I’m just gonna say that this is a warning that I’m writing about politics and not funny bookish/life/garden stuff. If you don’t want to continue, that’s cool.
Am I alone in the fact that the election results on Tuesday sent me reeling? I mean, we went from probably a contested Republican convention to no other candidates in the race in a period of 24 hours. It doesn’t help that my worst nightmare has come true.
I’m feeling very torn about it all. I’m a huge believer in the democratic process and, although I usually have a candidate that I like, I support everyone’s right to their own convictions. I don’t usually care who you vote for, as long as you vote. Cancel me out, that’s cool. Majority wins, and that’s how it should be in this political system.
Except that we are now facing the fact that Donald Trump is the official head of the Republican party. He’s bad in ways that I don’t think anyone fully understands, not even me. It’s frightening to see the people he’s surrounding himself with, his blatant disregard of the American constitution, his hatred toward minorities and women, and his own personal behavior (including the one where he’s like “we had no idea that was happening so it’s obviously not our fault.” Really, Trump? You have no idea what’s happening in your own organization and you think running a country is something you can do?)
Alright, rant over. That wasn’t the point of this whole thing, anyway.
The point is, I’m not sure what I should be doing right now. That’s the real issue. I don’t think I should be telling you who to vote for, and I don’t usually think that “vote for x because she’s better than Y” is a good argument.
I also believe that social media functions as an escapist space for a lot of people. I value that my Facebook feed is all literary puns, cat videos, and stupidity.
On the other side, I am a firm believer in the fact that a person who is silent in the face of tyranny is complicit in it. And I deeply believe that Donald Trump is attempting to usher in a regime of tyranny and intolerance. Which means that there is responsibility there.
So… stupid Facebook or political Facebook? Tell you who to vote for, or don’t? Does choosing to be silent make me a silent supporter of racist bigotry and idiocy? Does choosing to post all the awful things I find make me an angry, vitriolic person?
I don’t know. I’m still figuring out what is a reasonable course of action in an unreasonable time. I’ll let you know if I come to any conclusions.
Casey E. Hamilton 
Casey! Thank you for putting my feelings into words on the page! You always did have a talent for that! I’m so emotional about this that words really do get jumbled up!
You are certainly not alone in your thinking process. In an election year like this one, there are a lot of people who are having trouble figuring out how to act or what to do. Do you broadcast across all social platforms to vote for this person or that person because of reason x, y, and z? Do you keep silent and keep your nose out of it until election day?
It’s just one of those things that, whether subconsciously or on purpose, all US citizens will have to decide. But I think the question isn’t about whether or not speaking up or staying silent is the better choice. The question is about what you decide to share and how you go about doing it.
Maybe instead of taking up the mantle of educating the masses on the wrongdoings of candidate x or candidate y, you could share educational articles that, instead of telling people what to think, could help them think for themselves.
Instead of articles of the nightmarish things a candidate has done, instead share an article about corrupt political practices in history. Instead of saying outright to vote for candidate x, instead share an article about similar practices or politicians to candidate x. Be clever about it. Allow people to come to their own conclusions based off of the information you provide.
The fact of the matter is that you don’t just have two choices. Your options aren’t just keep quiet or share the horrors of the world.
You can choose to still speak up, but do it in a way that is not shoving your beliefs at another person. You can choose to stay silent, at least on current political events.
You can do both. You just might need to get creative about how you handle it and a bit sly when it comes to what message you want to be getting across.
Or maybe don’t do what I mentioned at all. The point of this comment is that you have more than two options. Think about it a little more. I’m sure a third option will come to you. 🙂