New pope’s social media posts offer some insight into his politics

The new pope isn’t any of my business, but this is a bigger problem.

Are there any people in authority who aren’t on social media commenting on issues that are beyond their remit?  What was Cardinal Prevost hoping to achieve by building his online brand? 

Prevost was not the cardinal in charge of irritating Catholics with an alternative political preference.  That’s true of celebrities, prominent people, mid-level managers and government officials.  Just shut up about topics not related to your field.  Maybe shut up about everything.

When I was a teacher, early on, the local union advised teachers not to post anything on social media.  That loosened up later.  I had a personal Facebook account that was set to private, and a Facebook account that could be joined by former students who had graduated.  I rarely posted on the alumni account, but when I did, it was related to my field of study.

A teacher who expresses an opinion on a controversial topic in class, risks alienating a student with a different opinion.  Much of teaching requires persuasion and marketing to promote concepts.  Building relationships with students is trending topic in education.  That means different things depending on the students and teacher.

With AP students, it was important that my students thought I was smart and wanted them to succeed.

If I expressed a strong off-topic opinion, a student might think that I am not smart for having that opinion or that I might not be as committed to a student with an opposing view.  Both of those undercut student learning.  I would be sabotaging my purpose for being in the classroom.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan summed it up.  “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”

That’s good advice for most people  Democrats go to the gym, socialists go to the gun range, libertarians buy insurance and progressives buy cars.

It doesn’t matter what the new pope tweeted about JD Vance1.  If the next presidential election is JD Vance against Gavin Newsom, his tweet won’t bump the needle.  It just makes some Catholics not so sure about the new leader of the church.

Social media does matter.  Influencers with a large following and who are seen as authentic, can make a difference.  Cardinal Prevost was not one of those.  Most people aren’t.  Posting about a controversial subject can either have no effect or alienate people.  It doesn’t seem prudent.

1  Unless the new pope tweets about JD Vance and what happened to the last guy.  Purely coincidental, but, yikes.