I knew there was a reason I didn’t like Facebook.
However as of late, I have been enjoying it more than usual. Probably because of Someecards and a plethora of other funny posts that give me a chuckle amidst a busy day full of to-do’s.
None entertained me more than this one which has subsequently popped up in my stream almost daily.
Ironically the very post that made me laugh has become the very thing that has rejuvenated my disdain for Facebook.
There is no question that as the election nears, the tone and content on Facebook and really all the social platforms has changed a bit. The gloves have proverbially come off.
What was once a network of highly intelligent, successful, and interesting friends (colleagues or whatever) has been taken over by a surprisingly large count of people that believe Facebook is a billboard for their various political agendas.
Right, Left or Center, it doesn’t matter. They have all come out and for the most part it is with guns blazing.
As I sift through the riff-raff I read a politically focused post (no matter how much I try to ignore them) and then the commentary full of mindless agreement from the supporters and the hateful disagreement that comes from the opposing.
The amazing volume of subjective comments being fired off as absolutes is astounding and perhaps only to be outdone by the almighty “fact check doctors” throwing around their views of what was said and what is true.
What is most disenchanting about the whole thing is the hypocrisy that coincides with this behavior.
In a network that is supposed to be full of highly intelligent thought leaders across a number of industries I’m seeing things that I would expect only from those far less sophisticated and less educated for that matter.
The bottom line is that the proliferation of the information age has created a powerful, beautiful, and slightly dysfunctional internet that allows anyone to find validation in anything that they believe.
Whether you want to believe that Romney is actually an alien , or that Barack Obama is actually a terrorist with al-Qaeda Ties. Guess what? You can find it on the internet. Further you can find others to support those beliefs. However, just because you can find it on the internet, it doesn’t mean that it is true.
Call me old fashion, but when I grew up I was always told to never mix business and politics. It was a recipe for disaster. From the majority of my experience this is the case, especially when dealing with people whom you don’t have a long history with and perhaps thick skin.
And maybe because our Social Networks are technicalliy comprised of “Friends” we feel that we are only chatting among friends.
But anyone that thinks that their 500, 1000, or whatever number of Facebook friends you have are all real are probably mistaken. Even if you wanted to have meaningful relationships with all of them it simply isn’t possible.
I digress
So people are going to share their political beliefs. I get it.
We live in a nation full of passionate people who have agendas, ideas, and feelings that they want to share.
We also live in a society that preaches tolerance, forgiveness and idealism.
So with that I forgive the social network for your incessant need to spew your (perhaps) verified political mumbo jumbo.
After all freedom of speech is one of the great freedoms that we fight for every day here in America.
However I beg of you as individuals and as a community to realize the error in your way to be judgmental in the response to the views of others.
In the end we are probably all wrong, and unless you have close ties to people in very high places you realistically have no idea whether or not an individual or a political party has your best interest at hand. Those people tend to lie you know!
For every argument there is a counter argument and for the counter a rebuttal.
But remember, just because another person doesn’t see the world through the same lens that you do, it doesn’t make them wrong. It simply makes them human.
So I’ll stay on Facebook, albeit I’ll probably like it more after the election. But for crying out loud try practicing what you preach. If you claim to be a leader or even social then remember an open mind is valuable for everyone and not just the person that thinks differently than you.
