Usually those are the days when I wake up and read through my Facebook feed, which is chock-full from my Americans posting during their day, while I slept. I love to get news of engagements, baby pictures (never too many, people, keep 'em coming!), playwright and actor friends doing amazing projects, vacation photos. I don't even mind the occasional cat who can't spell (though maybe just a few too many of those, people). Puppy videos and those old-fashioned looking drawings of ladies saying hilariously snarky things? Yes, yes, yes.
Many days for the past couple of months, my feed is full of none of that delight, but instead completely overrun with angry, political, opinionated rants. We hate Romney. We hate Obama. Health care. Gun control. Chic-fil-A ... oh my heavens, the Chic-fil-A ...
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| My friend Mary posted this, as I was writing. Seriously, y'all. Don't say it. |
I've hidden the most serious ranters from my feed completely, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. I even agree with a lot of these posts, but I'm so over it. People are either preaching to the choir or feeding a fire of anger from people whose ideals they will not change. And the comments that follow these posts. Everyone has an opinion and no one is listening to anyone else. The level of discourse and personal attack is shocking.
America. Do you hear yourself right now? I don't think you do because no one is listening, everyone is screaming.
I have been politically active my entire life. I worked on political campaigns before I was even old enough to vote. I've seen partisan and I've seen ideological differences (No, really. I grew up in an atheist household in the Bible Belt. My parents and I belonged to polar opposite political parties. I know ideological differences), but I've never seen anything like this.
Last year at this time, I was crawling out of my skin to go back to the States for a visit. Right now, I feel quite happy riding this all out Down Under, where politics are ugly, but most people are still more concerned with the number of sunny beach days and how many times a week to go to boot camp (see ... ideological differences ... who are all these boot camp people? I don't get you, but I respect you, boot camp people). I feel a calm, a respect, and a mind-your-business here that seems to be on hiatus at home.
America, I know that this is an important political moment and these discussions do matter, but until the middle ground starts to have a voice again and the country begins to unite over our unifying cultural values, things are only getting louder and angrier. May I suggest that we begin the healing by all taking a deep breath and chanting a phrase from the Aussie Cultural Handbook. "No worries, mate."
Now you say it ... "No worries, mate."
As one of my friends recently stated (on Facebook, no less!)... "How to steamroll a political debate: Recast it as a moral issue, and declare insistently that anyone who doesn't share your view is, quite simply, not a decent human being."
ReplyDeleteYes, that's exactly what we're seeing. Perfect way to galvanize the people who agree and shut down any discussion. Also a good way to completely simplify complex issues into emotional triggers.
DeleteHere Here.....
ReplyDeleteChick-fil-a
(sorry had to do it)
I don't feel that I have to spell "Chick" correctly until they learn how to spell "Filet." ;-)
DeleteI was just saying to a friend that if I thought it would do any good, I would stay off Facebook until after the election. But most of the worst of it has nothing to do with the election per se, just how everyone who has an alternate opinion is an idiot for x,y,z reasons.
ReplyDeleteI'm halfway missing the tacit agreement to avoid discussing religion and politics that we once had.
Yes, this current cycle is the perfect example of why no politics/religion is still a good idea. I literally did not know the political leanings of almost anyone I went to high school with until I "met up" with them again on Facebook (though, coming from the South, most of my associates were much looser with the "no religion" part of that).
DeleteI, too, have been so tempted to swear off Facebook for awhile, but being so far from home, it's my best source of news and keeping in touch. I just can't do it.
I think the politics of some of my old classmates has changed. I know their dedication to religion has changed. And certainly their urge to return to what I think of as 1950s values is far different from what they were like in the 1980s. They sure as heck didn't want to be Wally and the Beav back then. (Funny how they want to *raise* Wally and the Beav, though.)
Delete--Your pal, alphabet soup