Where we stand

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off. ~Colin Powell

So this blog was originally going to be something entirely different.  A reminiscent stroll down softball lane, in honor of my dad.  And that one will come at some point.  But to me, a better tribute to him, and all he taught me, is to just clear the air about where i stand on what is happening all around me.  Like most of my friends, we dont want to engage in the political discourse that divides us.  So we dont talk about it.  We tiptoe around the subject, or avoid it altogether, so as not to damage any more relationships.   Go along and get along, as the saying goes.  BUT.  I dont want there to be any question, ever, about where i come down on these things.  Because the issues now are not political.  They are not republican or democrat.  They are human.  And the shut up and keep your head down philosophy - the dont make waves tendancy - is contributing to the problem.  It will always be "someone else's" job or responsibility. It will always be "someone else's" kids that are targeted or alienated.  We cant wait until it is our kids.  Because they are ALL our kids.

Clearly the deterioration of civil conversation starts with where you choose to get your news.  The filtering of information contributes in large part to why we cant talk to each other.  People i know run the gamut from only watching/listening to Fox News/MSNBC, or just completely tuning it out altogether.  No one wants the information that contradicts their opinion or upsets their bubble. AND THIS IS HOW  WE ARE ALL COMPLICIT.

The great thought, the great concern, the great anxiety of men is to restrict, as much as possible, the limits of their own responsibility. ~Giosué Borsi

I cant tell you how many of my intelligent, lovely, successful friends just dont give a flying fuck about what is happening.  Because it does not directly impact them.  They are safe in their community and surrounded by like-minded people, none of whom want to rock the boat.  This is all "someone else's" problem to solve.  And it's time we start calling each other out on it.  At the very least, we need to have the hard conversation.  I recently got together with some old friends.  Both were quick to point out that they did not care or follow politics.  Which is fine.  But they not only don't follow politics, THEY DON'T CARE.  And that is what I am having the hardest time with.  They are both great parents.  Have great jobs. All the stuff that makes for a happy life.  And they just dont want anything intruding on that.  I get it.  I think we all would love to live in that world.  Unfortunately, that is how we get where we are today.  And one morning, in the not too distant future, we are going to wake up in a very different world.  Hate and ignorance are taking over while we are all pretending everything is just fine.

We hate some persons because we do not know them; and will not know them because we hate them. ~Charles Caleb Colton

Let's start with HATE.  That's just the easiest to address.  I dont care if you are a lifelong Republican. I was too.  I dont care if the economy is working for you.  Or if you want judges that will throw us back to the Stone Age.  Im happy to debate policy differences with anyone. What i dont understand is how anyone, ANYONE, is okay with the rhetroric stemming from the White House.  There are not "very good people" on both sides of the Charlottesville debate.  There are not cages full of rapists and criminals at the southern border.  And having white skin does not make anyone more American than anyone else.  Are we so insecure as a RACE of people that we can't embrace mulitculturalism?  Are you so afraid of the black and brown people in your neighborhoods that you are willing to turn a blind eye to the OBVIOUS racism that is bubbling to the surface?  Are you secretly happy that finally FINALLY someone is saying those things you always wished you could say but didnt dare?  If so, open your mind and your heart to the 21st centtury.   Giving someone else the same thing that you ALREADY have, does not diminish you IN ANY WAY.  Respect, love, tolerance.  Everyone wants the same thing for themselves and their families.  Why is all of this only important for YOU? 

Silence at this point is that same as acceptance.  And that is not okay.  Im not saying you need to be a picketing wizard.   Or start fights at every gathering.  You dont have to do anything at all, obviously.  But i hope you think about it.  HARD.  Ask yourself if you are really okay with what is happening?  How would you feel (or will you) when the circumstances in your country cause you to flee - to drag your children hundreds of thousands of miles from home - only to be told that you are not welcome because of the color of your skin.  Because of the language you dont speak.  I can tell you this. As a mother.  I dont want to pack up my toddler for a day at the beach!  You know how much work it is to carry, cajole, entertain a small child for one day. With an ipad.  In an air-conditioned car.  HOW DESPERATE are these people to uproot their entire lives, and put their children thru this MISERY??  How can we be so CALLOUS? It's depressing, and sad.  And it just pisses me off that we cant ALL agree that this is just WRONG. Where are all of my Christians??   My Jesus people?  Jesus didnt just care for the WHITE PEOPLE.  You know Jesus probably didnt even know any white people - let's be honest. You cant only care about people like you.  That's not how this works.

