When I was in college, there was a set day each week around lunchtime where students would place a sturdy box with a mic at one of the main thoroughfares of campus and anyone who felt so inclined could get up and rant or rave. It was called something like “soapbox Thursdays”.

People would get up and talk about pretty much anything they had an opinion on. I never saw a really big crowd gather except maybe once when someone was talking about the performance of the football team (GO COUGARS!).

Regardless, no one really ever seemed to pause for too long and listen to the soap boxers. People had to get to class or to the library or to home. There seemed to be more important things to do.

I probably only stopped to listen to a complete soap box rant once or twice. For example, the time the person got up and complained about the coin-operated laundry machines in her apartment complex. I don’t even remember what her point was. But, I didn’t have a problem with the machine in my complex, so I didn’t really need to know what she was talking about. To me, it seemed like a waste of time compared to the other things a busy college student needed to get done–like my laundry.

We still have soap boxers today. In fact, we have many more of them. Social media provides a virtual soap box with enough time and space for anyone and everyone to jump on—protected by the anonymity, or at least the buffer, of a digital screen. And, unfortunately, some of these soap boxers have become shrill, biased and uninformed. They aren’t evidence based. They are complaining and not doing a lot of listening.

Recently, I found myself stopping to listen way too often to all the noise about “coin-operated laundry machines” or any number of issues.

And it was impacting me.

So I decided I needed to stop listening (reading) so much and just walk on by like I did in college. Except when it comes to my alma matter’s sports teams…I still might be staying around too long!

Don’t get me wrong! I am not opposed to healthy debate or hearing other opinions. The opinions of others are helpful when they inform the essential decisions of life such as the best Italian restaurant around (Forza Italia!). And I care about the opinions of others.

But I don’t want to be overloaded with misinformation and toxicity. I don’t need the most important things in my life to be impacted by surplus conversation. So now I am just stopping long enough to be informed, yet not staying long enough to become irrationally angry about something I cannot really do anything about.

And guess what! The result has been awesome! I am more content. Less anxious. More at peace. Less worried. And I still know what is going on in throughout the world. I am still striving to make a difference in my community. I am still voting on the issues.¹ But until someone actually asks what I think, I’m just keeping it to myself and walking on by.

Try it. You might like it.

But that’s just my opinion.

P.S. yes, I also realize the irony of using said virtual soap box to post this. Oh well…

Lead photo generated by AI on Jetpack

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1. see “My Vote Matters. Your Vote Matters.” at Razing the Rameumptom.