Too often, I find myself reading comments on someone’s status whom I don’t even know simply because there’s some sort of political debate or black lives matter rampage that’s full of passive aggressive remarks, uneducated opinions and horrible grammar. I don’t read these conversations to learn something or broaden my political knowledge. I read these conversations for pure entertainment purposes, especially when I’m in need of a good laugh. We live in such a sensitive society, which is ironic considering everyone wants to voice their opinion, but no one wants to hear the counterarguments. I’ve recently found myself deleting Facebook friends solely because I cannot handle their excessive posts bashing presidential candidates or degrading a specific group of people. Don’t get me wrong—I love that people can freely express their opinions. I love that we live in a country that allows for that luxury. But please, for the love of God, can we try and keep our overbearing opinions to a minimum on social media? I promise, your Facebook friends do not want to hear your negative remarks every time you update your status. This world is already full of enough negativity. Try posting something positive for once.
Do I have an opinion? Yes. Will I vote? Absolutely. But Facebook doesn’t need to know all that. I’d rather use the power of my social media accounts to relay positive messages. I often times think about what a stranger would think about me if they had never met me before, and only had access to my Facebook timeline. After reading it, would they want to meet me? Or would my posts scare them off? Ponder that for a second.
But perhaps the biggest reason I choose to stay silent on all the craziness that’s happening in today’s world is because my opinion does not matter. Yes, I said that. But before you get all bent out of shape, let me explain myself. As I’ve said before, I love that we can have opinions and that we can express those opinions. It’s so important that we’re able to do that. But that’s exactly my point—people already have their opinions. They’ve spent their whole lives forming them. Their family dynamic, their upbringing, their environment, and all that they’ve learned over the years have all helped to shape them. Which means they aren’t going to change. Very rarely have I read a Facebook thread full of debating and arguing that has resulted in someone changing who they’re going to vote for or changing their position on police brutality. It just doesn’t happen. Nine times out of 10, people are pretty set in their ways and nothing you can say will change that. So why waste your breath trying? Life's too short to fight uphill and never-ending battles.
I have my opinions and I know where I stand on things. But I also know that not everyone is on the same page as me. I accept that. I refuse to engage in these loaded conversations and intense debates. I don’t have to defend my beliefs. I don’t have to try and convince people that what I feel is right. It just is. I don’t need their stamp of approval or their feedback, just as they don’t need mine. So yes, have an opinion. Have a really strong, super awesome opinion. Be so devoted to that dang opinion and let no one shake it. But please, stop flooding our Facebook feeds with your angry paragraphs and poorly crafted memes. We’re better than that. We have to be better than that.
