Sharing Opinions

I wake up about 3 hours before going to work every morning and I read. I scan many news sites, both MSM liberal and conservative sites. I do not read the alt-right stuff, the only one I know of is Infowars and I am not sure if I have ever looked at it. I wake up thinking about things. Last week I woke up wondering how much the prescribing of statins have increased over the years and in those years how much have heart attacks increased. I spent two hours researching it and found that it is not easy to get those stats. I have started to read the whole bible in that morning time. I even go to work, so to answer the question FB is not all I do. In all of this reading I learn new things. I do not think these things make me smarter, anybody that knows me will back me up on that, they just help me form an opinion and then many times I share my opinion on FB or the blog my daughter created. I like the blog because I know people have to click on it if they want to read it. I do not do any other social media. During the election, many people were moving to more conservative sites than FB, but I didn't want to do that because when I share my opinion, I love to hear from those who have opposing opinions, and many times that turns into a debate. I appreciate the opinion of those who do not agree with me even when it turns into a personal attack against me, which it sometimes does. I do not share my opinion to hear how right I am, I believe that already or I wouldn't share my thoughts, I share so that others who disagree have a chance to tell me why I am wrong.

There have been many times my stance has softened or changed because of what people have said on FB. I read a lot of other people's opinions on FB that I disagree and never comment because it is easy to see those folks are not interested in opposing views and that they are just wanting others to know theirs. If I do comment it is usually with those who comment regularly on mine. Yesterday, was one of those days where many people shared how horrible Trump and all Trump supporters are, those people usually aren't looking for others opinions. I don't approach people in public or call people with opposing views and say lets talk politics. The great thing about FB is people get to choose what they read, there are many things I refuse to read on FB, there are even photos and memes I refuse to look at. I try not to be offensive to those who disagree with me even when we are in a debate. I do not call people idiots. I believe an opinion is something that is formed from reading or life experience and is never idiotic, no matter how much I disagree with it, unless it is written for the sole purpose of being offensive.

I am writing this because yesterday I shared how ironic I thought it was that many of those in MSM and politics who turned a blind eye to whole cities being burned and called it mostly peaceful protest have a different opinion about the events that took place yesterday; remember during those times people held complete whole downtowns of cities hostage, tried to breach the WH fence, caught a historic church on fire in DC, killed people, and destroyed businesses which caused their neighbors to be unemployed. In my post and in many of my responses I stated I opposed the actions of those who went into congress. The people most impacted by that were the hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters that traveled long distances to let their voices be heard along with all others that are concerned about the election process. We are constantly bombarded with opinions from people who are supposed to be giving us news. Many, probably most, people have a favorite news source and that is what they listen to or read, so sharing our views with each other, even if we are in disagreement, is positive and that is how minds are changed, but when people's minds are not changed that is ok too. There are a couple of people that disagree with me on many things on FB and I love it when they let me know, when I see their name pop up I can't wait to read what they have to say. One of the great things about those people is they have put thought into their opinion, and they are not just going to call me a Trump lover.

In ancient Greece there was a place in many cities called the Agora. It was a meeting place near the center of the city where people met for many things. Culture, religion, law, sports, political activities, and many other events took place there. One thing that happened is people met and shared their views. Later, in early America, these same things happened in the town square. Since then this has happened in many places like barber shops, pubs, and VFW halls. In our modern age this is done on social media. There are many repulsive things on social media, but the opinion of others is never repulsive, unless it is intended to be. I read posts sometimes that basically say your opinion doesn't matter. Most of the time it is in the form of a joke like "how many people change their vote because of your FB post, none" or something similar to that. Interestingly, anybody who posts that is sharing their opinion, and has a right to do so, but that may very well prevent somebody else from sharing their opinion. We have been in a time of social distancing and, unfortunately, FB is the only place for many to share their thoughts, opinions, family photos, or even what they had for breakfast this morning. I am saying all this for the purpose of letting people know I appreciate your opinion and to say if my opinion offends you, I do not apologize, but if I write it in a way, or by using language, that looks like I intended to be offensive please let me know and I will correct it. I will end by saying this, I love people, even those I haven't seen for many years, I love to hear people's thoughts, even when I disagree with them, and that even goes for those people who don't love me or my thoughts. We are all here for a purpose.