Blackout

   I’ve been off social media since last Saturday. It started as a 24-hour break. I began looking at my posts on Facebook (and Tik Tok, and Instagram) as a mass of racing thoughts. They began to look like everyone else’s. Maybe because I was doing a lot of re-posting screenshots of other people’s posts and tagging them with my own byline. Maybe because it’s all just a glob of thoughts vomited on the screen. Maybe it was because all the emotion I was feeling when I posted something wasn’t because I was passionate about it. Maybe it was just that I wanted to be heard. Even more than all of that I wanted it to mean something. But it doesn’t. Not to me, anyway. So, I decided to take a break.  

   I also have taken a break from most news. I read my weekly newspaper this Sunday morning before church. It’s already paid for, after all. But I’ve been staying away from all three of my news apps on my phone. AP, Wall Street Journal and even Fox News haven’t seen my questioning eyes for days now. Guess what? I feel better. My mind’s not racing, or exploding, on a minute-by-minute basis. I kinda like that. If I need to protest later, I will. When it’s time to vote, I will. If I need to vent, I will write it down and put it in my blog. Otherwise, I shall endeavor to persevere. I will “stay calm and carry on” as the British used to say.  

   One reason for the media blackout I’ve imposed upon myself is simple. If I’m stressing over every single issue in today’s political arena, I won’t have time to go to the bathroom, much less write about anything, work, or play with my grandkids. Everything may be politics, but politics ain’t life, ya know?  

   I’m not advocating for sticking your head in the sand and letting the world go to heck in a handbasket while we whistle dixie. On the contrary, do something about it. Posting on social media is a lot like writing on the bathroom wall of a city bus station or a gas station. Sure, a lot of folks will see it. They’ll laugh or think about it for a second, then move on as the smell in the room gets ripe. Just like scrolling. You may even get in a few heated exchanges in the “comments” section, just like yelling at the stall next to you. No matter what, it’s gonna stink up the place.  

   It just might be better to call/write/email your congressional and senatorial representatives. Write your newspapers, care of the “opinion” sections. Go to a city hall, or even a town hall, meeting and ask questions. Stand on the corner at city hall with a group of like-minded people and protest specific issues in a peaceful manner. Vote. Use every tool at your disposal to make your voice heard. Be active. Be passionate. Be respectful of others rights as you exercise your own. Be the kind of American that you want your pastors, your teachers, your mayors and your congressional representatives to be.  

   It’s hard to put all of that in a meme, a gif, or a post. I can’t think of any time I ever heard a president (or anyone) say “I saw a meme on Facebook today that really changed the way I think about this issue”. Maybe I’ll see you later, somewhere on social media. Maybe not. We’ll see.  

God Bless Y’all!