“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Have you noticed, that some news sources have the ability to raise your blood pressure with a word, or phrase?

• President Trump’s name seems to get people going. Add in words like, arrogant, had enough, mental illness, rich.
• The word racist has an intense following of hate. I have seen it used just to cause anger. Ethnically challenged?
• And any phrase: this is mine, not yours. Not your culture.
• White man- Black man;  Why can’t we just say man?

With any of those things, if you give your opinion, you will be torn apart.

(Nope! I will not add screenshots of Twitter and there are plenty)

I remember when the words ‘taxes’ or ‘gas prices’  and ‘you’re just like your mother’, was the way to start an argument.

It is so much easier to click away and mentally agree to disagree, without an actual conversation taking place.

“There are many doctrines of a less essential nature . . . In these we may think and let think; we may agree to disagree. But, meantime, let us hold fast the essentials . . .”~ John Wesley

Seems to be part of a group mentality, where you need to agree with that group. Now, that is easy enough. Just keep moving along. Keep your head down. Do your work and don’t talk. Really? What I hear is, your opinion, my opinion doesn’t matter. Which is true in any group mentality.   That is how we are controlled. By being told not to think, not to notice what goes on around us.

What that brings about is a larger percentage of the population not able to stand up and say ‘I don’t agree’…. Yet, we are in the middle of a #METOO place. Where women, I am included, have tweeted out that they have been sexually harassed and aren’t going to take it anymore.

But,…. And there is always a but.

How many of you remember just a few years, months ago, that acknowledging sexual harassment in the workplace was a laughable offense. And you became part of the outside group. There were those who tossed hate at you for even thinking that sexual harassment was even real. I  spoke to women who closed their eyes when it happened to them; their point was if they could stay silent then everyone needed to. And they didn’t want to lose their careers. Or those who said, how dare you stand-up and complain about that wonderful manager/supervisor/ co-worker, saying they had done something to you… You may have decided not to take it anymore, and you sign a complaint with HR.

Then you were fired. (Can you still hear that door slamming?)

Promoting hate is easy. We all love soap operas. We love to read about ‘other people’ when they trip up or their spouse does. Anger fuels debates, conflict, get’s us off our butts. It also gets people to follow you in your right-reason-cause to bring about discontent, because you feel hungry and penniless, trompe on and ignored.

Or it’s your job.

Some/most businesses are great at causing strife. To get people to read, to follow, it is essential to bring in new customers, to get those readers they use that blood pressure barometer; and they poke at that sleeping bear until he wakes up ready to fight. When you feel your blood pressure rising due to a comment on social media, take a step back, you are being used. That anger will help no one.

Well, unless you can make money off it. Using anything derogatory against President Trump, or calling someone a racist will bring in likes/hates but little real conversation.

Am I telling you not to comment? No way! What I am saying is, don’t be controlled.

If you are angry, find out if what you are angry about is real.

Read, research then step up. Get on your soapbox with real information. Agreeing with the ‘news’ just allows more of the same to keep spilling out.

I get it. Research is work, and you don’t want to do extra work.

So what should you do then..? Comment if you like.