Steven Helmer Publications

I am an opinionated guy. I've been on this planet for nearly 50 years, raised two daughters and have been a member of the workforce since I was a teenager. I think I have the right to be. However, today I am taking a vow to keep my opinions to myself, at least when it comes to politics and social media. Image courtesy of Pixabay This actually isn't the first time I've taken this vow. I did it once before, several years ago, but recently began breaking that vow. It didn't take me long to remember why I made it in the first place. First, when it comes to politics, nobody cares about my opinion or anyone else's. They just want to hear their opinion being parroted by someone else.  The thing with that is as an independent, I can appreciate both sides to every argument. I may not agree with one side but can still see where they are coming from. Unfortunately, that balanced view is clearly unwanted in such a divided country. The victim culture is prevalent for both libera...

Like most people, I woke up this morning to the horrendous news out of Las Vegas and was saddened to read about so many people being killed and wounded at random by a gunman. I did not, however, find out about this tragic event through the news. I found out about it from people who were posting their prayers for the victims on Facebook. And, once I got more details about it, I did the same. Image Courtesy of Pixabay However, as is sometimes the case with tragedy, I also found some enlightenment this morning. As I read the numerous posts supporting Las Vegas and offering thoughts and prayers, I asked myself " why do we only seem to care about each other when something tragic happens ?" It actually reminded me of being at a funeral. Usually, I'll run into a relative I almost never see and will end up making plans to have a reunion or some other kind of get together so we can catch up under less tragic circumstances only to never see it happen. Social media is...