Political Controversy at its Finest

By Lindsay Pelotte on October 21, 2012

College students have free minds. Free minds means free speech, and free speech can sometimes be abused. The year of 2012 is a very crucial year in politics and for many college students, it is the first time they are able to vote.

Political involvement is just one of the ways college kids can find a niche in such a large community. It gives a sense of identity and belonging to those who are dedicating four years to education, but also to finding themselves. Having knowledge of world events and being aware of political news is important, especially amongst the youth of our nation. The only problem is that some of these youthful people aren’t properly educated about the pressing political issues, specifically in this upcoming election. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but make sure you have the correct information to back those opinions.

Picture by DonkeyHotey via Flickr.com

My favorite occasion to observe the ignorance of young people is during or after a political debate when opinions are expressed via Facebook statuses and updates. I cannot think of a more unprofessional approach to sharing your political views with your peers. I do believe that sharing ideas in an educational setting is crucial to expand the mind, but Facebook is not an educational outlet.

It pains me to scroll through my news feed on occasion to see it flooded with unintelligently composed statuses from my peers or kids I went to high school with. How about, instead of bashing candidates for their seemingly dismal personalities, you read an article or two and actually learn about what they plan to do for our country. I, and your how many ever Facebook friends, don’t need a play by play of the presidential debate. Really, we don’t. As much as I’d like to applaud your attempts at being politically involved, it’s difficult to overlook your lack of grammar and correct spelling. Your community college education has done you well. That was rude, but also true for some. It’s really simple, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t go posting your thoughts all over Facebook just to get a rise out of people.

In some cases, people do post some interesting information and share valuable opinions, but it is still very petty to do this through Facebook. If you want to make people aware of certain issues you feel strongly about, have an intimate discussion with friends or family, join a club, get involved in a local campaign, anything but heated comments on Facebook about abortion and health care that will make your friends hate you.

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