one that seems to summarize our attitude about or opinion on something, we think “Oh I need to share that,” and we click the share button. And off it goes to that magical cyber place where all our friends can see it.

I used to do that often, but I’ve stopped. I have several reasons.

First, I often shared memes to irritate people whose opinion differs from mine. That’s not nice. Nor is it productive.

Second, I’d rather speak for myself. I don’t claim that my words express new or unique ideas, but I think it’s important that I speak my own words and not someone else’s. To be sure, I sometimes quote someone in a sermon or an article (and I always give credit), but the points and positions I present, be they right or wrong, are my own.

Memes may be right or wrong. So may I. But I’d rather be held responsible for what I say than for what someone else says.

Third—and this is my main reason for not sharing memes anymore—memes don’t do nuance. They fail to acknowledge the existence of gray areas in ethics and morality. Memes make blanket assertions without acknowledging the exceptions or taking other possibilities or complicated circumstances into account.

Some of you will recall the late Doug Marlette’s comic strip Kudzu. (Those of you who don’t need to go find it. It’s great.) One of the characters was Reverend Will B. Dunn. Reverend Dunn hosted a television talk show. Another minister named Reverend Fallout was an occasional guest. In one appearance, Reverend Fallout explained that he liked theological statements that would fit on a bumper sticker. Reverend Dunn asked him something like, “But what if a theological idea is too complicated or nuanced to fit on a bumper sticker?” Reverend Fallout replied, “Then it’s secular humanism.”

It’s not just that Internet memes don’t cover all the bases. They couldn’t if their creators tried. It’s rather that they don’t even acknowledge that there are other bases to cover. I can’t share such expressions and maintain any integrity.

I can’t cover all the bases either. One of the problems I had in the early days of my preaching career was that I always wanted to share all the “what ifs” and “maybes” and “on the other hands” that arose from my subject. I exhausted my listeners and myself. Even as I approach the end of this column, I want to raise some counterpoints and other possibilities.

I won’t. But you see, I know they exist. I think that’s important. And necessary.

A meme doesn’t know that. If I share it, I’m saying that’s okay.

It’s not.