KB Loves Activism through Social Media

Last night while on Facebook I saw that someone had shared a photo from Mitt Romney’s page saying, “We can’t afford 4 more years” with a picture of Obama. Underneath the picture was the caption with a link saying “sign this petition if you agree.”

I’m not here to shout about my politics (especially because it’s probably fairly clear by now) What I would like to comment on is all the “good” that we are doing by our online activism.

Remember earlier this year when everyone was flipping out about Joseph Kony? And they put out that video that was like 30 minutes long? I watched about 10 minutes of it before I gave up. But I still signed the petition thing. And now I get the added bonus of feeling extra guilty when I delete the emails they send me.

One thing I didn’t do, though, was post that green “Invisible Children” logo as my profile picture on either Facebook or Twitter. I mean, seriously, what is that supposed to accomplish? What is the reasoning behind that?

“I made my profile picture the invisible children thing.”

“Oh wow. Kony must be shaking in his boots.”

Similarly, what is Mitt Romney hoping to accomplish by having people sign a petition saying that they hate Obama? I’m all for disagreeing with politicians and arguing against the status quo but… a petition? Seriously?

I mean, I could make a petition saying, “Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron were such a cute couple!!! Sign this petition if you agree and think they should get back together <3” and that would make about as much difference as signing a petition saying you hate Obama. Last I checked, the only “petition” that matters is the one in November. Until then, you can leave your noble ideas and righteous indignation off my newsfeed.

Lastly, what is the deal with all of these religious zealots who apparently misread the bible? I’m pretty sure it says “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” not “Facebook is the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through reposting this bible verse.”

Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time I saw a status saying “Being a Christian is (fill in blank about imagined persecution here) 95% of people won’t repost this. Will you be one of the 5% who will?” I mean, what is that going to accomplish? Don’t you think God would be happier with you letting your words, thoughts, and actions speak for your Christianity rather than simply clicking “share” to show your devotion?

I’m sorry if this post turned a little more bitter/sarcastic than most KB Loves This posts but people are just getting ridiculous.

If you really want to make a difference in the world, go for it! Let me know how it feels to be wearing a halo because I probably won’t get there. But don’t think that changing your profile picture is making any difference. I’ll leave you now to try to hold together the pieces of your broken dreams.