Because Facebook has become a political battleground — with the civic pretension of a campaign town hall and the clumsy incivility of a brewing street brawl. We might not talk politics in the office, at the gym, in the beauty shop … but we’ve got no qualms about spreading recycled “birther” drivel or savagely mocking Romney’s gaffes with strangers, ad nauseam, online.

We’re exposed to the political views of “friends” in a way we’ve never been before. That’s made this presidential campaign, for many people, a jarring wake-up call.

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