Headlines lately have been dominated by the current White House’s actions, as have our twitter feeds. My twitter feed is now probably about 70% political, and I haven’t really followed many new politically-active folks. I find that people want to talk politics at work, at dinner, and at the dog park (happened this very morning; a lady shared her politics in explaining why she had named her dog George after President Bush). It does not end. Keeping up, keeping motivated, it is emotionally exhausting.
Maybe because a lot of what we’re learning on a daily basis is depressing.
Don’t hate me
My trouble is that I feel guilty when I’m not reading, and when I am reading, I feel guilty that perhaps I’m reading what only furthers my beliefs and the narrative that I hold about what’s taking place today. The few political people that I have added to my twitter feed have actually all been republicans – mind you, moderate republicans. Recent days and events have shown us that when it comes to moral integrity, there is only one side and I’m glad to see that most politicians are on the right side of that line.
I want to just be honest and say that I am curious to understand all of the perspectives involved in today’s issues, be it partisanship, race, why people actually believe in supremecy, putting business before people, hypocrisy when it comes to holding one politician to task for benefiting from the financial world but not another…
I’ve been nervous about getting into that, I don’t want anyone to think I empathize with those motivated by hate. I do not. However, I want to understand their motives. If we can better understand what makes people tick and movements gain traction, then we can better address the issues we face and hopefully, one day, solve things peacefully. (You’re like, yeah right, good luck with that.)
I already know that I disagree with some of the perspectives out there, those that I would consider to be the ugly ones who don’t see room for inclusiveness, but I want to fully understand why some people see things the way that they do. That’s fair, right? I mean, how are still fighting over these age-old issues in 2017? Those who are fighting in the past (and for the past), the extremists on the right side, what is it that is missing for them in today’s world that makes them hate togetherness and inclusivity? Hating takes so much energy. It must suck to go around all day every day focusing on hating people. It must be stressful.
I saw a comment on @thepaperandcoffee instagram from a friend who says he’s setting boundaries on how much news he consumes for his own peace of mind. I really like this approach. I’m trying to follow this more as well, just fully being present in the other parts of life without worrying about what’s going on.
Social sharing
I’ve seen a few of the people I follow on twitter comment that we’re likely just repeating and reemphasizing existing views on Twitter. Fair, it may feel like we’re repeating information and stories within our social echo chambers, but I believe that making our opinions known adds an important voice and strengthens the resolve of our peers. What if, one by one, voices faded away and disengaged? Then what?
Regurgitating information, though, can make things troublesome. We saw this in the lead up to last November when “fake news” articles were rampantly spread across the internet, sharing inaccuracies about both candidates. Our opinions and our actions should be based on facts that we understand, right? Otherwise we’re really just propagating someone else’s narrative. I’d be curious to see a stat on how many people read those full articles before sharing, compared with sharing articles just based on the buzzy headline.
Read before you retweet
This one is more of a personal ask than commentary: Headlines can be misleading and misrepresentative and I think it’s massively important to understand what you are sharing with your network before you share it. Form your own opinion, and please share that perspective with the world. That is what I am most curious to hear, why you think what you think.
Worse before better
What I find very interesting regarding the current Administration in the US is how politics have become a more mainstream and societally acceptable conversation topic because of how polarizing they are. That’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? Politics have to become damaging and intensely controversial before they enter our daily conversations and require our focus.
My conclusion: Unplugging for awhile is good, and necessary, but it’s so important to stay aware of what actions politicians are taking, what ideologies they are promoting, and how they are shaping our world. It’s too important not to.
I’d love to know what you think, on twitter. Tweet me.
