As I had hoped, quitting Facebook is already proving to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Yes, I still spend more than my fair share of time online searching for classic cars and watching fishing videos, but I haven’t been sucked into any political arguments on social media in almost two weeks.
According to the screen time report on my smartphone, I spent 25% less time online last week than my previous 7-day average. In my newfound free time, I managed to reread one of my favorite books, The Hobbit, and I have begun to reread the Lord of the Rings trilogy, too.
I have also been able to spend a lot of quality time with my granddaughter. Freya is only two months old, but she is already my favorite person in the entire universe (don’t tell my wife and kids). She and I often spend hours hanging out together. She likes it when I sing to her and when I get her nose. My heart is never fuller than when I manage to make her smile. I also feed Freya, burp her, take naps with her, and change her diapers.
I would much rather change poopy diapers than argue with trolls on Facebook.
Despite limiting my time online, I am still able to keep up with current events. You might remember that I promised a couple of weeks ago to never write about politics again if Trump could produce any actual proof that the election was rigged. Unsurprisingly, he has failed to provide any evidence whatsoever of a concerted effort to commit election fraud.
It is time for the president to demonstrate actual leadership and concede defeat in order to begin the peaceful transfer of power that is a hallmark of American democracy. It is an indisputable fact that Biden received over six million more votes than Trump did. Recounts will not reverse such an overwhelming victory. We the people have spoken—at the polls. Legally. Peacefully. For the sake of the Union, we must all come together and reject Trump’s attempts to undermine the will of the people and Democracy itself. Enough is enough.
I’ve also been following the explosion in new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths related to COVID-19. A quarter-million Americans have died in nine months and things are getting worse every day, including here in mid-Missouri. I fear that the only way many people will take the pandemic seriously is if they lose someone to this awful virus. It has not escaped my attention that many of the people who refuse to accept the results of the election are the same people who refuse to wear masks.
Why wouldn’t you wear a mask? Liberty? Asthma? Anxiety? Please. I have to wear a mask eight hours a day while teaching school and I’m not complaining about my rights being infringed upon. I have asthma and anxiety, too, by the way. In two months, I have never held my grandbaby without wearing a mask. I won’t come within six feet of her if I don’t have my mask on. I wash my hands and use sanitizer when I hold her. I take a shower and change into clean clothes every day after I come home from school. (Our family even cancelled our big Thanksgiving get-together that we host at our house every year.) In short, I will do whatever I can to keep my family, my students, and my fellow citizens safe.
Unfortunately, not everyone is so inclined.
One of the last Facebook discussions I participated in was about the efficacy of mask-wearing. A friend said she is still waiting to see some data that proves masks prevent the spread of coronavirus. Despite the CDC, WHO, and every surgeon on earth agreeing that masks prevent the spread of infection, some people still need to “see the data.”
If you are like me and are growing weary of arguing with mask-deniers and election conspiracy theorists on Facebook, I have three questions you can ask them:
If you are Christian, then do you also need to see scientific data in order to believe in God?
If you are pro-life, then why would you refuse to wear a mask when it can help protect lives?
If you are a patriot, then why would you support Trump’s efforts to undermine American democracy?
You could ask your friends those questions, or you could quit Facebook and find healthier ways to occupy your time like reading Tolkien, hunting for hot rods, or doting over a grandbaby. Me? I’ll choose poopy diapers over internet trolls every time.
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