Go onto Facebook, twitter or Instagram. Scroll through and see how long it takes for you to find a meme. For myself, it takes less than a minute.
Now I understand and thoroughly enjoy good old relatable meme about early mornings with grumpy cat, but my enjoyment quickly turns into exasperation when memes become politically charged, one sided arguments.
It is my belief that when talking about current events and issues, we should be extremely conscious about how we present our opinion and the information that follows it.
In this day and age of technology, we have access to nearly any bit of information in just a Google search. You would think biased one-sided arguments would be vanishing by now, but they actually seem easier to find than ever.
We’ve all seen the reporting over fake news and Facebook algorithms minimizing the diversity of the news we see, but as an adolescent in the age of social media, I think one of the sole ways we spread ‘bad’ news, is with memes.
Memes that within one line tell us that Liberals are dumb for X reason, that Trump hates minorities or that Clinton is like Hitler because some quote looks similar.
Memes are spreading misleading information within the few seconds it takes to read it, as if some political opinion is just that simple, when of course… it’s just not.
I think memes are becoming increasingly more popular because it’s an easy way to have an opinion. If an opinion looks as simple as a meme makes it and we continue to ignore the other side, then we can always feel like we are right and the other side is just stupid.
One of the most frustrating things about humans, is that we tend to just consume all information if it aligns with our values. Ever see some shocking statistic or ‘fact’, like how many people who smoke marijuana end up in jail? Or that Islam glorifies religious suicide and hates women?
Instead of people pulling out the magical rectangle in their pocket to doublecheck that intimidating force-fed information, we like and share because if my aunt Jane who I like posted it and there’s a source written at the bottom, it must be true.
Don’t play into that game. Go ahead and search the source or try to find the statistical research. Most of the time I’ve found that it either doesn’t exist or it’s just very misconstrued and complicated information.
By approaching politics this way, you’re pretty much closing the door for meaningful debate that makes progress and promotes unity.
I know that when someone makes an offensive blanket statement about my opinions, it certainly doesn’t make me want to see their perspective or have a reasonable conversation. It just makes me want to say something generalized and offensive back. What’s the good in that?
Since we have access to a world of knowledge and reliable, well researched news, I urge you to stop sharing abrasive political memes and start using your own voice to make well composed, thought out and researched arguments.
It doesn’t have to be an academic essay, just something that tells me more about why you do support or don’t support something than I would get from a flashy and ‘factual’ meme.
It’s time we stop polarizing away from each other and learn to get along, so we can get stuff done.
Hannah Hamlin
Reporter