It’s that time again: election time. The worst thing that happens every four years and that truly brings out the worst in people. It’s no lie that our two candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are no gold stars, but that’s who we are stuck with. So we just have to deal with it. However, nothing creates a greater divide in our nation than these elections. People who pretend to know everything there is to know about politics (myself included) post and share things only to be attacked by the opposing side. The great thing about America is, we all have the right to think and say whatever we feel like, even if it is negative and not helpful.
A common trend I’m seeing in this election is more attacking of the opposing side than agree with the side you are on. I credit this to the fact that no one actually agrees with either candidate, they just hate one less than the other. Fair enough. Rarely though can anything be tweeted or posted without some sort of backlash, even if it is with harmless intentions, and usually, this backlash has nothing to do with the original content posted. I’ve seen attacks on Hillary’s foreign policies on the basis that her husband cheated on her. I’ve seen attacks on Trump’s fiscal policies on the basis that he is racist. Neither one of these conditions affects anything that way originally posted, instead, it’s just a waste of time for the commenter and added negativity on the original posters thread.
It’s okay to have opinions. It’s okay to share your opinions. It’s okay to disagree with someone. However, before you take the time to add negativity to someone else’s life, think to yourself, “will this be beneficial?” If not, don’t waste your time. I used to be the person to comment on every status I disagreed with until I realized that I’m not benefitting anyone’s lives. I’m not changing anyone’s opinion on anything. The only thing that is potentially making myself feel better, but more times than not, I just feel worse afterwards.
However, there is a flip side to every coin. Posting controversial things online is an open invitation for people to comment. If you are one of those people that don’t take criticism well, don’t bother clicking the share button. It’s all about a balance. Knowing your own limits in what you want to deal with is different from the next person. But social media should be a form of self-expression, not a way to put people down for their beliefs.
Moral of the story is that nobody is going to change their opinions because of a comment. Face-to-face interactions are better for persuading. I have friends who I could talk about politics with for hours when we are together, but the second something is posted online, it turns to a catfight. Opinions are great to have, but not always great to share. Use discretion when posting and commenting online. Above all else, people are more than their political beliefs.
