Sunday, April 15, 2012

"LIKE"

"LIKE"
I read the post on facebook…and then I re-read it; this time more slowly.  My heart sank. I could not believe the organization that I have long supported, appeared to be backing a politician, that has long stood in variance to this group’s normally solid position. 

"Surely, this group could not be buying into this man’s lies and agenda", I thought to myself. I read the full article that they had linked to, but my spirit was so grieved I could not fully concentrate.  I went back to the original post. I had to comment.

I usually try not to get too political or reveal too much anger on facebook, but political activism, as well as the sharing of my faith, is one of the main reasons I use facebook.  So, believing something so strongly, yes, I HAD to comment.

I won’t write about what I said on that post. I don’t want this blog post to become a post about that discussion, right now. That is not the message I hope to convey here. But before I was done, I had posted three comments directed at this group’s error in quoting this man that has long been their enemy.

I finally stopped, took a breath, and started reading some of the posts from other facebook fans. My heart was lifted. I clicked the "like" button on one fan’s comment.  I read another comment and clicked "like", again. These people get it!  And they are as angry as I am. LIKE; LIKE; LIKE! 

“You are misinforming,” one comment read. “LIKE”! I clicked. Big time, like!

This was so encouraging; these "fans" so full of conviction, so right! This was Americans letting their voice be heard. It revealed so much.  Americans are not sheep, and most of us are not easily fooled.  I read another comment and clicked “LIKE”.  A message came up that stated “You cannot like a comment that has been removed.”  Hmmm, maybe it is my stupid, lame computer.  I tried again. “Like”…

“You cannot like a comment that has been removed.”

I wondered if the group had removed this man’s comment. His comment wasn’t disrespectful in any way, but it was fairly assertive.  I went to the bottom of the page, to post another comment of my own.  After typing my comment, I hit “enter”.  My comment wouldn’t post.

Message: “You cannot comment to a post that has been removed.”
                                                                                                                          
Awesome!  The group had removed the article that was creating so much controversy. Maybe it had been posted in error. Maybe the article had been posted by an employee who wasn’t correctly informed….maybe the whole group was not well-informed about this particular politician's policies.  Regardless of the reason the group had been ill-advised in making this post, they had now become informed – by American’s who care; by Americans bold enough to speak their minds, by Americans who ARE informed.

The message I would like to convey here in this blog post?  America works!  "Freedom of Speech" works! One voice can have an effect and many voices are unstoppable. We should talk!  We should discuss!  It helps us learn, it enables us to share truth. And we shouldn’t be afraid to speak what we know to be true.

“LIKE”!  Big time "Like"!
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke