Cacophony

Originally, I joined Facebook for the artwork. I wanted to promote my artwork and I wanted to see the artwork of others. My friend, Liz Crain, talked me into it. And, everything went along swimmingly. During the past few years, I've realized that Facebook does more than that for me though. It is a link with friends and family who I rarely see. As an introvert, it connects me, without a difficult investment on my part.

Cue the election. Cue the bots. Cue the extreme opinions that no one actually wants to hear. Cue the inability of many to write a coherent sentence, or to spell properly. Cue my frustration.

So, I'm taking a break. I think it was the school shooting that did it for me. I work at a school, and reading post after post about guns belonging in classrooms was the end. Reading posts about how if God were back in classrooms, this would have never happened, irritated me. Who’s God should enter the curriculum? The God of Christians, Muslims, or Buddhists? I have students with an assortment of beliefs. My God is generally watching over me, because I pray for help with my job, but I also believe in a firm separation of church and state. To each his own, and on his own time. Issues are very complicated, and sitting on the sidelines, ignorantly critiquing after the fact, isn't exactly helpful.

My teaching credential program was specific to working with at-risk children, and back in my early years of teaching, I read an interesting book called Lost Boys. The trend of young men becoming mass shooters was new back then. This book pointed to the many complex causes in specific shooting incidents. Twenty years later, we've sadly experienced many more mass shooting situations. Just as before, there are many causes. If you have school aged children, it might be wise to read up on exactly what is going on with the children of today, some of the difficulties that they face.

Social media, pressure to be popular, and having our lives paraded past our peers have all taken a toll on young people. Constantly using a phone, instead of having personal interractions, erodes empathy. The desensitization of children through violent video games, and the easy availability of guns is not helpful either. Placing guns in schools is a ridiculous solution. Schools need to be places of trust and safety. The root of the problem is much deeper. Before you tell me that I need to be ready to take the life of another human, you'd better do a little research and thinking first.

So, I'm taking a break from Facebook. Instagram is where the art is, so it's where I'm going for a while. I may pop in every now and again, but, I kind of like the new-found peace and quiet in my head.