That's right, liberals.
Now before you freak out, I'm not attacking all liberals here. I have plenty of friends who are sane, rational liberals who can calmly state their views and calmly disagree with others without completely flipping their lids. I am perplexed, however, by those people who seem to think that any disagreement with their personal philosophy is also a disagreement with their personhood. I'm sure there are conservatives who act the same, but because of my political and religious stance, I tend to come up against the leftist extremists, though the right-wing clearly has their fair (or unfair) share of the same.
That being said, it seems to me as if Liberalism is the new "tolerant" religion that tolerates you as long as you remain politically correct. If you play by their rules, help the environment, and judge no one, then you are fine. If, however, you (God forbid) make any kind of disparaging remarks about the president, the Healthcare Bill, climate change, or anything like that, you are suddenly an intolerant and ignorant dotard who should shut up and just let progress happen.
Why is it that liberals are so defensive about Obama when we had to put up with eight years of Bush-bashing? Why is it that if I see no real evidence of human-caused climate change, I am suddenly a brainless follower of the horrible Fox News--you know, the only news station that isn't completely under the control of the left-wing media? Yes, war is horrible, and therefore you hated Bush, calling him a destroyer of peace. Why can't you see that there can never be peace as long as we allow mothers to murder their children? But if conservatives bring up abortion, we are suddenly stupid single-issue voters who lack the brain capacity to look at the complexity of other issues and weigh then weigh those issues accordingly. The reality is, however, that we understand how to truly weigh the issues, and see that the callous slaughter of thousands of innocent children daily is the most important issue.
But back to Facebook. Let's say I make a simple status, such as "Obama sucks." What do you think will happen? Two things. Some of my friends who agree will 'like' it or post a brief comment of agreement. Then some of my friends who disagree with me will post lengthy comments about how wrong I am or how ignorant or how intolerant or something like that. Now lets review: liberals claim to be tolerant of other people's views and opinions, yet they (many, but not all) would attack me because my opinion is that Obama sucks.
Why? I ask myself. Why are they ranting endlessly about how wrong I am just because my opinion is not a cookie-cutter clone of theirs? Are they trying to persuade me to see things as they do? Surely not, for their tirades are so vehement and aggressive they could only make their opponents dislike them even more. I think Orson Scott Card put it best when he said the following:
"Anger is ugly. We see it on talk shows all the time -- whoever gets mad, loses. No matter who it is, if they show anger on camera, they're going to lose to the people who seem confident and calm...You've got to sound -- and be -- practical. Name-calling and rage work against you."
The same is true for Facebook. If you go on someone's wall and just start arguing aggressively and offensively with them about their beliefs, what good do you expect to do? What do you hope to accomplish? I see statuses making fun of conservatives and Fox News all the time, and guess what? I ignore them. Why, because I'm a coward? No, because I'm mature enough to accept the fact that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no matter how off-base I might think they are. I see statuses praising Obama, a man I find to be a murderer and a snake; I see statuses rejoicing over the passing of the Healthcare Bill, something I find completely atrocious and unconstitutional; I see statuses supporting gay marriage, the further degradation of the American family; I see statuses glorifying abortion, also knowon as murder. And what do I do, every time? Hold my tongue like a mature adult. Maybe say a prayer for those who seem to me to not have a clue.
People have opinions, which will vary from your own. Why don't you just leave them in peace? They are venting, not asking for a fight. If you would actually like to discuss a topic with them, calmly and rationally, why don't you just say so? Something like "I'm interested to know why you think this, and would like to discuss it with you further--message me if you're interested" would be far more productive than "You're just brain-washed by Fox News!" or "Get your facts straight!" or "You're just a stupid high schooler with no real opinions of your own!"
Speaking of which, what is it with grown adults raging on kids in high school for their political statements? Whether you think they're just echoing their parents or Fox News or whatever, it is just downright pathetic to get offended because a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old disagrees with you politically, and it's despicable to then attack them on their own wall. Getting angry and offending people will only earn you enemies. If you push away everyone who disagrees with you, then who is the ignorant one? Someone unable to handle opposing ideas is very much the definition of ignorance. Remember, they are your Facebook friends, so maybe you should start treating them as such. This life is too short to get all worked up just because you think you're opinion is so superior to ours, so please--just cut the self-righteous attacks and grow up already. Facebook is a tool that we should be using to support each other and build each other up, not tear each other down. If we build walls of anger and hatred between us, we are only playing into Satan's hand. We are called by God to build his Kingdom with bonds of love and patient understanding.
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