We've all seen the chain responses on facebook. They come with different enticements. Some are positive or benign. Post this flag if you love America. Pass on this quote if you want good luck. Some are negative or downright threatening. If you don't pass this on you're helping kill puppies. If you don't post this immediately to your wall, then you hate Jesus.
As a response to the litany of posts like these, I long ago decided that I would not, under any circumstance, pass along or post these requests. Perhaps by refusing to pass these along I have sadly lessened the world's puppy population or inadvertently made Jesus cry on a number of occasions. It is not that I meant to murder puppies or cause personal harm to the savior of all mankind, it is just that I found a comfortable place in the sand and drew my line.
While refusing to pass these links is my most ardent rule, I do have others. I generally don't quote sources other than myself. Occasionally I find a good one and pass it along but for the most part I rely solely on my own clever thoughts.
I occasional post a politically charged thought or a link to an article about politics. I stop there. I don't involve myself in arguments on facebook. I used to occasional imbibe in this sort of banter but found that all it did was lead to disruptions in my own inner Fonzie. Nowadays If I comment on anything controversial, I make my comment and move on. Under no circumstance do I look back and comment again. Anyone who has ever seen Indiana Jones knows why looking back isn't a good idea.
The reason I have these rules is not that I am afraid of controversy or that I don't care. Quite honestly it is the opposite. Social media is a large place with many divergent points of view. It is a place with people who want to argue issues and those who simply want to show pictures of their dogs and kids having fun. If you are latter keep on keeping on. If you are the former keep on keeping on, but consider. If all you post is your thoughts on politics, you have probably reached a point of saturation. That is to say, only people who agree with you, or don't and like to argue, are going to care.
I do occasionally post something of a political nature. I like to think that by doing this occasionally, it might actually make people think, it probably won't. Whatever way you go, go ahead. Just know that I am not going to re-post the sign that says If I don't post this in 7 minutes a kitten will die. I will stick by my rules because they work for me.
*No animals were harmed or deities offended in the writing of this post. If you are in any way offended by the content herein, relax. I have no further advice.
No comments:
Post a Comment