Sunday afternoons in the winter provide the perfect opportunity for Dave and I to rest up from one busy week and get charged for the next.  When the sky is gray, we take full advantage by curling up beside each other on the couch and watch TV.

Yesterday afternoon we watched in hopeful anticipation as our VA Cavaliers led the Villanova Wildcats through the entire first three-quarters of their out of conference match in Philadelphia.  Dominating in both shooting and defense, victory seemed a slam dunk.  Then, somewhere in the middle of the second half, Villanova found their stride and ended up winning the game by two points.  We were disappointed by our team’s loss but in the end, it is only a game, our guys played well and we look forward to the next one.

Later in the day the national news was full of the latest round of protesters demonstrating their disapproval of the new government administration’s policy direction change from the status quo.  It seems every day new groups are taking to the street in cities not only in this country but worldwide, voicing their dissatisfaction in our new president.  As the dots began to connect in my brain I realized that this fall’s election was a lot like the game we saw earlier in the day.  Our candidate was leading in the polls throughout the race but in the end, lost the election.  My reaction to that loss was not so philosophical…..

But elections are not like basketball games.  Just because you lose an election, doesn’t mean you go home and wait until the next one to cast your vote.  Active participation as a citizen in this country means you know who what the issues are, who your representatives are and when you disagree with the course your government is taking, you speak out.  You are not a crybaby.  You are not a sore loser.  You are actively participating in the narrative.

As Americans were are afforded the right to speak out for and against issues that move us to do so. The First Amendment guarantees Americans the right to do so, and with as much if not more merit than the Second Amendment allows us to own a gun. After all, it was included in the First Amendment.

Despite how you might feel about the agenda of any group,  Americans are  guaranteed the right to free and peaceable assembly.  While that may include happy events like parade and picnics, it also includes ugly assemblies of unhappy people (and nasty women) in an effort to provide a visual display of their desire to be heard by those elected to represent them. They also become a rallying point for others to join in.

Social media sites like Facebook have quickly become a platform for people to share their thoughts and fears and based on recent postings, there are some who would rather be spared from the dialog. (Which can be easy done in Preferences.)  After all, the internet is where we congregate these days.  For a while I agreed, it would be nice to live in a world of cute kitten videos and yummy recipes; which I think if Marx were alive today, he might also call the opiate of the people.

If I could change one thing about the social media dialogue, it would be that people shared more about what they actually thought rather than merely sharing memes without doing the fact checking first.   It is that false narrative that irritates me, not someone else’s differing opinion.  If the information on which you base your opinion is untrue, doesn’t that shake your stance or at least suggest your should do some research?

Bottom line is I believe the dialogue is necessary, as long as it’s done with facts: real facts, not alternative facts.  We need to approach dissenting opinions with sincere respect, open to listen, not merely preparing our rebuttal while someone else in talking.  Frankly it’s a challenge I find myself failing at regularly.  But I believe it is just as worthy a challenge to exercise and work at as my dreaded dead lifts.