Keep Your Political Hot Thoughts to Yourself Right Now
I understand. We all want answers for the 2020 elections, especially if they bring good news for [insert your political affiliation here] . As a result, many people become obsessed with every bit of information that hits the Internet — every flash of news that might point to an answer. And they share these “ideas” over and over and over, as if somehow Facebook posts or all the pundits’ tweets will get us to the finish line faster.
Here’s my suggestion: stop sharing. Seriously. Stop it. There are two things you should be concerned about right now, and they apply to any election from now until the end of time (also known as the moment America grows wiser and develops a secure digital voting method for us).
- Have you voted? You probably did, unless you’re the type of person who likes to tell your friends, “I want to watch the world burn,” in the style of a comic book villain. I roll my eyes at you.
- Have you confirmed that your vote has been processed? This is the main thing. There are many voices in the mail that will not be counted due to various kinds of violations. You may still have a chance to fix it if it affects you. Make sure your newsletter gets through . If it doesn’t, do your best to ensure that your vote counts. Every vote is counted.
And it’s all! You will notice that I have not added to the list “become your own newsroom by retweeting whatever you can get your hands on,” or “harass random people on the Internet who voted differently from you,” or even “try to convince everyone. your candidate won because you saw it on TikTok. “
There is nothing you can do to change the future right now. Even people foolishly trying to “ stop counting ” are wasting their time – and they were undoubtedly prompted to storm the voting barricades by something stupid they read on the Internet. For most normal people who are not lawyers hired by a political party or a campaign, your job is done. You have done your duty. Your vote has been counted. That’s all. End of line. Input is no longer needed.
By continuing to send political spam on social media, you are fueling anxiety in an already difficult time. And this will not solve anything. This is the same feeling you get when you see a recent ex pop up on your favorite social network, only now each of your friends is posting messages about meeting them with someone new, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. … It’s an unpleasant feeling, and we could all help each other – and ourselves – without contributing as much as we do.
The world is spinning no matter how many memes you post
Let me put it bluntly: your retweet doesn’t matter. Your funny Facebook meme doesn’t matter. Some interesting thing that you saw in the message of another hyper-political person does not matter. Your colorful Instagram posts filled with hope and love don’t matter. Nothing you do as an ordinary person will change the electoral process more than what you have already done by voting.
In fact, I would even say that telling everyone to stay calm, loving, and hopeful all the time is unpleasant in itself. The very act of telling your friends not to worry reminds them of what they are trying not to worry about. And maybe it’s just me, but I don’t need cute distractions, or pictures of your last hike with the words “be peaceful,” or to watch a movie in which you photoshopped Trump and Biden in an attempt to be funny and / or fashionable. …
What we need is social normality. If you’ve had an interesting day, please tell us about it. If you took a beautiful photo of a bird outside, share it. Don’t do this because you are helping to calm down a worried people; you are not like that. Just share it so that those of us who want to forget about the outside world for a moment can enjoy it. It doesn’t have to be political. The world doesn’t need your opinion on politics. Your friends have many places to go for the latest news if they want to, and none of their sources should be you.
I am reminded of that time 48 hours ago – or was it a year ago? – when a lot of my friends started to think about the counting of votes in Texas for the Democrats. The state will surely be swept by a blue tide, they argued in countless Facebook posts, tweets and Instagram memes, because vote counts in typically democratic regions were higher than usual. It didn’t happen, but all of these chair quarterbacks sparked a lot of spirits, only to send them back into bitter dismay as the blue wave crashed into the wall of political reality.
This process is repeated in countless permutations and continues to repeat itself as we all tirelessly voice our opinions and share the opinions of others, seek hints of hope and become overly obsessed with what could have gone wrong, and … enough, already. There will be plenty of time for analysis in the coming weeks, months and years. Consider doing your colleagues a favor today and showing some political restraint on social media, especially if you’re just re-sharing some random prediction from a Washington insider. This is not what we need now, it is simply adding emotional chaos to a process that is already fraught with tension.
As I said , I think health is best when you can decide when and to what extent you want to get involved in an ongoing political frenzy. Wherever you go, politics doesn’t allow you to take the real psychological break you need at times like these. Save the exchange for really, really good things so that it can surface amid all the other nonsensical social bullshit. Anything else, just let it rest.