I’ve been noticing a lot of posts on Facebook and Twitter lately that have influenced today’s blog. It started with people changing their profile picture to an equal sign. Since I’m pretty out-of-the-loop on a lot of things, I had to ask a friend what it meant. She explained to me that it was people trying to show their support for gay marriage rights. I thanked her and moved on with my day.

After that, I began to notice a lot of “debates” on Facebook and Twitter about gay marriage. Some of the comments were just downright rude! And this was coming from both sides. It reminded me of when we had the presidential elections several months ago. A lot of posts and discussions turned into rude jabs about other people instead of issues in the campaigns. So after reading through some of these comments and posts, I felt sick at what people were doing with their time.

After all, if you feel strongly about something political, wouldn’t it be more worthwhile to contact your local governor or senator about it? People in the social media sites have pretty much decided their standpoint on whatever issue is current. Responding to their post and saying that they are stupid or ignorant is not going to generate any kind of productivity or change their mind. Yes, it WILL generate a big argument from people on both sides of the issue. And yes, it will generate negativity, but what’s the point of that? Is it because you feel that strongly about a political issue, or are you trying to get some attention? (Rhetorical question – please don’t answer.;))

I happen to be a very opinionated person myself. I hold strong beliefs about certain things. I’m not writing this to share those opinions, however. I try to keep those things to myself and intimate friends whom I feel comfortable talking with, even if we have opposing views. And the reason why I like to keep my opinions to this close circle is because I know that my selected friends will listen to what I say, respect me for my opinions, and then calmly share what their opinions are and why they think what they do. There is no condescension when I talk to these people. We all think highly of each other and are comfortable sharing our view points without the worry of being judged for them.

When I’m online, I do not express these opinions. I think of them as too personal to share publicly and try to keep online discussions about things that everyone can contribute to without it turning into an online mob-fest.

You know that old saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”? I think it still applies to us today. Even though we have such wonderful modern technology and we can reach to people across the globe doesn’t mean that we can be rude to each other just because we’re not face to face. Let’s try to get to know each other, shall we? How about we have discussion that will help others see what you are like as a person, and keep political views out of it.

(Okay, rant over now. Thanks for indulging me on my soapbox!)