politics

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs

Internet 101: Knee Jerk Reactions

“Quick! Grab your pitch forks! Someone posted an article on social media that I don’t like!” 

You can’t scroll through the newsfeed anymore without seeing knee jerk reaction posts…

“I am outraged that this is happening! We must all protest IMMEDIATELY!” 

So I click on the article and it turns out to be a dud. In fact, the article is twisting words to make it read a certain way.

Don’t buy into every piece of click bait on the internet. Take 5 minutes to do a quick search and see if there’s any validity. 

And please, please, please don’t make leaping assumptions about the message behind something or “how it’s poisoning us all” without doing some research.

It’s time to disband social media mobs. 

What is it accomplishing?

Most of the stuff you see smacks of fear and 95% of that fear is unfounded.

Be careful in our world of hyperbole. 

I know it’s not hard to believe that the machine–media and politicians–want us to be in a frenzy. When the people are in a frenzy, they will make rash decisions and allow things to happen that they might not otherwise agree to under normal circumstances.

And, no, this post is not about the Orlando massacre, but the same logic applies. 

What I’m referencing is a social media mob forming over a movie that’s coming out.

Seriously? Take a chill pill. It’s a movie.

If you don’t want to go, then don’t go. There’s no reason to stir up trouble about it.

Don’t blow up the internet with your rage about something that you read in an article. I mean, everything’s true if someone posts it on a website, right? 

Yeah. About that…

Leave a comment Posted on Daily Blogs

A Moment of Silence

Since when did complete agreement become the goal? 

I’ve listened to the news quite a bit since the Orlando massacre and the amount of political talk and civil rights talk and gun rights talk is nauseating.

What about just being sad for 5 minutes before we launch into “These are the issues we need to address”?  

Which, by the way, is what everyone says EVERY SINGLE TIME after a tragedy of this magnitude.

Here’s what I want to say: Everyone, shut your mouth. 

This is not the time to start a conversation about gun control.

This is not the time to start a conversation about conservatives vs. liberals.

This is not the time for Christians and the LGBTQ community to stand off nose to nose.

This is not the time to pick a part Islam.

I just want everyone to please be quiet. 

There are 49 families who are mourning. Their son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father, lover was killed.

If you can’t think of a kind, compassionate thing to say, please shut up. 

We can riot in the streets later.

We can debate for hours later.

I am sad about this senseless loss of life. None of those victims set out thinking, “This is it, my last day on earth.” They were just out having fun (albeit at a later hour than I like to be out) on a Saturday night. 

Please pray for the families. There are some hard days ahead.

Pray for ways you can show kindness and compassion to those around you–no matter how different they are. 

Pray for strength and wisdom on how we should all properly respond to this tragedy.

But for now, I think we all need to take a breath and just sit in this space for a minute. Let’s take a few moments to grieve before responding rashly. 

 

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs

Super Tuesday thoughts

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday. If it’s your state’s turn, go out and vote!

Maybe you hate all the candidates or maybe you know exactly who to vote for. 

Just keep in mind that not voting is casting a vote. 

You’re voting to not participate in a right that’s not available in all countries around the world.

It’s lazy, really, to not vote.  Take 15 minutes and head down to the polls. 

This is an important election. Our country needs a good leader who will help change the political landscape for the better. 

But if we all stay home, nothing will change. 

Your vote matters. 

Don’t believe the lie that says it doesn’t matter! This is America. You have a voice! 

Our freedom comes at a high price and our privileges as citizens are the envy of the world. 

I’ve written more about politics in the last several weeks than I ever have…

Nothing about this topic makes me comfortable, but it’s important. 

It’s time to wake up and pay attention to what’s happening around us. 

Leave a comment Posted on Daily Blogs

Stop and (really) listen

Beware of sound bytes because they are deceiving. 

In watching the news, pulling apart sound bytes is how they judge candidates. 

Words matter, yes, but context also matters. 

Only listening to sound bytes will give you a fragmented view of the political scene. 

Research the candidates. 

Listen to their speech(es). 

A little fact checking goes a long way. Don’t just choose a candidate based on news coverage. 

I hate to burst your bubble, but:

  • The news is not always accurate. 
  • Facebook is not always accurate. 
  • Political news websites are not always accurate. 

The best thing you can do is visit the presidential candidate’s official website.

 Start with that information (straight from the horse’s mouth) and base all of your other research from that source. 

This builds upon my post “Say no to crazy”. 

In order to not be politically crazy, it’s important to not be ignorant. 

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

Safety vs. Risk

The key word in terrorism is terror and the purpose of terror is to put fear in our hearts. 
The debate over the Syrian refugees really has me thinking….

Maybe all the articles and videos about ISIS turning us against the refugees isn’t that far off. 

Let’s look at the facts:

  1. Most of the terrorists were European nationals
  2. ISIS magazines and videos state that they want the Muslim world to hate the West
  3. The other outbreaks of ISIS related activity following the Paris attacks should not to be surprised since the point is evoking terror (and it worked so well the first time)
  4. Most of Europe–and now America–is not helping the refugees. 

With these facts in mind, is terrorism winning?

Our culture continues to respond exactly the way the enemy wants. 

Instead of talking out solutions, governors are making rash statements that lack  empathy and reek of platform building stances.  

These actions remind me of our nation’s–and the world’s history. 

Hasty judgment is prevailing. 

Ignoring the suffering refugees will not make this problem disappear. I recognize the concerns about safety. I want to be safe too. 

I’m torn, though, because helping the refugees means there’s a risk involved….

But isn’t there always a risk involved?

I don’t claim to have all the answers. The reason I’m writing this out is to think this issue through. 

I’m just wondering if our concerns and fears about safety are allowing the tenets of terrorism to prevail. 

What are your thoughts on this topic?