“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
10.27.13
Wrong
Social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, are massive battlefields for those with opposing opinions. It's dangerous to share personal perspectives for the public, because instantly those ideas will be shot down, and the person will be persecuted for daring to voice such beliefs. It's so hard to believe anything on the internet anymore. No matter how much a certain idea is said to be supported, a contradicting idea can always be found with just as much credibility, if not more. It makes me want to rip out my hair in frustration when people base their opinions and beliefs on an internet survey! It seems like so many people will see a picture or article on the internet and that is proof enough of its truth. What are they thinking?! Have they forgotten to take into account the rest of the 1.93 billion webpages out there? There's no standard for right and wrong on the internet anymore- it's one big free-for-all!
I chose this little cartoon, and it basically speaks for itself. Often I'll see people on Facebook update their status or comment on something, deliberately addressing an obviously controversial subject. Don't misunderstand- there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself, I believe it's important to discuss these things because often, by debating, one can have their faith tested, and can really understand what they truly believe. It prevents people from simply taking things for granted.
What bothers me is when someone, even when I believe they are right, start an online debate with some other person. I saw this recently, and I just groaned in annoyance. If this had been a real life chat, and they had been speaking face to face, I would have gladly joined in and expressed what I believed to be the truth. What I absolutely hated about this scenario, however, was I predicted the outcome immediately. Right when the status was posted, I thought, "Oh, great . . . ." Yep, there's the first comment. Honestly, I somewhat agreed with both sides, right from the beginning. I didn't appreciate the way they addressed what they thought was wrong in the other person's theory, but I agreed with part of each person's idea. From then on though, I knew what would happen. The argument would go on for at least fifty loooooooong, raging comments, and by the end, neither side would change their opinion. Nothing would happen. Neither would be convinced that they were wrong- and it would end up with both sides angry at each other, saying, "This is stupid, I'm leaving." In the end- that's exactly what happened What a waste of time! Nothing is accomplished. No one understands each other. No one is willing to learn. That's the major problem with closed-minded arguments, and it makes me hopping mad!
I know for one who is in the argument and defending what they think, it is harder to recognize the stupidity and pointlessness of the whole situation. But for a person looking in and reading every comment, (like me,) it makes them want to go bang their head against a brick wall. When I read through every single comment in that disagreement, I saw such confusion. They were literally quarreling over nothing. They kept switching topics, and giving replies that had nothing to do with the other person's rhetorical question. They spend so long trying to prove the other person wrong with statements that were not even applicable, dealing with totally unrelated topics. What I was amazed to see was, they actually agreed with each other. The way they were hurling their opinions at each other, made it seem like they completely disagreed. It was torture to read- it made me sick.
It's happened before, and I'll admit, I've been caught in that same trap, as well. It's the horrible problem with the human mind. We are so prideful, and so reluctant to admit that we are wrong. Even if we know we are wrong, we still are defensive and try to excuse our opinion by blaming other factors. Wouldn't it be amazing if it was possible to completely let go of pride, and begin to search for flaws in our beliefs, and try to fix them, instead of screaming our non-thought-through ideas at others? It's like nobody even knows what they believe anymore, so when someone starts pointing out their flaws, they suddenly begin to change what they say, and then nothing makes sense.
Long rant cut short: know what you believe, and don't argue with someone, (especially on the 98% incorrect internet,) unless you really know what you are talking about, or you are open minded and are willing to learn more. Case closed. I'm off to punch something in a rage . . . .
