Is OTHER wrong in the post ? POST : I was always brought up to look at both sides of issues before coming to my own conclusions. And while I agree that there is quite a bit wrong with the US political system, I also don’t feel the need or compulsion to voice or express or proselytize my personal beliefs about political or social issues. If someone asks me directly about an issue, I’ll tell them, but otherwise I keep myself to myself.

All that being said, I went to a  ***VERY*** politically active and socially-conscious college which skewed ***VERY***. My experience there in terms of social/political issues was that it was more or less an echo chamber, or at least that’s how it felt to me. Anyone who expressed an alternative point of view was either berated or shot down with links and articles and sites and citations about why they were wrong to think that way. But my personal practice was whenever someone would get going on a political rant, I would just let them finish, nod, and then move on. To me it wasn’t worth it to try to go into detail about anything.

I’m posting this today because my facebook “memories” page showed me something that reminded me why I grew to hate that environment. Two years ago, Trump was sworn in, and I posted something along the lines of “I’ve never been an overly political person, and I’ve never been a crusader for any particular causes, but I want you all to know that I care about you and I will support you as best I can, even if it’s just a laugh or a joke here and there.” I’m paraphrasing here, but the core message was that I was acknowledging how angry and upset and frustrated people would be in that moment, and that the best way I knew to provide support or relief was to be a clown. I feel I can best help and support my friends and people I care about by giving them a laugh or a smile. Even if it’s just for a little bit, if I can make someone laugh, they aren’t thinking about their problems. That’s always been a keystone of what I believe. I’ve never been vocal about my political beliefs, and I do my best to keep it that way.

The only other comment (apart from my grandmother, who knows my personality and tendencies pretty well) was from someone from my college who said that what I was saying “wasn’t enough”.  Being comic relief, or just a neutral party apparently “wasn’t enough.” She prefaced it with “As much as I like you and respect you, veggieleezy, what you’re saying here isn’t good enough.” She said I was “giving myself an out” for not doing anything to fight against what was happening. She then listed what I should apparently have been doing all along, voicing my disgust and anger and frustration and campaigning and actively rallying against what was happening, rather than just “being there to support”.

But the thing is, I’ve never felt strongly enough about *ANYTHING* to feel the need to actively campaign or protest or rally or fight or recruit or what have you. I don’t feel that way about any issue. While I hold my own beliefs fairly firmly, I just don’t feel compelled to debate or argue or try to convince people of my views, or show them why their views might be wrong. If someone brings it up to me directly or personally, I’ll probably discuss it and see what we can figure out between each other, but I have never felt the need to, for lack of a better term at the moment, “campaign” for any particular beliefs or ideals.

So I want to know for sure, or at least get a general consensus. Am I the asshole for just wanting to live my life, keep my opinions to myself, and be a clown to help people get through their days? Because that‘s all I’ve ever tried to be, and all I’ve ever presented myself to be. Am I wrong for not raising my opinions and actively fighting back? Was I really “giving myself an out” rather than stepping up like I apparently should have been?

Am I a bad person? I really hope I’m not... I just want to help people the best way I know how, and while that may not be actively campaigning for a particular cause or belief, I just want to make people laugh.