facebook, I hope, is not a reflection of america

Facebook has made me lose faith in my country.

I have used it to reconnect with some old freinds, including my old room mate Melissa, who is as awesome and smart and funny as I remember. I am glad that I have some contact with her again. Unfortunately I have also seen many other friends, and I have seen some ugly ugly opinions and ideas.

1. 'Death prayer for the President' This horrendous group on face book advocates praying for the president's death in a funny witty way. Obama is a scapegoat in so many ways, He is facing one of the most difficult presidencies in recent history and has performed, so far in an exemplary way. He is not making everyone happy, but that is not his job. No one really wanted to be president this term, The republicans chose McCain, who was as much a democrat as they could get, and the Democrats narrowed it down to Clinton (who was unelectable due to her husband) and Obama. There really wasn't a choice. He was put in this crazy situation and now he is doing the best job that anyone else so situated could do. I HATE how health care is pinned on the president (though I am glad that it passed) when every detail of the plan is a compromise between the white house and the senate.

2. 'Drug test everyone on welfare!' and other such ill-formed political minded groups.
Rife with misspellings, these groups are full of lots of resentment and hate, but are not directed in a rational direction. There are no welfare recipients who sit home and do nothing all day long. There is a welfare to work program. I am afraid that the old system that attracts so much ire and hate may have actually been better. A full-time mom taking money from the government to support herself and watch her kids is at least able to raise her own children in a decent secure way. When government subsidized childcare, and insists the moms work to 'earn' their living, the children are shuffled off to substandard care.
I am not saying that every mom is better than every babysitter (I do not want to get into the mom wars) but rather that the average low income Mom loves her children and takes better care of them than the average low-income childcare center.

I saddened to think that people I know may actually subscribe to such false ideas and racist, classist ideology.

3. "Vaccinations/Hospital birth/Modern science is very possibly a government conspiracy"
ACK! I have had to block some friends because they kept posting stuff like this and then other people would agree with them. I know that there are crazy people out there with bad ideas, but now because of facebook I know who they are. I have lost so much respect for so many people because they are just so incredibly stupid. There are real problems in our country right now, actual gaps in the education system, environmental challenges, and sociological issues that need attention and public understanding. Wasting our time on fake problems (which conveniently can be solved by products sold by these same friends' multilevel marketing businesses) wastes our collective time and mental energy.

4. wanton idolatry
bedazzled, farmville, kidnapped game, foodfight
they are all silly time wasters, and now I know who wastes their time. so sad.

5. breast cancer/heart disease/skin cancer/infertility awareness
clicking on a button may make you think that you are supporting the said cause, but in reality it just makes you feel good. If you really want to help, donate money or go to the website and explore ways to volunteer. Joining a facebook group may be counter productive in that it may fulfill your need to do real good thus preventing some real action.

Most of these 'causes' are fairly benign. Cancer is bad, but also highly cureable. It also tends to strike randomly, thus eliminating any guilt or blame for any action or inaction. There are far fewer groups devoted to potentially controversial disease such as diabetes, lung cancer, type2 diabetes, or obesity. These afflictions are preventable and to care about them presupposes action and activism. But actually doing something is not a part of the facebook culture. People sitting at home trolling their friends statuses are not, in their hearts, wishing to be people of great action. So these more active causes are less popular.