New Year's Resolutions

The saying is that rules are meant to be broken.  Of course, if you makes rules for yourself and break them, you admit to weakness and move on with your previous behavior.  Thus it is for resolutions we make for ourselves each new year.  

I haven't done a study on the types of behaviors people intend to change at midnight on December 31st.  I think many vow to lose weight, stop smoking, not drink alcohol, etc.  Beyond that, I have no clue.  Personally, I gave up making New Year's Resolutions many years ago because I understood that I would only be letting myself down.  The rest of the world wouldn't care, so why set myself up for failure?

This year, however, I somewhat jokingly made a resolution that I would stop reading the public comments posted after every news article posted on Facebook or respond to them.  I get bored, ya know?  I venture into what people are saying about posted articles.  One hundred percent of the time, no matter how uplifting the content of the article, the public comments turn dark and ugly within, oh say, ten comments.  Then the fights start.  Name calling.  Fallacies in reasoning.  I'm better than you are.  Free speech.  Blah, blah.  Then my blood pressure goes up and I get depressed and discouraged at my "fellow Americans" who seem to have lost all common sense and logic.  

I had the audacity to post a response on a site called 22 Words, where Michelle Obama had defended Dr. Jill Biden's use of the title "Dr".  The Trump supporters got ugly, saying she wasn't a medical doctor and was being pretentious by using her PhD entitlement, and holding up Melania Trump in their esteem.  It was insane.  People all over the world who have a PhD, and not an MD, are called "Doctor".  What I said in my response was that while I am sure that Mrs. Trump is a lovely person, she doesn't exactly have the credentials to be held up as a role model for America's young women.  Responses to my words were instant and hilarious.  One person accused me of being jealous of Melania's beauty.  I laughed out loud!  If he/she only knew!  I've never had Melania's beauty or her money, so I don't miss it.  But yes, I am jealous.  I am jealous that I am 73 years old, and she isn't.  I'm jealous that she can walk, and I'm close to immobile.  She may ring bells in terms of beauty, but she will get old, too.  Are you kidding me??  I've never in my life been jealous of what others have that I don't.  I'm especially not jealous of a First Lady who has exposed her naked body for all to see, for money.  I'm not one to judge publicly, but if the general population prefers Melania Trump's beauty over Jill Biden's brains, there is something wrong with us!  

Another time, I had the nerve to respond to a parent complaint on a local chatter site about a football coach that was cussing out the players.  Many of the respondents were siding with the coach, saying that the complaining parent was off-base by complaining.  Life isn't fair.  Toughen up the kids. Don't raise wussies.  Let them experience life in the real world, ad nauseum.  (Most of the respondents were male.)  As a retired teacher, I felt that I had the qualifications to respond, so I did.  In essence, I said that the coach was wrong, and that these people would never accept this treatment from a teacher/coach were it aimed at a daughter rather than a son.  Apparently, I hit a nerve.  I was accused of being a "karen" and a "bitch"--all by men who never met me.  I did what I usually do when met with trolls who want to argue: I disengaged.  Silly me for responding in the first place!

So, here I am on January 1, 2021, having vowed not to read or respond to comments on the news.  I have already failed.  I HAVE read comments but proud that I haven't given the trolls reason to continue the nonsense.  Hope I can keep up my resolve.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!