So, News has happened. It tends to do that, and when it does the modern impulse is to rush for the nearest Internet-connected device and share.
But what if I told you you could just… not?
The list of people who are genuinely required to form an express a public opinion about any given bit of News as it happens is quite short— blood relatives and employers of the principal actors, eyewitnesses to the key events, a smallish number of political and maybe religious figures. For everybody else it’s optional. If you’re not directly involved and also not the Pope, you can always just choose to let a particular bit of News pass by without saying anything.
This is particularly important when the primary options available for things to say in response to a bit of News are unappealing. If you’re confronted by a bit of News and find yourself struggling to choose between “smarmy and insincere” and “gratuitously dickish,” it’s good to remember: dignified silence is also an option.
It’s admittedly a little “too much perspective” to realize that your personal Take is not essential to the #discourse, but it’s true. And once you accept that, it’s remarkably freeing— you don’t actually have to dither over whether to look like a craven weasel or an insensitive idjit galoot. You can just sit it out: go for a walk, play with your pets, have a sandwich and a glass of milk, whatever. There’ll be different News in a day or two, maybe the kind with better options when it comes to sharing opinions.
Just something to think about.
This message was not brought to you by the Ad Council, but maybe it’s a public service all the same? Anyway, here’s a button:
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You’re in no way obliged to click either.
How have I never seen that Mojo Nixon song before? Added to my playlist.