To my Blogary I write

Dear Blogary,

I am in a funk. I’m not sure how it happened. Perhaps life has been moving too quickly, lately. Perhaps I’ve not invested enough time in sleep. Perhaps I’ve invested too much time in sleep. Unsure of the reasons why, I find myself in a funk. And Blogary, what follows may cost me some subscribers.

I was one of the millions who tuned in to the Royal Wedding today. I enjoyed shutting out the craziness of our current crises and losing myself in the magical enchantment of a Prince marrying a soon to be Princess. I remember when this Prince was a baby. He’s grown, and I believe his mother would be proud. I hope this marriage survives the scrutiny that will surround it. I hope Prince William inherited his mother’s resilience. I believe Kate shares Lady Diana’s better qualities.

Yet, as the doors close on Buckingham Palace and televisions across the world return to the normal schedules, I am quickly reminded of the reality within our world. Blogary, I don’t mean to sound trite but why can’t we all just get along?

This week, I’ve read several blogs with a political twist. Accessing Facebook again, I’ve seen several friends post their thoughts on one political thing or another. As one might expect, there exists a differing of opinions. While social media exists – in part- to bring people together, it also creates and feeds on the divisions within us. I believe divisions are made easily enough in the real world, further dividing our world through social media could lead to serious damage.

Blogary, you know me. You know I run to the front of the line, if there is an opportunity for a debate. I love a good debate. Moreover, I love a good debate that leaves the participants feeling enlightened and more open minded. I believe if you leave a debate unmoved, your mind was not open to discussion. You don’t have to change your viewpoint, just have a better perspective of the other opinion.

I do not want the focus of this post to be on President Obama’s birth certificate, nor do I want this post to focus on Donald Trump. Fact of the matter is this: President Obama won the Presidential election. Prior to the Presidential election, he won the election for State Senator of Illinois. President Obama was born in HI. You know this, I know this – and anyone trying to prove otherwise is sitting in a corner room donning tinfoil hats and waiting for the aliens to remove their probe.

Furthermore, Donald Trump is a savvy business man. He knows how to make a dollar or five gabillion. He knows what sells, and he sells it. For everyone who has called Trump an idiot or given him added attention (myself included), we’ve taken the bait as he intended, and he has made money off of the attention we’ve given him.  There is nothing more to it. By trying to make more of it, you are losing site of what is truly important. (In case you don’t know, what is truly important is not Donald Trump.)

Social media has the potential to skew opinions in a positive direction or a negative direction. Mean spirited thoughts can circulate in an instant. A comment made about the location of a person’s birth could blow up to become a large national issue. A successful entrepreneur can take hold of the various media outlets to draw more attention to himself and help him reap financial rewards.

We all have the ability to use our words for good or evil. We all have the ability to feed into the madness or step away from the madness and focus on what matters. Still, for most of us, we play the role of rubber-neckers, staring at the car wreck and looking for blood. One knows it is far easier to stare and point than it is to drive forward and make change happen. Change takes work and responsibility. *Yawn* Honestly, it is much easier to just stare at the wreck.

I don’t know, Blogary. My funk may simply be PMS related. You know that about me, too. In any case, funk or no funk, I’m tired of the journalism spin and social media blitz. To the writers and posters of OpEd articles, political posts, YouTube videos, Facebook groups, etc. all exclaiming disgust for this politician or that politician, this party or that party, this celebrity or that celebrity, I ask  “Is the dog wagging its tail, or is the tail wagging the dog?”

Right now, what should matter most to Americans in this Country is the debt of our Country. Americans should read more articles like this one, “What Voters Need to Know About America’s Debt” from US News and World Report, and Americans should leave those sitting in the corner donning tinfoil hats alone with their alien probes. I hear Charlie Sheen is their leader.

Love,
Me