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Health & Fitness

'Right:' A Commentary on Social Media in an Election Year

Stop the social media mud-slinging.

During this divisive election year social media has been ablaze with political commentary.

Friends are being unfriended and inflammatory statuses are being "liked" with vigor. In today's society, it is paramount that your sphere of Facebook influence knows your opinion. They need to know that you are right. 

Facebook is a wonderful tool for people to promote their "right"-ness and shame those who might disagree into "wrong"-ness. It enables people to join teams. It allows you to eliminate those so-called friends with differing beliefs from existence with the click of a button. Like magic!

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I don't think there is anything wrong with healthy debate or expressions of opinion. But we all know the Internet emboldens people to do and say things they normally wouldn't in real life, and in my experience, "healthy" has quickly degenerated into hateful, hurtful, arrogant, and ignorant.  

In the long run, nobody is going to remember if you won a political debate on the Internet by insulting everyone who disagrees with you. Or implying that anyone who might believe differently than you is a total idiot. You know, since you're right and all. 

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What people will remember is kindness shown in the face of disagreement. Forgiveness and acceptance of differences. Respect for beliefs that are probably just as important to someone else as yours are to you. 

Believe it or not, there are human beings on both sides of every debate. They might be misguided. They might truly be wrong. But they are people with opinions and feelings, just like you. 

So before letting the world know, "What's on your mind?" maybe attempt to make a small difference in "Facebook land" by thinking how your words might impact others before you click. Because most of these impassioned messages are just getting lost in the malice. 

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