I've been on social media a lot recently for three reasons: I love travel photography, I like to keep up with the happenings of my hometown and the small communities surrounding it, and most recently, I must unconsciously love being annoyed because every time I log into Facebook, my heart rate increases. Yes, it's a terrible election year. Yes, we are all conflicted over race issues in this country. Sure, the NFL National Anthem thing is a divisive issue. But you know what? Whining on Facebook won't change the United States, it won't make radical protestors any less radical or racists any less racist, and it sure as hell won't make Colin Kaepernick feel bad.
Opinions are important, but sometimes, they are more important when left in our heads, rather than on our keyboards.
Have we forgotten one of the most commonly used and accurate clichés, "Actions speak louder than words?" That maybe a ten word post about how much you hate Donald Trump won't actually fix anything, and that all it will actually do is annoy people when you post for the 19th time about how much you hate Donald Trump? Will sharing an article about Colin Kaepernick every day mean that every instance of prejudice he has faced will suddenly disappear? Instead of complaining about politics, find a way to be involved. Instead of judging Colin Kaepernick, stand up against racism, because you are not Colin Kaepernick, and you do not know what he has faced in his life. I realize that it's easier to turn to our phones than to do the right thing, but maybe it's time that we get off social media and step up for what's right.
This is not just a politics issue. Have you ever noticed that a person is entirely more likely to argue with someone in their facebook comments if they don't particularly like one another, thus making it so that it isn't even about the topic at hand, it's about who can be pettier until they make the other person feel inferior? I'm sorry, but that isn't a win. Winning without class is losing. If you dislike that person and their opinions so much, then maybe you should either take them off of Facebook or roll your eyes and keep scrolling like a decent human being. Even if you think that arguing publicly is a civil argument, your words are still sharp, and sharp words still hurt. Leave your opinions in your head and remember that at some point, words have hurt you too. When you make a rude comment on someone's public page, you are fully aware that you are not only hurting their feelings, but embarrassing them for the others that see it before the comment hopefully is deleted.
Why do so many people, people who fully understand what it means to be hurt by unnecessary words, choose to hurt others with the same unnecessary words?
There are so many people hurting, and grieving, and struggling with so many things that most of the world will never know anything about. So before you post about them, complain about them, or fight with them, remember that they are not your phone screen, they are people.
