Liberal Mormon

A Conversation Piece according to Wikipedia was an elaborate painting done by the rich in the 17 to 19th centuries to hang in their mansions and used to start conversations. Growing up, I remember a conversation piece as something, usually an object, rare or different, placed strategically in a room to "start conversation".

Since we can't always afford to have people over to entertain, Facebook has become the cheap entertainment. Coming up with quirky, funny, outrageous, or even rude status updates has become the 21st century way of stimulating conversation. The simplest way lately has been to begin a topic usually politics related. Some of the longest and most heated threads I've been involved in lately have been on Facebook, and about the Health Care reform. Unfortunately, I've even had to "un-friend" a few people whom I didn't realize were so dramatically right winged and whom I've known most of my life.

So my challenge to you, if you have Facebook, start a conversation, put some time and thought into it and see what happens. You'll be surprised what people whom you thought you knew, will say.