Thursday, October 30, 2008

Become a Fan.

At first, it was just a trite, fun little feature of Facebook. I'd be reading along, checking up on the activity of my Facebook page, and I'd come across an entry that would say something like, "Billy Bob became a fan of Pop-Tarts (or some other object)." That's funny, I'd think, so I would click on the "Become a Fan" option, which would then display on other people's Facebook pages that Travis Ammon Green had become a fan of Pop-Tarts.

Eventually, I noticed that people were now becoming fans of causes. In fact, just today I "became a fan" of "No Smoking." But now I'm seeing people become fans of other people, like David Bowie (Honestly?) and Kermit the Frog (Sign me up for that one!). Those are just fine (although I'm a little surprised sometimes to see who people are fans of), but I'm also seeing people becomes fans of religious leaders (a fan of LDS President Thomas S. Monson? Really?). And today I saw that someone had become a fan of "Jesus Christ the Savior." Now that's just taking it too far.

I understand that most people are just trying to find a way to publicly express their support for a certain person or cause (maybe Facebook should make an application that says "I support [insert cause or person]"), but saying that you're a "fan" of someone that many consider to be a prophet (LDS President Thomas S. Monson) is pushing it. And to say that you're a fan of the Son of God? Sounds too flippant and irreverent to me.

I realize that there are probably a few (or a lot) of you rolling your eyes at this ("Holy cow, Travis. Stop being so up-tight. Chill out. It's just Facebook."), but to see the Savior's name listed as something people are a fan of alongside things like "sour candy" and "High School Musical 3" is too much for me. So I'm sending out a plea to all of you in Facebookland. Let's try to keep certain things sacred and respected instead of relegated to the same level as "swing dancing" and the "New York Yankees."

2 comments:

Becky Green said...

In quiet protest to your non-technology based ways of worshiping and expressing your beliefs, I have become a fan of Jesus Christ :)

I'm impressed, rather than ashamed when I see people adding Christ into their lives in simple ways. I am not impressed by people who do it to mock Christ, or to be silly. But I see nothing wrong with expressing interest and love towards Christ by showing support for his beliefs and followers on Facebook. I believe that folding your arms isn't the only way to believe in Christ.

It's okay if you don't become a fan. But I'm keeping my name on his fan list :) Maybe they'll elect me president of the fan club :) Just kidding.

Travis Ammon Green said...

Again, let me reiterate what I said in my post: I am not ASHAMED of people who profess their religious or moral beliefs. I do, however, feel that there is a more appropriate way to do it than to say that you are a "fan" of something or someone that is sacred.