Enjoying a Monday as anyone should, it has me reflecting on the weekend that passed. Cannot put my finger on the emotion I feel about a tweet I sent on Twitter going viral. The emotion is not of power, fame, or pride. In a way, it made me feel uncomfortable. It brings forth a plethora of analytical thoughts. My humbleness about attention irritates the few that are close to me. I will leave it at that.

You see, I am an INTP personality type. I live up to the exact definition of what the Myers-Brigg test denotes. The MBTI test created to better understand the 16 personality types. Going through life not realizing what a personality type was until my late 20s, upon taking the test, extensive research into its validity, I found a method of understanding myself a little bit better. Frankly, I feel more people should try it out. Just a thought.

Either way, I am guided by intellect and far less emotion. Unless it has to do with animals, nature, and children. When I find a subject that garners my attention, I pick it apart and analyze it. Logic is my nature and I try to make sense of the illogical subjects much more often than I should. These types of “puzzles” are what really get me intrigued. Things that make me ask, “why, how, what, where, when,” and understand it completely. As anyone knows, some things are better left alone in than trying to decipher. Trust me! I know.

My social media presence is minimal. For good reason. Social media exists to spark emotion for attention and engagement. Which in turn targets those that lack critical thinking skills for the most part, and the rest you can kind of figure out. Some people enjoy seeing what other people have, do, live, and so forth. It is that element that makes it a huge contributor into where we are as a society. Same thing goes for almost every news media source as well, as they go for ratings. So, to say I have a heavy presence on any social media platform would be a lie. I like Twitter due to the lack of profile setup and time commitment. Having profiles on all the major social media channels, I would say I spend less than two hours a month on all of them combined. To be totally transparent, I use it solely for research, share pictures of my goofy fur babies, and now this blog (due to a close friend’s insistence).

My blog was created due to a former colleague, and eventually my therapist, suggesting I do so. I found I enjoy writing and it is honestly very good therapy! I am not a prolific writer, wordsmith, or even skilled enough to write a book, but I will continue this journey for now.

So, when I came across a TikTok user by the profile name of @usmcangryveteran, I really enjoyed what he shared. Knowing this information, he shared to be truthful, it triggered me to share it to Twitter. As my thoughts were a bit stirred on gun control and regulations in this country. I felt others should see it. Yet, I typically do not get that many “likes” or followers. Which is fine as pushing something down someone’s throat is not my style.  When fact is prevalent, you typically do not have to shove it down someone’s throat. Read that again and think about it. Therefore, truth and fact are typically put in the backseat to propaganda and misinformation.

Of course, the rest, is history now. It rang well to the ears of others who felt the same sentiment about the subject. It baffled me as to how it took off. I think most people who do such, feel great about this, but I knew, it was going to stir the wrong opinions as well and incite complete hatred.

Now, I am not opposed to an opposite opinion or viewpoint. Enjoy hearing them when presented without hate, malice, and anger. I know there are always many aspects and variables to a story, opinion, and ultimately, a solution. Typically, when an opinion is shared in such a phobic manner, it is because it lacks substantial fact-based evidence. These I ignore as I believe giving energy to this is only fueling ignorance. Hence, I feel social media and other media outlets should cease coverage of the ones who incite misinformation and lies, as it just fuels the “jumbo jet” of bullshit even more. But that would kill ratings and, in a society where power, money, and greed reign dominate…that is what you get. The “bs” floats to the front. When I see posts where people spew lies, misinformation, and utter nonsense, I do not get angry. I think free speech has become a delirious nightmare perverted as much as other amendments. Why? If you get into the technicalities of free speech, that was created in a time where moral compass was more prevalent than it is now. Not saying perfect, but people were more about living in reality and less about deranged ideologies (for the most part!!!).

Anger is a harsh emotion and typically comes from lack of knowledge about something. Take for instance innocent lives being taken in mass shootings, murders, violence, etc. That invokes anger as YOU do not understand the actual “WHY” of it happening. No one truly knows the why. We usually know the how, when, and where but not the why. That is up for subjective dissection. It also invokes sadness and other emotions. Again, when someone angrily tweets, posts, or shares things, it is typically because they truly don’t know the “why” behind what they are sharing. Typically, the ones engaged in such meaningless social media exchanges are very ignorant to the subject they are defending, narrative they are pushing, or reasoning they are giving. Think about that and how you react to something. Do not feed ignorance as it grows just like letting Gremlins eat after midnight.

This brings me to the research methods these “keyboard cowboys” use. Typically, the most common method utilized, is a quick Google/Bing search and whatever populates first, regurgitating word tracks used by a media personality, or someone they hold in high regard. Well, unfortunately this is not research. Especially coming from the “do your own research” crowd. Being that I am not one to profess how to research something properly, I am pretty sure it is not being done right. Ok, positive it is wrong. Of course, you can research documents and statements put forth about a particular subject and you typically find something very common. A bias-based foundation of information. Which, again, baffles me. I prefer unbiased information. That is where you find truth. Period.

When I ran across the TikTok video of @usmcangryveteran, I admit there was a slight bias tone to the clip, but over 90% of it was factual data. Hence, why I shared it. I applaud Matt and his commitment to getting out facts over feelings. Ok, Matt had some feelings there, but was justified. This is how social media and news media should work. Again, it wouldn’t be as addictive and engaging to the population who drink the “Kool-Aid”. Many thanks to Matt and the attention it brought! I am glad I could help.

The people surrounding me in my life are predominantly conservative. I grew up conservative with conservative values. I enjoy when a conservative viewpoint is shared intellectually, as it makes for a healthy discussion. Same as a liberal viewpoint. My peers reach out to me and get my thoughts and takes on certain subjects, in which a large amount of the time I reply, “I would need more data to form an objective opinion.” For those close to me, they respect that. I do not take and echo talking points shot gunned into the social media atmosphere as facts, or really, relevant information. That is where our society is failing. This is where moral compass is eroding. Where do I fit in “politically”? I do not define my ideology on politics, but if it must be done, it would be very centralized. As of lately, if you are not in the radical right, you are considered a liberal, which still baffles me.

My goal for Life Indiscreet will always be to share the truth. Even as much about myself without leaving myself completely vulnerable. Vulnerability is good, but in our current society, must be done with caution. In the end, I feel my goal with Life Indiscreet is to launch a platform of freethinkers and those who see beyond the noise. A virtual roundtable discussion of individuals coming from all walks of life. A think-tank of how we can help humanity, our planet, and develop into a better civilization. Utopia is a dream but being becoming a better human race is imperative.  

Thoughts?

dK