Long Tirades of Protest

I simply abhor politics.  The whole shebang.  Politicians, political conversations, political headlines, etc. all make me roll my eyes and shop online.  Which is so odd because all through college, I kind of wanted to go into politics.  I thought I’d get a law degree and maybe someday would use that to kickstart a political career of some kind.  Hell, I even had an office at the Florida state Capital for a bit!  But that was ages ago, and, thankfully, life has taken me a safe distance away from that circus.

I do my best to stay informed.  I listen to news radio in the car.  I read newspapers online.  I have friends and family of both parties and I like to have conversations with them to keep my politics in perspective.  I keep my ears open to what’s going on around me.  But most of the time, if I’m honest, politics makes me want to take a nap.

Lately, though, instead of taking a nap, politics has made me want to punch someone in the face.  AND. IT. IS. EVERYWHERE.  I can’t read an online paper, check Twitter, scroll through Instagram, or (God forbid) get on Facebook without being ASSAULTED by someone’s political viewpoints.  And whether I agree with them or not, I still want to punch them in the face.  Because that’s my go-to reaction when something annoys me.  I either walk away, or I punch them in their face.  Mentally, of course.  (Give me a gold star because I never have actually punched anyone in their face.)  Recently, though, I’ve begun to reconsider because my frustration level is so far over my head it has circled back around to my feet again.

Because here are the dilemmas I face about sharing anything political online:

a. My political viewpoint will ANGER someone, and result in their long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

b.  My NON-EXPRESSION of a political viewpoint will anger someone, and result in their long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

c.  My political viewpoint will not be expressed GENUINELY enough, and will result in a long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

d.  My political viewpoint will be expressed TOO PASSIONATELY, and will result in a long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

e.  My political viewpoint will be deemed UNEDUCATED, and will result in a long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

f.  My policial viewpoint will be deemed TOO THEORETICAL, and will result in a long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

g.  My political viewpoint will be MISUNDERSTOOD, and will result in a long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

h.  My political viewpoint will be taken OUT OF CONTEXT, and will result in a long tirade of protest, of which I will not read.

So, you see, there is absolutely nothing one can say about politics right now that will not incite some type of tirade of protest.  And if there is one thing the world does not need right now, it is another political tirade of any kind because…

Here are the things that will NOT happen when I post something political:

a.  I will change someone’s mind.

b.  Democrats and Republicans will hold hands and be each other’s Valentine.  (And since Valentine’s Day is my favorite, that would definitely be a game changer for me, if I thought I could make that happen.)

It seems wrong for me to ignore such unrest in our country and go on blogging about parent/teacher conferences and weekend sporting events.  And yet, it seems even worse to use this as a platform to explain myself because WHO THE HELL CARES?!  In fact, some of you reading this right now are probably thinking, “She’s so IN MY FACE with politics.  UNFOLLOW!”

And at the exact same moment, some of you are thinking, “She so SPINELESS because she won’t speak out.  UNFOLLOW!”

And maybe some of you are trying to figure out if this is a political dig at left or right, but you can’t figure it out and that’s weird.  UNFOLLOW!

So, here’s the thing, imaginary friends.  I’m going to go on in my little corner of the internets doing what I always do – providing for my family and raising my kids.  And I may not be vocalizing opinions or eloquently writing political status updates, but every time YOU do, I’m liking the SHIT out of them.  And then I’m going back to my everyday life and doing what I can there to make a difference.  Because sometimes small differences can move those mountains even more than a Facebook update.

(P.S. Feel free to post your tirade of protest below, of which I will not read.  Thank you.  Management.)