Social media groups, excluding those formed for a specific purpose, are ideal for discussing political issues. Technology has delivered to us the modern-day Town Square.
In a sane world, politics is honorable. It is the art of persuading others to your view. Sadly, too many Facebook, Nextdoor, X, etc. users still need to read Webster's definition. A minority of individuals on these platforms regularly make silly, arrogant, rude, prying, and condescending comments. It is their selfish way of stirring the pot and being essential to a handful of like-minded friends. A by-product of their actions is to make common-sense observers of their posts uncomfortable and intimidated. Without the tone above, opposing views can increase our knowledge by spurring us to do more profound research on a given issue. However, it is wise to ignore, block, or report those who are obnoxious.
A second reason people object to political posts is traditional. Many in my generation were raised to believe that discussing politics or religion outside of family and friends was considered taboo. Today, some of my best friends refuse to respectfully discuss critical challenges facing our community and country for fear of offending another. History has proven that by avoiding thorny subjects, the issues remain, often with dire consequences. The best we intend for our children and grandchildren may only materialize with loving and caring conversations. The quote from Ronald Reagan states it well.
Lastly, this is important; we must learn how to use social media platforms and converse intelligently using text. A string of comments within a post, known as a thread, is shown in a helter-skelter manner, with replies often days apart. Unless we are willing to review all the prior comments, limiting ourselves to a reaction emoji is best rather than risk duplicity and premature statements.
For thousands of years, humanity communicated physically and verbally. Protestors chanting shallow slogans, making meaningless gestures, and destroying property demonstrate how society has yet to master the simple art of communicating effectively through speech. Then, literally in the blink of an eye (post-COVID), we have been ushered into a hurried environment devoid of physical gestures and the spoken word.
We can learn to understand social media platforms and improve our writing skills. Authors of original posts and group administrators, setting aside personal bias, can do more to monitor the thread, ensuring that political issues are discussed without malice towards those with opposing views or their candidates. Neighbors-United will continue to enhance our ability to convey thoughts in an informative, organized, and reasonably monitored space. Your participation, reacting or commenting in threads, is encouraging. Also, we always welcome your suggestions for improvement.
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