These trends, or characteristics, have at their core personal values (or a lack thereof). In a world where we have Google, Facebook, Twitter, and our trusted news outlets resting on the palm of our hands, accessible at our fingertips, convenience, speed, and a craving for relevance rise to the top of our minds, controlling the way we obtain our information and satisfy ourselves with our findings.
Many of us feel a huge need to express our opinions on major news events on social media, but do so without the proper quality or amount of literature. We just get whatever we can as quickly as we can, pack it into a neat little unit, and throw it out in such a manner that resembles a snowball fight. That is what we feel we need to do, in order to "keep up with the times."
But this pattern is actually setting us backwards, way, way backwards.
Now I will move forward to address why I am writing this, and why you should know that this matters. I will start with a few questions:
How many of you have felt discouraged on behalf of humanity by reading the comments section of a news article?
How many of you feel the need to avoid social media outlets when a major, controversial story or event has just taken place?
How many people do you think question themselves on how much they truly know about a story before posting an opinion for a large volume of people to see?
The answers you probably came up with are most likely the reasons why many of you want to stay off social media when major events have happened, and for good reason.
Something I have learned from my experience, and from studying political science and history, is that affiliation weighs heavily in our minds, spirits, and motivations. We oftentimes, without a second thought, side with the stances that fit the value base of our political affiliation, class affiliation, race, education level, whatever it may be. To fix this, we need to become aware of our values, our opinions, etc, so that they do not cloud our judgment or perceptions of reality.
For example, I come from a privileged, white family. I am aware of the stereotypes that people I meet will throw me into knowing only that bit of information. I know that some people will completely discredit my thoughts or opinions, shutting me out completely, without me even being able to open my mouth, because of where I come from. Because of the situation I was born into, I will, in many cases and stories, have to work much harder to establish my credibility and earn the trust of my interview subjects. That is a fact that I have come to accept, understand, and prepare to train myself to compensate for before it comes back to haunt me.
But there is more to me, and more to every human being you will encounter in your life, than meets the eye. No one perfectly fits a stereotype. Everyone has a unique story to tell, and most people have one that will surprise you.
And here is the key point I want to make: you should never feel obligated to lean a certain way because you think it is what your background, whether it be past or present, expects of you. Your stances should come from you, and only you. Your needs, your feelings, and your view of right and wrong, NOT those of anyone else.
So here's how you do it. Step away from where you come from, open yourself up to exploring possibilities and viewpoints of other sides. Don't label yourself. Terms like white privilege, hoodlum, trailer trash, wealthy snob, wrong side of the tracks, NEED to go. Throw them away, because once you do, people might just stop subconsciously stereotyping you as such, and you them. And then maybe, just maybe, we can begin to create a world that is more accepting, open-minded, and intelligent.
Value and trustworthiness need to come before convenience. Emotions must be kept in balance, and not come too much in contact with facts and knowledge, because this breeds corruption and misleading information.
If something makes you angry, ask yourself why. Let the emotion flow out of you ONLY after you have attained credible information. And what is credible? Well, if you begin with a neutral standpoint and a discerning eye, it will not be too difficult to figure that out. When there is a lack of information, try everything you can to find it BEFORE forming a concrete opinion. If it's not there, wait for it. If it never comes, resist the urge to try to fill in the blanks yourself, because that is what makes news subjective and not objective.
Opinions and banter can be much more healthy and thought-provoking than they currently are if we try to adopt some of these principles. After all, our freedom of speech is a precious thing. But let us create a more interesting venue of expressing it by knowing as much as we can. Knowledge is power, and it's a power we should all want more of, if we are to cure the ignorance that is plaguing social media, and help ourselves be able to discern a solid fact from a twisted one.
It's not an easy process, but give it a shot. At this time next year, you may be patting yourself on the back for it.
