“Meme” is a word that is easier to define with examples than words. Wikipedia finds “meme” so difficult that they have explanations for different contexts … “Internet Meme” versus “Anthropology Meme”. But here’s their definition.

A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

Here’s my definition.

Things people say and believe without justification.

In times past, people used the phrase “lynch mob” instead of “meme” but the idea is the same. The information age has turned the pitchfork of the lynch mob into an assault rifle of memes. People used to be lynched one at a time. Today, they’re attacked with memes like a mass shooting. And it gets worse.

The “cruise missile” of American tort law (look it up) combined with the “terrorists” of liability law firms have turned American justice into something like the trenches and bomb craters of World War One. There’s a meme for that too. When someone sues somebody else for a lot of money and they protest, “It’s not the money! It’s the principle!” … You can be certain of just one thing: “It’s the money!” We used to call liability lawyers, “ambulance chasers” and in times past, liability lawyers didn’t bombard you with television ads about easy money. Today, if I called an identifiable living person an “ambulance chaser”, I could be sued for every penny I have. (Corporations are persons in American courtrooms. See the “Citizens United” Supreme Court case.)

One reason this happens is that liability lawsuits might be the only time when your average Joe on a jury can get unlimited, safe vengeance for all the faceless forces that he or she blames for anything bad that has ever happened. In other words, Joe believes he or she is striking a blow for all the memes. “Yah! Fine ‘em billions of dollars. It ain’t my money!” I’ve got news for Joe. It is your money. Where do you think all that money comes from? Thin air? As lawsuits have exploded like a mushroom cloud, the super rich have become the super richer. They know how to game the system. Trump has paid his lawyers 50 million just in 2023. How much do you think he’s paid to people who have been suing him? How rich do you think the lawyers are?

CNN headline, January 30, 2024: “Bayer ordered to pay $2.25 billion after jury concludes Roundup weed killer caused a man’s cancer, attorneys say”.

Notice those last two words in the CNN headline: “attorneys say”. News organizations have learned that the only reliable way to escape tort law “cruise missiles” and law firm “terrorists” is to always be able to point to someone else.

Just writing this blog is probably skating close to the edge of the ice. I’ve been careful not to name names without a source too. But there is a silver lining. If I’m called up for jury duty, I can just hand the judge a copy of this blog and I’ll be instantly excused. Ducking out on jury duty won’t serve the cause of justice, but it will serve me. And I’ve pretty much given up on the cause of justice.