It’s been a long time since I last wrote anything here. It’s been a long time since I wrote freely in any form at all really, be it something exclusively creative and literary or essay format. Like most I have taken to Social Media, but have faced a tiny hitch; I read and read and absorb, but I hold my tongue. I’m that anxiety case that has a major aversion to hurting the feelings of others through disagreement, but as the title suggests, I have hit my limit.
Now, so that there is no confusion as we move into a future which I hope holds many more of these little “rants” or “vents”, I am neither a Republican nor Democrat, even though I have in the past registered Republican. I am not an expert on politics, social studies, econo-social studies, world history, etc. or any other thing that I could claim to push my opinion on others. I am just an American who is ready to use my First Amendment right to try to spread her opinions and ideas to others who want and choose to listen.
Over the last week or so while using Twitter I have found myself on the brink of tears. I am a United States Army Veteran and I love my country. My father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and two great uncles all served as well. The tears that well up are for my nation. We are a nation divided, and witnessing what I believe will be studied as a technological/cyber civil war (maybe not this harsh or extreme, but you get the point).
Tonight I watched the hashtag “TwitterLockOut” creep up my trending page, and it was the final nail for me. We are broken and we need to wake up. I can only hope that by the time I have finished typing this, the hashtag will have people from the left upset about the issue as well, instead of mocking those who have not only lost thousands of followers, but also accounts. I say this because we as a nation are caught in a cycle of keeping some kind of high school secret notebook score and it’s not healthy (also not a medical expert).
I am seeing things like, oh and this is my absolute favorite, “Thoughts and prayers to all those who lost followers.” Now, I, like most, enjoy a good joke, we all do, from kid friendly to down right raunchy, but this isn’t funny. Why, you ask? Well, I could jump straight to the Parkland mass shooting reference, but I will stick to the issue of this lock out in this post, but just know, I will be touching on other issues that have been on my mind as well, this is just the beginning.
It’s not funny because, sure there are bots, we all know and have come to accept the whole Russia thing, (at least I think we all have, I don’t do polls either) but are we all to believe that only people with certain political views were being influenced by external interference? Are you actually telling me that in orchestrating this entire infiltration effort only one side of this massive gang war was infected? This is what keeps me up at night. Things that don’t make actual sense.
I want people to read my thoughts on the issues and to agree, disagree, share with someone and call me the crazy rambling non-partisan fool or just plain say F off or whatever, as long as you read it and take it in. The first step to truly productive discussion is to truly open your eyes and ears. Hell, maybe even throw a little piece of heart in there. What do you think? Are you a hardcore Democrat or Republican? Have you noticed a drastic change of social circle in the last few years due to politics? Do you feel targeted because of this political affiliation? If this isn’t a total flop of a blog I’d encourage you to answer any or all of these questions in the comments. And if you are not the first, I encourage you to read the comments of others (without attacking them) as well as responding to the above questions.
I hope upon hope that the answers given show the underlying connection and truth that we all want a better and brighter future. We may not agree on how to get to it, or what it actually looks like, but we want it nonetheless. If you ask me, that’s more than enough reason to remember that debate, cool-headed discussions, compromise, and compassion need to start trending in 2018, or we are in big trouble. Thanks for reading.
Jo
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