Politics and Social Media
As I write this, in the scorching summer of 2024, the political world is in upheaval. Joe Biden has just decided to drop out of the race for Presidency of the United States, soon after Donald Trump survived a nearly successful assassination attempt. Conspiracy theories run rampant. Everyone has an opinion.
I see a lot of these opinions on the Fediverse, Threads, Facebook, Instagram, etc. In fact, there is so much content out there it boggles the mind. It seems that everyone has the right to a strident opinion, an intuitive insight, or a meme. Since it is my birthright as an American, here is my own contribution to the discourse.
SHUT THE FUCK UP.
The first question you should ever ask yourself when posting your political opinion online is this: whose mind am I going to change? Who out there is going to be convinced by my passionate witness on behalf of the side I believe in, the principles I adhere to, or the politician I support? In my circle of followers or “friends” is there anyone who hasn’t made up their mind already? In the very unlikely event that the answer is “yes”, then by all means testify in your most persuasive terms. Be polite - rudeness does not attract anyone on the fence - but be convincing. God bless you.
But in the 99% of times you don’t happen to have someone who is open to your persuasion, then you are not accomplishing anything. You’re posting to make you feel good about yourself, or to make those who agree with you feel like you’re on their team too. That includes you in one set of folks, but it disconnects you from another set. You’re showing your colors - showing you’re not like “them”, not like the other tribe. You tell yourself that you’re better than that - that yours is the cause of truth and only scoundrels and liars would disagree.
But really you are just making yourself feel good. Maybe you and your buds can feel happy looking down your noses at the other side - but you don’t change any minds. You don’t change any votes. You accomplished NOTHING. Your little post wasn’t worth the time it took to click “share” as far as the total value it added to the world.
What drove me to this opinion was an extended family member expressing online that if someone took issue with their strident partisan hot takes, then they could just unfriend them online and in general. That really rubbed me the wrong way. Here you are, willing to sacrifice personal relationships on the altar of preening self-righteous anger. People you probably agree with 90% of the time about everything else in life now are alienated from you because they dare to have different political priorities. Your life and theirs are diminished by this.
This cultural moment is the extension of juvenile schoolyard immaturity into the adult sphere. All of the one upsmanship and bullying that kids do is writ large on the national discourse by the many voices shouting into the void.
You’re better off not hitting share. I expect that if you look hard at my social media you can probably deduce what side I would vote for. On the other hand, I think there’s a really good chance that you would be flat wrong if you guessed who I voted for in 2020. Looking online you don’t really know what I think, just what I share. I try to share things that make the world a nicer place, or that tell you a little about what I am doing in life. You don’t need my political hot takes. You aren’t going to be convinced by me, any more than I am going to be convinced by you. So what do I do? I shut the fuck up about it, and you don’t end up feeling like I’m just another one of those bullshit (insert whatever political stripe you disagree with here) assholes.
In this, I do really think I have a shot at reaching some people, those who stop and think occasionally about the cost-benefit analysis of their actions. And just on the off chance that some lowlife shithead comes along and tells me “unless you take a stand that happens to with mine then you’re literally mega-Hitler!” then I have this little article to hand out like an FAQ.
Peace and love to you all.