Differences in Opinions and Political Beliefs

(The Reason the Font is in purple is because the colors of the two political parties are Red and Blue. Together they make purple!)

I am deeply saddened by what is happening in the news right now. It seems as though there are no rules and people have actually gotten hurt. I believe that enough is enough. Nobody should ever get physically hurt or worse over a difference of opinion. It is no possible to make things perfect, but this is getting out of hand.

It has occurred to me that it is not possible to win an argument with a man or woman who believes they are right. It is just as effective as using a wine glass to bail out the Titanic. Or spending a great deal of money trying to win a 200-million-dollar jackpot in the lottery. Most sensible people would not even bother trying. There is no such thing as a political-related post on social media that is going to make everybody happy, too. There are times when it feels like I should not even speak of controversial issues and other subjects that will create angry comments on Facebook even if it is what I believe. But another part of me feels that if there is only silence then it feels as though I have been bullied into that silence.

I have learned that some of the people I care about the most have completely different viewpoints than myself. During our entire friendship, I had no idea they felt this way because we have so much more in common than politics that united our wonderful friendship. It would destroy my heart and soul if political differences resulted in the death of our friendship. I have a fear of losing touch with people because of how much I value friendships. Perhaps you can call me a “people collector” in the sense that friendships are not considered in my mind to be useless even when leaving a school or having to focus on other priorities.

One lesson that I have learned is not to say mean comments about family members of political individuals or comments that are personal in nature. While this is something that is told to us as early as three years old, if you have nothing nice to say then do not say anything at all! It pays to think very carefully about what is said before it is posted on social media. What we say may have consequences that may not go away like turning off a light switch.

I think that when emotions are so strong, we are quick to react to just about anything even if it is directed toward the wrong person. There was one election worker who was forced to go into hiding out of fear for his life because of being falsely accused of throwing out a ballot marked for President Donald Trump when it was actually a list of directions that was accidentally mailed back along with the ballot. If this person were already emotionally unstable, they could have done something to hurt themselves. Even for someone who has a stable mind, it would be unbearable to be cast as a national villain and have total strangers wanting to come after you. I do not believe people truly realize the damage that is caused by these lies and allegations.

I realize a great deal of time and energy is wasted with this anger and being embroiled in a constant argument that one cannot possibly win. Sometimes it is nice to take a break from social media and take time for oneself. YouTube videos are something that have helped get me through some tough times. I like to watch intros from old TV shows such as Eureka’s Castle and Maya the Bee, which were popular shows on Nick Jr. that I cherished during a rare sick day when I could finally enjoy those show that would have normally been on when I was at school. It was a time when there seemed to be no heartache. The worst thing I had to fear was the uncertainly of getting braces, which was quite traumatic for a small child on the autism spectrum unable to cope with dramatic changes. But while going into the past and pretending there is not unrelenting chaos, I am still absorbed in the adult world while watching old Nick Jr. Shows by writing business emails!