I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that a picture I innocently posted on Facebook started an argument. But all I did was post a picture on my page that showed the price of gas.

Now I suppose Freud, or some other psychiatrist, would say that I posted that picture subconsciously to start an argument, but I swear I just posted it out of frustration without saying a word.

Well, it wasn’t 30 seconds before the first response came up and they mentioned the price of gas under Biden. Twenty seconds later, the next post pointed out that the price of gas went up when Putin invaded Ukraine, and this time it was up because Trump invaded Iran.

And the divisive political argument was off and running.

I wasn’t in the mood for an online political discussion that day, so I replaced that picture with a picture I took at a No Kings rally of a sign that read, “Hate Will Not Make Us Great.” I was probably being naïve, but I swear I innocently posted that to remind us that we all need to get along.

Not surprisingly, the first response to that picture was “I assume you’re calling out hate from all corners of the political spectrum.”

Which immediately brought the response, “As if both sides are equally guilty of hate? Huh?”

And we were off and running once again.

Social media is a tool. And just like a hammer, it can be used to build or destroy.

I use much of my social media the way I used to do my radio show: throw out a topic and see where the discussion goes. I always enjoyed spirited discussions. But with the radio, you could hear the tone and inflexion in their voices. You could tell if their comments were meant to be angry, comical, or just to add to the conversation.

You don’t get any of that with social media.

So, what would have been a small talk conversation bitching about gas prices at the water cooler, soon turned into a divisive political argument over Facebook.

And even an innocent comment against hate started a combative discussion that would have been easily avoided or at least toned down in the real world.

But the rather innocuous comments on my page are nothing compared to what I see on some other sites.

One of my Facebook “friends” just posted this. “Because I’m a Christian, I will not support the Democrat Party because the Democrat Platform is anti-God, anti-Bible, and anti-Church.” All her responses to that comment agreed with that inflammatory claim.

Now I’ve never met this person face-to-face. For that matter, I’m not 100% sure it was a real person who posted that in the first place. It could have been some political operative posting crap just to cause division to get Republicans elected. I wish I knew if she had really given any serious, introspective thought to what she had posted.

Because if she had given it any serious thought, she would know there are many Democrats who have a strong belief in God and practice their faith at various churches, synagogues, and temples.

But why let facts get in the way of a good meme? A serious discussion of the facts won’t release the brief sugar high the endorphins provide with a meme or a TikTok reel.

I know that in the real world, we may disagree about a lot of things, but we tend to get along overall. But on social media, a fight can be started with an innocent picture that can unintentionally upset people and start an unnecessary argument.

I know I’m never going to totally get off these platforms, but I pledge to make a concerted effort to spend less time online and more time getting to know people in real life.

If you’re like me and spend so much time arguing on social media, I hope you’ll join me in this pledge.

By talking to people face-to-face and seeing their humanity rather than arguing with a stranger over gas prices, religion or politics, you might find that you have more in common with them than you think.

I’ll bet you’d be surprised.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.