Let’s be real here, no candidate is every truly 100 percent satisfactory. We find the candidate that seems “as good as possible” and decide to follow them, root for them, and promote them as if we are their paid lobbyists. We spend time finding online articles, memes and videos with words and call it “back up.” But honestly, how do we know whether anything is factual anymore? We blindly follow the news and do as they tell us because there has never been another way. And yet, at the same time, we complain about the news stations that are biased toward the other party and call it “fake” and “opinionated.”
We take to our social media and hide behind our keyboards instead of facing our problems head on, getting out into the world and letting our legislators know that there is a problem we need to fix. We tend to shame others for their beliefs and call ourselves superior because whatever we believe is right. It’s always right, and others are always wrong. And guess what? We typically don’t even know if what we are saying or posting is true or false.
Stop. Please, just stop. If you see a problem in the world, do something. Don’t hide. Don’t post things to shame other people. And stop commenting on other peoples' posts if you don’t necessarily agree with them. If you come across something you don’t like on Facebook, there is a beautiful thing called the “unfollow" button.
Let me show you how it's done:
First: Click on the profile of the person that seems to be posting lots of things you don’t like.
Second: Right under their profile picture there is a button called “following.” Click on it.
Third: Click on the option called “unfollow” and voila! You now don’t have to see their posts. Then, you can remain friends with them and they won’t even know you don’t see what they post anymore.
Now, we are all free to have our opinions, but just remember that other people also have a right to their opinions. So when you see someone else post about their favorite candidate or idea, don’t knock them for it. If you feel strongly about something, feel free to post about it, just leave out the mocking, knocking, generalizing or stereotyping.
Here is the point: Facebook is not the place to make change. The place to make change is in front of your capitol building. Google your legislator and make an appointment with them to have civilized conversation about your beliefs and concerns. Granted, you may not actually get to meet with them and they might send a representative of them to you, but use it to your advantage. If you are going to protest, you won't get anything done on Facebook, so instead make a sign, sit on the ground, gather hands, or even get naked. Feel free to use Facebook to spread information, but don’t use it to try to make change.
