Debates held on social media websites almost never end well. The minute someone posts his or her opinion about any controversial topic, people are quick to respond with messages of condescension and flat-out disrespect. This is especially true when the person has an opinion considered politically incorrect.
A couple of weeks ago I found a blog post about abortion. Hence, I posted the link to the article on my Facebook page. All I asked was people read it with an open mind, regardless of their opinions.
Sure enough, I awoke the next morning to see a massive debate in the comments on my post. I have nothing against those who disagree with me on matters such as this, but could they not disagree in a more respectful manner?
Facebook and Twitter make it incredibly easy for people to trash one another without giving it a second thought. The minute you get angry at someone, there is nothing stopping you from sharing your thoughts about that person on the Internet for everyone to see.
What amazes me is how intolerant people are toward others who have a different worldview than the one they have. Have we come so far as a society that we have to un-friend people on Facebook when his or her political views don’t align with ours?
To give another example, on July 1, conservative Holly Fisher tweeted a picture of herself she captioned: “ATTENTION LIBERALS: do NOT look at this picture. Your head will most likely explode.”
The image was of her wearing a pro-life t-shirt, holding a Chick-fil-A cup and standing in front of a Hobby Lobby.
When I saw someone share this on Facebook, I was disturbed at the majority of comments from both liberals and conservatives. Though there were a number of liberals who hurled insults and obscenities at this woman, plenty of conservatives responded in an equally pathetic manner. I saw comments from conservatives such as “God please bring your Light to foolish liberals!” Others said that they had no liberal friends to share this with because they are all idiots.
This message goes out to every American regardless of their political party: What good does hate and online bashing do for our country? Can we not be civil with one another and disagree in a respectful, productive manner?
If you feel the urge to anger someone just for the sake of reaction, I can guarantee you that your actions will be rendered pointless. How do you expect your opinion to be taken seriously when all you do is tweet about how stupid your opponents are?
Seeing these posts also gets me thinking about what social media has become. When Mark Zuckerberg first created Facebook, he intended it to be a way for college students to network with one another. Now, it and other social media websites have become global phenomena which people use for all sorts of menial purposes.
As soon as a controversial topic comes up in the media, it seems as though the only things appearing on my news feed are people’s responses to that issue. And with this, many responses tend to be angry, profane and undesirable.
I am a firm believer in standing up for what you believe in. It is our constitutional right as American citizens to express our opinions. However, using one’s Twitter account as an outlet for trashing people is an immature and disrespectful way of exercising this freedom. We have the power to think and believe whatever we want. Is it that hard for us to express our views in a way that does not include trashing people on the Internet?
Whether you are liberal, conservative, independent or belong to another political party, think about the best way to convey your views to someone. Ask yourself if engaging in a face-to-face conversation might be more productive than attacking someone on Facebook and Twitter.
