Social
media, for me, contains two different stories on each side of the paper. On one side, it is a platform for me to
express thoughts, ideas, ideologies, rants, and any other nonsense I feel
worthy for the i-world. On the
other side of the page, it is a newspaper for friends and family to see how my
family is growing. Many of you
know that Heather and I are not native to Colorado. Heather is from Chicago, and I am from San Diego.
As I have dissected my social media usage,
I have found that a good percentage of my past posts contain messages that I
really don’t
care to speak to any more. I am
still a staunch believer in things I have spoken of, but have found that my
passion for these things started to interfere with my ability to love and care
for others. It has come to a point
where I am actually starting to annoy myself. In the end, I found that I loved hearing the sound of my own
“educated” voice which is,
essentially, another form of self-righteousness.
After
years of watching governmentalist propaganda, extremist religiosity, and moral
agenda fodder flood my Facebook news screen, I have finally decided to bow out
of the argument. I am as guilty of
this as any. Thank God for the “unsubscribe”
button! In my opinion, there is no
honor, or human decency attached to the ability to lob [spiritual/moral/political
grenades) in all directions
with the hope that the shrapnel falls where it may. These actions define cowardice in every sense of the
word. Mom and Dad always used to
say “if you don’t have something nice
to say don’t say it at all.”
This
is not true of everybody. There
are some who present political/religious/moral ideas in a respectful,
articulate fashion. They can do so
without affecting their ability to love others. I have found that this is something that I am personally
unable to do. Jason Lohse said
something great a couple months ago. “If your politics gets in the way of your ability to love
others, I suggest trading your version of the gospel for the gospel according
to Jesus Christ.” – Jason Lohse.
This
is merely an argument for ideas. I
would encourage anyone to reevaluate what you intend to accomplish in this
forum. This place is a door that
is wide open into the depths of your mind. It allows people to see things in you that they might never
see otherwise. The power contained
in one sentence from your brain-to-fingertips is immeasurable. It allows others to gauge whether or
not you are approachable. It
allows people to gauge whether you are genuine, or a whitewashed tomb. It showed me that I was a walking
contradiction.
Finally,
this medium is not comparable to real, genuine, face-to-face friendships. Comments on a Facebook wall should
never replace a phone call.
Chatting online should never replace meeting someone at the mom and pop
coffee shop to catch up. Forge
your friendships in steel. Leave
the comfort of your computer and find yourself walking 16th Street with
friends. Enjoy the beauty God
created around you. LOL in person
and xoxoxoxo when you are leaving a friend’s
house after a planned meal. I think
you get the point.
Disclaimer: This is directed at myself as much as anybody else.
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