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We all like to share a good laugh.

Sadly, these days more than ever, our laughter is at the expense of someone else.

No matter what your opinion is on the Rittenhouse verdict, the current administration, or anything else, the glaring disrespect and crudeness of today’s people are deplorable.

I have a sense of humor and love a good joke. Some of what I see is funny, but it doesn’t make it right.

I may joke with family and close friends, but it doesn’t hurt others. And yes, we poke fun and ridicule. It is not public. It is not mean or careless. It’s in the privacy of our moment together. Maybe you consider that hypocritical, but we all have to laugh or we crack. That may not make it right either, but I do cut us all some slack.

Whether we think the president is fit or unfit for the job, knock off the dementia and elderly jokes. Obviously, there is an issue, or maybe not. We may like him or not like him, but he is our president, like it or not. We need to respectfully disagree, comment, and give our opinion with care.

Whether we think Rittenhouse should have been set free or not, knock off the lawsuits and gun jokes. This kid endured a year of hell—and yes, he made some poor choices and did some crazy stuff—but most of the people making the memes and jokes don’t even have the facts straight. Let him move on; let us move on. The jury wasn’t influenced, intimidated, and justice was served.

Heck, I thought I could change the world at the age of 17. Didn’t we all?

And to hear Kamala slept her way to the top, really? Who even thinks that way in today’s day and age? Morals aside, women can sleep with who they want, when they want, without an ulterior motive. Anyone who shames women, and not men, for being “sluts” is backward and ignorant. Whether it is true or not, none of us will ever know.

What I do know is we, as a society, conduct ourselves like a bunch of high schoolers. Professionals who should hold themselves to some standard stoop to poking fun and ridiculing their opponents. Slapstick jokes. Wiseass digs. We think we’re so funny.

And I laugh, too, with conflicted emotions. God forbid others tell me to lighten up; don’t be such a Pollyanna. I’d be no fun at all, an uptight middle-aged woman who just doesn’t get it. But I’m not. I get it. I just don’t like it.

Humor gets us through life’s most stressful times. But it’s a double-edged sword. It can alleviate tension—or provoke it. It can induce laughter—or incite hate. What’s funny to one person is a full-on assault to another. Ask my dear friend James; we penned an article together about the dark side of humor and his perspective gave me so much food for thought.

I scroll by many things on social media that I may chuckle at but refuse to like. I don’t want to feed into the popularity or pretend that it’s okay. It’s really not okay.

What happened to respect for fellow human beings, whether we agree with them or not?

What happened to civility when we presented our counter argument with respect and tact?

When did we start defending rioters and looters? When did we start hating our law enforcement? When did we decide to rebirth racism and turn against our fellow man?

When did mainstream media stop reporting the news, the facts? When did everything become an opinion, personal commentary, and take a political lean?

Journalists are supposed to report the facts. We form the opinion.

How do we fix this? How do we truly work together? In a world where information moves so fast and people don’t make the time to do their research, yet jump on the chance to protest, how do we move forward—together?

Our society today makes me feel like I’m back in high school—and that was not fun. Does anyone want to grow up? Maturity isn’t any less fun!

There is so much more to say—about privilege, racism, politics, religion, sex, bias, and so on. But this is where I will stop tonight.

One final thought. We think we know so much about the other, but we don’t. No matter what we see, hear, or feel, we could still be wrong. Don’t throw stones. Don’t feed into popular opinion. Don’t cave and throw away your own values, beliefs, and morals.

Rittenhouse should not be canonized. Looting shouldn’t be pardoned. Criminals shouldn’t be hailed as heroes. It’s all wrong. We need to be civil and tolerant of each other. Why do the radicals want to destroy us?

Don’t get sucked into peer pressure.

High school didn’t get the best of me—will our news, politics, and activists get the best of you?

 

 

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