when everything is open, nothing is personal.
Ahhhhh ... the magic and glory of an election year.
The times when social media makes you wonder "who ARE these people I am 'friends' with?"
The times when you see someone share your opinion and you give a mental high five to them, feeling justified and validated that someone else is on your team.
My grandma, Dorthy, was a huge piece of my development as a child. I remember asking her point blank who she was voting for the year of Ross Perot (please do not get me going here ... let me just say I was on the local news in a glitter unicorn puff paint shirt with matching leggings at a rally with my parents when I was like 12. Yeah. A story for another day...) and she was appalled. She believed voting was a private matter done behind a curtain for a reason, and she had no interest in discussing it with me or anyone else.
Somewhere along the way, may it be the keyboard warrior mentality, everyone started vomiting their opinions in public forums. Hey, what do you think of THIS, you close minded conservatives! What do THIS make you think, you tree hugging liberals! A meme, a "quote", an article ... all slanted to show just what we want it to. Can you believe everything your reading? Even if it is your trusted best friend from third grade you have not seen in 23 years?
I write this as a confused voter.
I write this as a scared mom.
I write this as a person that has unfollowed many of my close friends on facebook on both sides of the fence simply because they cannot seem to keep their mouths shut.
THIS IS PERSONAL. Voting, believing, supporting.... these are personal and sacred things that we are over exposing and destroying the sanctity of the process.
I had an amazing opportunity this weekend to talk to two friends who are on the other side of the social fence from me. I talked to them face to face. I did not show them meme's to convey my message, I talked to them. I heard their feelings and they heard mine. Did we agree in the end? No. But we still hugged and respected each other for having feelings on these hot and serious subjects.
If you cannot say it to someones face, knowing they disagree with you, you need to stop talking about it on social media. You need to have coffee or a glass of wine with someone, and you need to TALK.
Your voice matters so much more than just repeating someone else's words.
Now, I am going to go dig for one of those unicorn puff paint pictures ...
(I actually remember seeing a trail of glitter behind me as I walked ... 12 year old me thought that was incredibly cool. 35 year old me is shocked my mother did not lose her every loving mind!)