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.— Proverbs 14:31

Which leads into the IGNORANCE part.  I am not the smartest tool in the shed.  And my opinions are just that - mine.  BUT we are allowing ourselves to, at the very least, be gaslighted by a top notch marketing machine, and at worst be deluded by a complete and utter idiot.  I jokingly said 2 years ago that I felt like I was living in Idiocracy (the movie - if you havent seen it, watch it).  We are being shown half of the information, if that, and being told what to believe.  This is NOT 1984.  But it may as well be.  The amount of flat out LYING that is taking  place may not, in your opinion, be any different than any other administration.   You would be wrong.  That is what the pundits are trying to sell you.  That is what team Trump wants you to believe.   The Washington Post never had to have a full-time fact checker before.  NEVER.  Think about that.  It is someone's full time job to fact check our President. Because he so boldly and blatantly LIES TO YOUR FACE on a daily basis.  If that was your kid, you wouldn't tolerate it. If if was your kid's teacher, you would throw a giant apoplectic fit.  But it's ok if it's the PRESIDENT?  What in the actual FUCK is happening that we think this behavior is ok?  There are no alternative facts.  Why are buying this bullshit? 

The most violent element in society is ignorance.  ~Emma Goldman

It's obvious I'm frustrated.  I just dont understand how we got here.  I dont understand what is so threatening about other people.  Women, black and brown people, lesbians, all the other letters of the GBTQ.  I mean seriously?  What's going to happen to your white, hetero-normative bubble if you allow yourself to be open to "others"?  Absolutely nothing.  There is room for all of us.  Our Congress is made up of an awful lot of old white dudes.  But there are women and minorities representing large swathes of the country.  WHO LOVE THIS COUNTRY.  Just as much as you do.  Fighting for the planet, their families, this country.  They may not agree on substance, but they are all SERVING.  They are all qualified and duly elected.  Just because they disagree with our current fucknut of a President does not mean they dont deserve to be here. It's ludicrous and racist.  PERIOD.

Do not confuse your vested interests with ethics. Do not identify the enemies of your privilege with the enemies of humanity. ~Max Lerner

I dont like Trump.  I never have.  I left the Republican Party when he became the nominee.  I believe that fundamentally he is a bad person.  That's it.   He is A BAD PERSON.  One that i would NEVER want my children to emulate.  And to me that is the saddest part of where we have come as a country.  You may not have liked previous Presidents.  There have been bad people in office before (ahem, Bill Clinton).  But never to this degree.  Never with this complete disregard for anyone but himself.  Donald Trump IS a racist.  And a misogynist. He's a compulsive liar.  You can argue with me about that if you want.  But deep in your heart, you know it is true.  He's the creepy uncle you keep your daughters away from, that you tell stories about, and make excuses for.  And he's the fucking President.  If you still think your tax cuts and judges are more important than the moral, physical and psychological deterioration of the country - good on you.  I hope you dont have young children, god forbid daughters, or children who dont identify as straight. I hope you dont mind living on hell's half acre, eating food that is poisoned by pesticide.  Or running out of water.  I mean, I know all of this stuff wont actually impact YOU, right?

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.  ~Thomas Fuller

To all my old friends who will never speak to me again because i can no longer NOT talk about this - im sorry.  I'm mostly sorry that you just cant see what a slippery slope we are on. Im sorry FoxNews wont show you the corruption, the deceit & the danger associated with having this man run our country.  And Im sorry you would rather bury your head in the sand than open your eyes to what is happening.  I dont agree with a lot of the policies in the Democratic party.  I fight with my kids (a lot) about the dangers of "free" healthcare and "free" college.  I get it.  But these issues are bigger than those.  And i am just so sad that more people that I know dont care.

The opposite of education is not ignorance but indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies. ~Elie Wiesel, 1986