2 minute read
FINAL THOUGHT
COMMENTARY
When politics test friendships
Don’t weaponize Facebook’s unfriend button.
STORY: JAMES COMBS
month away from one of the most polarizing elections of our lifetime, we are witnessing the kind of antagonism and name-calling usually reserved for elementary school classrooms. And that’s just the garbage being spewed by both presidential candidates. Away from the campaign trail, a vicious battle is being waged between Trump and Biden supporters on the social media site Facebook. Much like the U.S. itself, the Facebook feeds are in total upheaval. The rhetoric from both sides is nasty. When battles are being fought behind cell phone and computer screens, it requires a di erent kind of weaponry. Therefore, users hit a button that is Facebook’s equivalent of a nuclear bomb.
The unfriend button. A destroyer of friendships.
Sadly, many make the decision that relationships can no longer endure—even electronically—when political disagreements arise. Best buddies become mortal enemies. Once beloved family members get shut out of reunions and holiday gatherings.
There are three reasons why I think we should pause before hitting the unfriend button. First, how can we consider ourselves truly educated and informed when any news story or opinion we disagree with is ltered from reaching our eyes? This leads to a phenomenon called con rmation bias. When we’re exposed to new information that con rms our existing beliefs, we buy into it automatically. Conversely, we readily discard information that appears contrary to what we already know. How can anyone who reads only one side of the story be trusted to make an informed vote?
Second, nobody should create a political litmus test to determine whether or not a friendship is worth maintaining. Remember when your best buddy called you every night as you went through a nasty divorce? Remember when your aunt made a pot of chicken noodle soup to help you overcome a nasty cold? Their caring and kindness are wonderful qualities and should mean more to you than whether they support gun control (or not) or whether they support a wall along the U.S.Mexico border (or not). Don’t embrace ideology over people.
Finally, hitting the unfriend button due to political disagreements means we’d rather frown upon our di erences instead of embracing them. We are all di erent in many ways. Skin color. Culture. Family history. Life experiences. Education levels. That’s what makes us part of the human race and members of this great country. There’s nothing wrong with political diversity. Rather than unfriend someone for having a di erent opinion, try to understand why that friend feels the way he or she does about a candidate or political issue.
Yes, we all get frustrated with some of the crap we read on Facebook. When this happens, I’ve discovered that the unfriend button isn’t the most valuable option to consider.
Try a long, deep breath instead.
Keep breathing until the desire to remove someone from your life fades away.
Hey, readers! Is there a particular subject that you would like me to write
a commentary about? Tell me, via email, at james@akersmediagroup.com.
