Polite Politics

An open letter:

Those who know me well know that I'm one of the least confrontational people in the world. If a waiter gets my order wrong, I'm the type of person who will eat whatever is served and still leave a generous tip. That being said, if I get pushed hard enough, I will speak out.

Facebook is a great service. I love being able to keep in touch with friends and family who are living far away from us. It's great to see how they are doing and share in their lives. However, you are allowed to post pretty much anything you want on there, and it shows up on other people's news feeds. The freedom of speech that we are allowed in this country is a great benefit, but we end up hearing everyone's opinion. This includes a lot of hateful speech. My pastor's wife growing up used to say, “garbage in, garbage out.” She wouldn't watch certain movies or TV shows because once seen or heard, those ideas can affect your behavior and thoughts.

With this election season, the political banter that has been showing up on my news feed has really started to affect me. I can drown out the cruel things that are said in the media, but when it is repeated by my own loved ones, it sticks in my brain. Whether people are pro-Obama or -Romney, their emotional comments about the opponent are often full of bile. People stating that if you are voting for the Republican candidate, you can defriend them. Calling the President of the United States “Obummer”. Where has the mutual respect gone? Since when is it appropriate to put down anyone who thinks differently? I am more than happy to discuss facts, political ideas, or challenges facing this country, but not in a disrespectful manner. There is no reason to belittle another person for their beliefs.

Will the world end if your candidate loses? Probably not. There are many safeguards in place to ensure that no one person can control the direction of this country. No matter who wins we won't end up in a state where only the wealthy elite have rights or where people are fornicating in the streets.

I believe that people are better than they sometimes act on Facebook. People are complicated, wonderful creatures. I am not about to end a relationship because someone disagrees with me on abortion or gay rights. However, I refuse to sit idly by and say it is ok to be disrespectful of other people. I will therefore be unsubscribing from posts of those people on my news feed who are saying cruel things about others in their posts. This is the type of garbage that I will no longer allow into my life, as I don't want it to come back out in my interactions with my family and friends.