Monday, October 14, 2013

A View to a Kill

I've had a lot on my plate lately, some good some not so good. I'm not one of those people that posts a tremendous amount of personal stuff on Facebook. I'll show a picture of a trip I've taken, I get into threads about bike riding, I've talked about losing my mother recently. But, I don't get into a lot of details, so your not going to see pictures of my breakfast or my ham sandwich at lunch. Just like I don't post whether I had a bowel movement, today.

However, Facebook is a great tool to catch up with friends you don't get to see for awhile. It's fantastic to get the word out about an event. It is now being used to help raise funds for local, regional and even national charities of every kind.

Some people don't like it but Facebook has become a bulletin board for political views. I happen to like that aspect of this network. In a way, it is like a digital version of the old neighborhood soapbox. Anyone can climb aboard and have at it. You can post how you feel about congress, the President or whatever party you support or oppose. It can get quite interesting. Sometimes people bring things to a thread you hadn't realized. It may even make you take another look at your own view.

The problem these days, is that like our society in general, Facebook reflects the partisan views we share. And, like our good friends we've sent to Congress, we get pretty adamant concerning our hard held views. So that we start lashing out at folks that might feel differently about an issue. The people that disagree with us become assholes because the reps in government that disagree with us are assholes. I'm thinking this is why a lot of folks feel that posting anything political sucks!

It is a shame it has to be that way. My feeling is that even an argument can be fun. People can oppose each other, even throw a few lighthearted barbs at each other, but at the end of the day still be able to sit down, have a couple of pops and watch the Sox. And, if you can't go along with that philosophy well screw you!

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