If you know me well at all, then you know that politics is one of my least favorite subjects. Let me clarify. I try pretty hard to keep up with what is going on in politics and the news. Being an informed voter is important to me. The bickering and arguing is what I cannot stand about politics. More than anything I cannot stand politics on social media.
I hate politics on social media, because let's be honest, nobody is using social media to try to have a genuine discussion about the political issues of the day. What they are using it for is to bolster their argument that they know what is best politically, and to dare others to disagree. We love to rile up our neighbors and declare how they just don't get it when it comes to politics. We demonize, create an enemy, and line up against the opposing team.
Here's my point: have you ever been convinced of a political issue because someone tweeted about it or posted about it on Facebook? If you can answer yes to that question, then please for all things good in this world, DO NOT go vote in an election. I'm dead serious. If you form your opinions based on a snarky tweet or unreliable Facebook link, you are not doing you due diligence as a citizen entrusted with the power to vote. However, I'm going to guess that most people would answer "no" to the question I posed. If the answer is no, then why tweet that tweet or post that post? Who are you satisfying with that? Only yourself.
Now in no way should this be mistaken for me saying that people should not voice their opinions. By all means we should. People have fought and died for our right to speak our opinion. That being said, maybe do so in an intelligent and respectful way. Maybe instead of pejoratively ranting about your views on an issue, tweet the link to an informative article that allows people to form their own opinion about a subject. We are a long way away from living in a society where people can talk calmly about political issues without taking it personally when someone disagrees. I think we should work on our ways of talking about these things face to face instead of trying to wage political war on social media websites.
