Sometimes finding a topic to write about in this space is difficult. Other times, an idea just pops into my head. Other times the topic for the week is obvious.

There are times I can’t help myself and I write about a local happening. Other times it is about the Vikings, or the weather or the latest national event.

But, the Vikings are done for the season, the weather is wintry and cold – not exactly a shocking news alert for Minnesota in January.

And Minnesota is making headlines every day because there are 2,000 federal agents here and they are arresting several thousand illegal aliens.

Some folks think that is a good thing, others think it is a horrible thing. And I think you can’t change anyone’s mind about how they think about it.

Enough of that. Now to the real point of this week’s column.

Social media.

People can post anything they want on social media. And they do.

On the one hand that can be a good thing. It is a means to get your message out to a whole lot of people. On the other hand, people can post something that is mean, vicious, hurtful and even not true.

And then hundreds, if not thousands, of people can respond to things they read on social media. And they can do it immediately.

It is nice if it is Fred’s birthday, and someone wishes him happy birthday, and then a whole bunch of folks jump in and add their happy birthday wishes to Fred also. But it is another thing if a person posts their feelings about the local city council or a local business or the school or a certain person.

And then everyone adds their comments to it as well. Sometimes a lot of comments.

You might think this is a good thing, because it is the community discussing a topic. That would be true except that anyone can put anything on it, true or not. And some of what is put on there is downright nasty.

In the olden days people would write a letter to the editor in their local newspaper and that editor would go through the letter and check that it met the newspaper’s requirements of accuracy and decency. Editors had this rule of not running “unsubstantiated accusations.” That means the writer could not just put in some rumor they had heard, or worse, just guess at the reason something happened.

Unfortunately, there is no editor on Facebook or Instagram or X.

You could argue that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to free speech, and that is very true. And most people agree that a free and open discussion of the issues is an important part of democracy and our country.

But, it would sure be nice to keep that discussion civil. And I am not sure that is happening in our country right now. For sure it is not in Washington. And for sure not on social media, which is anything but social at times.

Many people, it seems, have some very strong opinions, and they are not shy about letting people know what those opinions are. And sometimes that is with some pretty salty language. Language which an editor would remove from a letter to the editor that would be printed in the paper.

The number of letters to the editor we get has dramatically dropped the past few years, and I believe it is due to people being able to express their opinions fast and easy on Facebook and X. My point is, maybe these folks should pause a bit, and take a moment to think about whether they really want to post that rant about something – and know that they will get a response or two, or a dozen or more.

I used to caution people who were submitting a letter to the editor that they might get a response to the letter, and they would still be surprised to see a letter in response to their letter in the next issue of the paper.

The point is, express your opinions but please try and do it in a Minnesota Nice way. And respect the fact that not everyone thinks the same way you do.

Want to write a letter to the editor? We still accept them. And we often publish them even if they are not expressing opinions we agree with.

Or you can just blast away at something on social media.

But try and keep it social. Remember, not everyone thinks the same as you do.