My Poor Heart Can't Take It

I saw the cardiologist today. He said my heart and lungs are in good shape and there are no signs of cardiovascular disease or any other problems worthy of note. There was no bad news, other than a bit of familial hypercholesterolemia, which we're already aware of and throwing drugs at to head off future problems. All great news to be had. I celebrated with pizza, poppers, and one too many swigs of organic bourbon.*

Now, let's talk about politics and Facebook for a moment. I'm saying this because I care and you're annoying me: You're all making Facebook unspeakably awful with the ever increasing torrent of political posts. I appreciate that politics are important to you, but I'm experiencing a non-stop stream of news articles and personal essays on why I should vote for Hillary, Cruz, Bernie, Trump, or whomever, day in and day out, and it is too much. I won't mention any names, but some of you are posting a half-dozen or more such articles every single day, and that is insufferable behavior.

I understand that politics are important. You may get all worked up and feel a compulsive need to express yourself to anyone who will listen—even if they're not actually listening. Some of you may even be boosters for a candidate you imagine will do a better job than some other candidate is likely to do. Great. That's all great. But you don't have to share every scrap of cyber detritus or half-baked notion that makes you feel tingly inside. In fact, you absolutely shouldn't do that. It only serves to alienate everyone but the choir. Choose your battles wisely and your posts even more wisely.

*You'd think celebrating my good heart health with cheese and booze would be ironic, but the nature of familial hypercholesterolemia is such that my LDL and triglyceride levels, while very high, test exactly the same if I follow an extremely heart healthy diet or eat nothing but cheese and beer. The difference between the two lifestyles was a 1.9% reduction in total cholesterol under a rigorous heart healthy diet, whereas a normal diet combined with statins netted a 60% decrease in total cholesterol. Let's hear it for Science and Brie.