Only happy things?

I've seen it a lot lately.

Statements from facebook friends and twitter friends. About how the world is to divisive. And too much negative things. So from now on, they are only going to post happy, uplifting, fun things.

I get it. Oh boy, do I get it.

There is a lot of heartbreak and sadness in this world.

But sometimes, not all the times, but sometimes, don't we need to talk about that bad parts of this world?

Don't we need to speak up about things that might seem unspeakable in order to affect change?

Talking about sex trafficking certainly isn't happy or uplifting or fun. But shouldn't we talk about it in order to stop it?

Discussing how a victim is being blamed for whatever happened to him/her is not happy or uplifting or fun. But shouldn't we discuss it so we can change the way crimes are reported? So that victims won't be blamed? So that we can learn how to better bring justice to those victims?

Poverty.
Illness.
Death.
Social injustice.
Genocide.
Children being shot for nothing.
Pain.
Suffering.
Hunger.

It's not fun. It's not cute. It's not uplifting. It's not funny stories. Or cute comics. Or kittens doing cute things. Or children dancing to songs. Or the stories of people doing good. Or changing the world. Or giving.

But don't we need to see both sides of life on social media?

I don't want to be surrounded by negativity or controversy all the time. Just as in face-to-face interactions, I don't want every conversation to be a political one. Or about crime. Or about controversial things.

But I also don't want to bury my head and pretend like everything is all good everywhere.

Because it's not.

These can be tough things to talk about. People are divided on what is the most pressing problem. Or how to solve it. Or what to share with kids. Or what is our role in these things.

But don't we need to talk about it anyway? Don't we need to have these tough conversations?

I'm not talking arguments. I'm not talking name-calling. I'm not saying the loudest voice should drown out the rest, no matter how ludicrous that voice may sound.

I'm talking about honest and open conversations. Where hard topics are not avoided. Where recent news stories are not tip-toed around.

Societies, I think, must change. Must evolve. Must fix past wrongs. Must try to avoid future pitfalls. Must try to make sure that every person in that society feels safe. And loved. And cared for.

Am I a Pollyanna here?

I hope not.

In the meantime, I'll continue to watch kitten videos, and cute babies, and like funny memes.

But I'll also bring up the hard things. The ugly things. The heart-breaking things. The things I think need to be discussed, changed, reviewed, dealt with.