Past Caring

I was so happy that Facebook had put me back in touch with people I'd lost touch with over the years. I'm now able to look at the vacation pics of school friends that I'd probably only see once every five or ten years at a class reunion. I see pics of their grandkids. Sometimes it's hard to believe that so many of us are grandparents. Facebook also makes it easier to keep up with family who don't live nearby. I've also been able to maintain contact with people I've worked with. This is the upside.

But there's also a downside. Facebook is probably the biggest purveyor of fake news and click bait. Without question, we are a nation divided. Some people want to blame Trump. Other people want to blame Obama. There is nobody to blame but us. I've read stuff coming from both sides that's absolutely outrageous. (I believe there's also an undocumented correlation between the level of outrageous and improper grammar and spelling). I know that most of the people who are commenting on these articles have not even bothered to read the article because way too often the headline and graphic/photo have absolutely NOTHING to do with the content of the article. I have seen way too much of this. I am annoyed and every now and then I'll call it out. But not often, because for some reason - and I'm still trying to figure this out - I am worried about what "other people" might think. "Other people" whom I no longer have daily contact with. "Other people" whose opinions no longer matter to me (and in many cases, never did matter to me). "Other people" whose critical thinking skills are suspect. Maybe I lost touch with some of those people for really good reasons, not just chance.

 As anyone who knows me is aware, I am a liberal. I did not vote for Trump. However, I have friends and family who did. Even though I may never understand their rationale, I still love them and will try my best not to offend their sensibilities. In turn, they are trying their best not to offend mine. I will never call someone stupid or direct pejorative language at them just because they disagree with me (at least not in a public forum). However, if you persist in sharing articles that are not from reliable sources of information and which promote division rather than unity, I will be calling you out or blocking you. If you choose to call people names because their thoughts and ideas are different from yours, I will be blocking you or unfriending you because I don't need or want people who are that small-minded in my life. I am doing my best to "love my neighbor" - even when (perhaps especially when) my neighbor is more interested in being hateful. But loving people does not mean that I need to accept everything they say and do. And at this point in my life, I am past caring what anyone other than my God and my husband think about me.