Recently on Facebook I shared a researched-based article asserting that bullying is on the rise in Trump Country (“Virginia Study Finds Increased School Bullying In Areas That Voted For Trump,” by Clare Lombardo for NPR). This is a topic I care strongly about, having weathered the teenage ritual of peer-pressure bullying. (Mom said, “it will make you stronger and more compassionate.” I believe — or hope —she was right.)

In prefacing the share, I posed this question: how do deeply religious people justify Trump’s course language, his mockery of a disabled man, his boasts of shooting someone and getting away with it, his name-calling based on looks and gender, and his scathing, below-the-belt attacks on people who dare disagree with him? My post generated a number of interesting comments, all of which were from anti-Tumpers, except for a series of comments from a dear old friend. Sure, it’s good to get a debate going and hear views from all sides. But I’m left wondering why I even bother to share political views on social media, especially when a majority of my contacts are liberals. Do I really think my opinions are going to sway anyone with opposing views? Of course not. Facts, figures, research, logic, the voting-against-your-own-interest argument—none of it matters when it conflicts with deeply-held, family-instilled values and experiences.

When disgraced Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly incited a fear-fest by saying that if elected 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry would abolish Christmas as a federal holiday and replace it with “winter solstice or something” — it’s obvious we’re dealing with people who value what’s personally sacred, more than policies that might actually improve their lives. Plus, we live in an age of what-about-ism. When the only way a Trump supporter can defend the President is with things like — “Well, what about Clinton’s lying and womanizing?” or “What about Hillary calling Trump’s followers ‘deplorables?’, and “What about the bad things Democrats have done in the past?” — any kind of intelligent debate is off the table.

Yes, I admit that erstwhile Democratic leaders have lied, cheated on their wives, prolonged wars, and mucked up the economy. And I’m appalled. Politics is a dirty, egocentric business. I believe that a lot of politicians start out with the best of intentions, and eventually get sucked into the vortex of sexual temptation, delusions of power, and personal gain from special interest groups with deep pockets.

I can sort of understand how and why Trump initially appealed to certain people, based on his promises to drain the swamp of Club Washington politicians. But I’m just plain baffled by how the deeply religious set can still support him. I consider myself a spiritual, not a religious, person. I dig Jesus as a prophet. And I KNOW that Jesus would not tolerate a Trump. “Oh, he shoots from the hip and sometimes says naughty things, but he’s getting things done!” This is what I usually hear from Trump supporters who are interviewed by reporters at his rallies. Oy vay, what’s the use?

So, here’s MY twist on what-about-ism: What about Obama? What if he had acted in the same brash, name-calling manner as Trump while in office? What if he had bragged about getting away with murder in the streets? Would the public have tolerated it? I think not. I wouldn’t tolerate any bully-leader like that, Democrat or otherwise, no matter how much they improved the economy (if we are to assume that a President is solely responsible for economic improvement).

So, back to my original proclamation: I am done posting or responding to political posts on Facebook. Sure, there’s a certain feeling of hope that grows when we connect with like-minded people. But when we share these never-ending horror stories about the President, what are we really accomplishing? We’re just working ourselves up. Wouldn’t those of us who fear a second term for Trump be better off doing something more constructive to prevent that outcome? And if so, what should we do that’s within our ability or comfort zone?

We liberals on Facebook are merely preaching to the choir. And maybe we feel just a wee bit superior as we consume intelligently-written, in-depth articles and compelling op-ed pieces in venerated publications. In the end, are we disparaging “the others”? Isn’t that a right-wing tactic? When we proclaim on social media that a vote for Trump is a vote for the end of the world as we know it, aren’t we engaging in the same type of fear-mongering that we accuse Republics of? Do we see most Trump supporters — even the highly-educated — as delusional, ill-read, Fox-addicted, xenophobes and racists? Might this be “intellectual bullying?” Are we to dissolve life-long friendships with people whose beliefs conflict with ours? In the days following the massacre of 11 innocent people in a Pittsburgh synagogue, I declared, in my need to blame someone or something, that the killings were incited by Trump’s “immigrant invasion” rhetoric. Maybe, maybe not. Much depends upon the intrinsic human need to process a killer’s horrendous action.

Political commentator David Brooks wrote a very interesting piece in the New York Times on January 9, titled “Trump Has Made Us All Stupid.” His thesis is that Democrats are becoming hysterical with fear and loathing in the same manner as Republicans, spending more time and energy hating Trump than dissecting facts and presenting fair and balanced news. (Personally, I’m growing weary of liberal-leaning MSNBC’s increasingly over-the-top editorial stance.) Brooks’s article opines, “Hating Trump together has become the ultimate bonding, attention-grabbing and profit-maximization mechanism for those of us in anti-Trump world. So you get a series of exaggerated fervors — the Mueller report! Impeachment! The Steele dossier! — that lead ultimately nowhere. Most of this week’s argument about the Middle East wasn’t really about the Middle East. It was all narcissistically about ourselves! Democrats defend terrorists! Republicans are warmongers!” Perhaps we’re just all too smug, judgmental and worried for our own good.

When I showed an early draft of this article to a friend, she said, “Well, that’s all well and good, but we need to hold these Trump supporters accountable!” Really?

Facebook is not a forum in which I feel comfortable sharing my thoughts and passions. I prefer to limit any socio-political posts to articles about action-oriented ways to advance liberal ideals. And, more importantly, I will continue to use The Hip Quotient as a forum to share content that encourages people to create and experience art, music, film, and literature that empower us all.