I must freely admit that I am in no good way addicted to a verbal confrontation. Being an addict to such a thing is something that I have always known but always find a way of saying that I am simply unable to listen to rhetoric without putting myself in the middle of the argument. Social media has done more to spark this addiction than any single thing that has ever been invented.

There are two places that I am from. A time and a place. I am much closer to old age than I am a young man. I am from an area of the country that has more porch swings, coca-cola, cigarettes, and conversation than most parts of the country. Politics and things of the world was what grandpas, grandmas, and the older adults did outside while we watched tv or played games. We never thought to get involved in the talk and would most honestly have been told that what was being said had no concern for us kids. Our education was brought to us by history class. Current events were the newspaper and Walter Cronkite.

Then came the internet, Google, and most importantly Facebook. Information galore for all the world to come and see and comment on. A world once ignorant on everything no has anything they want to know right at their fingertips. In so many ways we have gone from ignorance to stupidity in the snap of a finger.

I have often thought the internet should have a name change. Opinionnet sounds more fitting these days. The tendency is to leave out or omit parts to make the square peg fit into the round hole. Facts are based upon one-hit wonders. I read this webpage yesterday and I now a certified deep-sea scuba diver. One could see the issue with this sort of thing. A FoxNews watcher sees that the president should be crowned emperor. We can discontinue elections and democracy. The Donald has it all covered. CNN watchers find that world is racist. White people may all be the collective antichrist and the world will end soon if impeachment isn’t started by next Tuesday.

It’s easy to get caught up in society. We don’t make it hard to try to keep up. 15 minutes on any major site can make you feel as though you traveled the world twice over and acutely able to understand the ins and outs of world events. However, what qualifies as news today you most certainly fall upon deaf ears in years past. As an addict to daily events, there are more versions of reality than reality itself. This creates the ultimate issue; 10 different ideas of the truth that are kind of right but not exactly.

Pay more attention to more than one version. Opinions are important. Facts are invaluable. Finding them is that much harder. There isn’t a Top 5 news agency that will give you information without explaining to you how you are supposed to feel about what you are being told. This above all is the decisive issue. Be the person who does not accept emotion over truths. When we accept the emotion, we only feed the monster of misinformation, misinterpretation, and misdirection. Take the time to learn reality over morality. There are some things that are only black or white. Some are shades of gray. But even those have light or dark hues.

I am still addicted. I jump into a post, a share, a can you believe all the time. I am more a believer in truth than I am of sides. I’m not here for your candidate nor am I usually against them. There is also the point of seeing that your addiction is not always beneficial to you or those around you. So as I am learning to do, take time to put down the phone, laptop, or mouse. Enjoy life more like the back porch days. Simpler things don’t always mean uninformed but just that we don’t have to always be hostile towards ourselves or one another.