Staying Sane Online In the Age of Trump

In 1966, Robert F. Kennedy once quoted a Chinese curse saying

There is a Chinese curse which says “May he live in interesting times.” Like it or not, we live in interesting times.It’s unknown whether this was actually an ancient Chinese saying or if it was just something misinterpreted or just plain made up (#fakeNews!), but it’s hard to argue that we’re not living in “interesting times” right now.  And there’s no more proof of it than looking at Facebook and Twitter.  The cesspool of partisan bickering gets deeper and deeper, and it’s driving wedges between friends and families.  Relationships are suffering, if not downright being destroyed. We’re becoming a more divided country each and every day.

It doesn’t really matter who started it, or who’s at fault. Maybe it makes YOU feel better, but someone is going to disagree, and it doesn’t solve the problem.  That train long left the station, and everybody has their hands dirty to some degree.  Blaming others isn’t going to fix the problem.

What we can do is cut down on the partisan vitriol and instead try to better understand the perspective of the other side. Don’t unfriend people who you disagree with; instead, block the purveyors of the discord.  You know what I’m talking about:  it’s those commentary sites that push all of the negativity and spread #fakeNews.

Last week, while I was busy shutting off all of the recruiting coverage on my Facebook and Twitter pages, I also took a whack at all of the partisan sites that kept popping up at the same time. It’s super-easy to do, and days later, I’m amazed at how much cleaner and happier my Twitter and Facebook experience is.  I didn’t unfriend or unfollow any people; the blocks purely shut down posts by “True Patriots” or “Uncaring Conservatives” or whatever.  How did I do this?