***I will start this post off with a disclaimer. I am not writing this post to specifically
offend anyone. I have read and reread
this many times, because I really don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or be
rude. However, I feel the time has come
for me to share my opinion, as many have already shared theirs. If this post stirs up commentary (and based
on previous posts, it won’t), please keep it clean and respectful. No name calling or the likes. Unless it comes from me. (joke)***
I’m feeling skeptical, readers. Maybe even distrustful. I could probably even go so far as to say, I
feel dumb after reading a lot of what is on Facebook lately. I’ve written about Facebook before. The last time was a few years ago, when I was
being bombarded with game requests and such, but Facebook has taken on a new
look, a new format, and a new way to insult the masses… Political rantings via the use of memes and
ill informed sources.
Sure, I like to know what is going on with the government,
as much as the next average American, I would guess. It’s an uneasy feeling knowing that other
countries despise us, or that the social security that my grandparents paid into
their entire lives is now considered an “entitlement” that may be subject to budget
cuts. Money that they live off of. It bothers me to know that our government
wants to infringe on our rights as citizens of a “Free” nation. Furthermore, I don’t like the overt amount of
political correctness invading us, but we will get to that later.
With that being said, I am tired of my Facebook feed being
inundated with my friends sharing other people’s uneducated, non-cited, scare
tactic, misinformation! Do I think the
media feeds us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? No. Do
I want to know every sordid detail of the thousands of pages of Obamacare? Not really.
Do I want my peers to utilize their critical thinking, and not just pass
off some meme created on a whim by “Broke Obummer” as a whole truth? Abso-freaking-lutely! (And seriously, who comes up with these
names? Do you think you represent
yourself as a credible source when you hide behind “Broke Obummer” or “America,
the land of despair” or “Liberals are Jackholes”? Because you don’t, and I don’t trust your
sources, and I don’t really care to hear your opinion, or see your pictures
depicting a story that isn’t even remotely true.)
As I’m so frequently reading from pages of gun advocates,
WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! You are utilizing a
social media outlet to promote your half-informed agenda. You are essentially using an online tavern to
not only get your information, but share it.
I won’t even waste my time debunking all the half-truths and full blown
lies that are floating out there. I
don’t have the time. However, I beseech
you, readers, to investigate where the information is coming from. At the very least, take the time to visit the
originating page of the status you share.
If that isn’t enough to realize that any credibility is lost, dig deeper. As my friend of 28 years put it “Do you look
at where the memes and other “info” are from when you share them? Some of the pages are really offensive… a lot of it is straight up racist, too. Ugh.”
Apparently, I’m not the only one frustrated at the lack of critical
thinking.
Speaking of friends, I have a good friend who shares his
opinion without the use of Photoshop, Instagram, and a talking grumpy cat. Our views are very different, yet we have
civilized conversation, and sometimes, he brings about a change in my
opinion. I have a sweet girlfriend who
shares what is important to her, but she attaches credible sources that can
further support her stance. I like
reading what they have to say, it brings forth the desire to research the
topic, form my own opinion, and it sparks meaningful rhetoric. We don’t try to scare each other, or call
each other names, or even get angry when the other person disagrees.
I think it’s great that we have the ability to share our
opinions. I love that I have a wide
variety of friends who can share insight to a plethora of topics. I am fortunate that I have the ability to
decipher truth, from half-true, to you’ve got to be kidding me. But seriously, enough with the outright
ridiculousness. If you don’t want your
God given rights taken away, use your God given heads to critically think about
what you are posting. Following “Broke
Obummer” on his every word is just as mindless as the claims you make against
those who don’t agree with you. Better,
instead of posting memes on Facebook, GO OUT AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE
PROBLEM!
Not only are political rantings on a rampage, pleadings are
flaring up. Recently I’ve seen pleading
go around to “Stop drinking Pepsi.” The
writer of the pleading shares the story of how the new Pepsi can is coming out
with a picture of the Empire State Building, and the pledge of allegiance
written on it, but leaving “Under God” out of the pledge. The writer urges us to believe that Pepsi
doesn’t want to offend anyone; therefore, we shouldn’t offend Pepsi by buying
their product. A simple Google search,
or a remembrance of when chain emails were prevalent rather than Facebook
posts, will tell you that this isn’t true, and that this rumor has been around
since the early 2000’s (I seriously remember getting this email).
Others cry to not buy gas on a certain day, in an effort to
stick it to the gas companies. If this
were to happen, people would just fill up the day before or the day after,
causing a surge on those two days that would offset the day of striking. The fact is, gas is essential in the lives of
most Americans. You want to stick it to
the man? Urge the use of alternate forms
of transportation, such as a bike, or walking.
Stop using gas and gas powered devices.
Removing the dependence is a solution, striking for a day is not.
I could go on and on, but I would be repeating myself. I’m tired of seeing the word “sheeple.” I’m tired of people believing misrepresented,
or fully created, data as whole truth (thus becoming sheeple themselves). I feel like the bombardment of rants only
perpetuates the level of numbness many feel toward politics, government, or
anything else that brings us out of “our own little world.” It reminds me of something my mom told me
once, “You are guilty by association.”
When you share unreliable information, no matter how great your
intentions are, you yourself appear to be unreliable. Stop the madness! Research before you share! But keep bringing the funny stuff (even the
grumpy cat, as long as he’s not carrying a political agenda). And I still don’t want to be your neighbor in
Farmville, or play Candy Crush Saga.
