Recently, a young (12 years) man, one C.J. Pearson of Georgia, decided he agreed with Rudy Giuliani's attack on President Obama, the now infamous "You don't love America" speech. C J took this and expanded it into a screed against the President and posted it on his Facebook page, where it went viral from all the regressives who agreed with him, and praised him for being a 'young black conservative not afraid to speak up.'
Then, FB took the page down - because CJ is 12 and you have to be 13 to have your own FB page. Oops. But of course, the regress-o-sphere immediately went into meltdown saying FB was restricting free speech, which, of course, they weren't; they just applied their terms of service. And, fully within those terms, CJ's page popped right back up as a 'public figure' sort of page, administered (legally this time) by an (alleged) adult.
By then, the thing had gained a life of it's own, and the page, entitled "Young Georgians in Government" took off, with the expected mix of regressive cheerleaders and progressive trolls. Quite a few articles popped up, both pro and con, and as is usual on FB quickly descended into name-calling and derpitude (sidebar - I think if the progressives want to gain credibility, at least on FB/Twitter, we need to quit stooping to the regressives level of argument). A good example is a share of an article from 'Addicting Info' from a page called 'Being Liberal' - a progressive page and well worth following - and the remarks associated with the posting.
After I read that, and several others as well, and looked over CJ's page, I felt the need to inject some sanity, and give the lad a civility lesson, with a little civics thrown in. Look below the progressive orange squiggle for mu effort.
CJ, I am a 69-year-old citizen of the US, and feel I can, based on that, give you some advice that may be of help as you progress through our political wilderness, which you seem both inclined and determined to do.
First - listen more than you talk. If you are making the noise, you can't hear the whispers of truth slipping into the conversation.
Second, do your homework. Research EVERYTHING, and on both sides of the argument. You may be 100% correct in your views, but unless you know for sure what the other side thinks, you can't argue your point effectively. And be sure to study history - remember, as Georges Santayana said, "Those who will not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
Third, never make assumptions (goes with point two) - remember if you assume, you make an ass out of u and me. This is especially true when choosing heroes - remember even the mightiest may have feet of clay.
Fourth, remember that your words, once spoken or written, will follow you forever, whether they remain to be your position or not. Try, as far as possible to apply these four tests (from Rotary International) to everything you say or do:
1.Is it the TRUTH?
2.Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3.Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4.Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Finally, and most important, be your OWN man. Don't let anyone, no matter how much you admire them, define you. As Shakespeare said, in 'Hamlet', "...be true to thyself, for it follows as surely as night follows day, you cannot then be false to any man."
I truly wish you well in the future; I believe you have great promise. But you are very young, and have much to learn of the world. I vehemently disagree with your political position, and urge you to review it in the light of the advice I have offered, and carefully weigh your words and your position.