Censorship, here?!!!!

A very conservative friend of  mine posted a short little message on FB about upcoming news about major media outlets coming in the next few days.  That sounds pretty ominous to me.

I read a lot of news and I mean a lot, especially for someone who went for years without reading or watching any news.  Now it seems that is all I do and I do not want that messed with.  I don't just read liberal contributors, I read conservative contributors as well.  I want to give myself the illusion I am being fair.  Okay, so I am not fair, but I still want to know what the conservatives are saying.

All of this hype from the guy in the white house has us all wondering about who can we trust and what should we really be listening to or watching.

I do find it convenient that I have my own resident ex-media guy to ask questions of and get input from.  Kind of convenient.  I must say he is more fair than I am most of the time.  He enlightened me that many publishers are conservatives, while many of the reporters they hire are not.  Nice checks and balances system, don't you think.  An amusing side note, he stated that one of the first things one of his publishers said to him was "Don't get me sued."

With that said, the checks and balances in the industry serve as a scale for how close they can come to slander without crossing the line.  Most employers, news or otherwise, do not want to have their money taken by lawyer fees.

Then comes common sense, which sure seems to be lacking these days.  I realize we all want to gather around people who think like us and rally support for our cause or causes, but come on folks, when someone calls everything fake that does not fully support the lies and deception that is being spouted doesn't that send up some red flags?  Apparently not for a lot of people and those people seem so doggone normal on the outside.

Our country was founded by rebels, people seem to forget that. Free speech was written into the constitution as one of our rights.  We have never had to deal with censorship of the press, except by their own internal organization and I do not want it to start now, especially now.

 I have no problem with the conservatives expressing their views, it is their right.  I do take offense at pretty much being called un-American if I do not agree with them.  And, I do take offense that they want my fellow Americans with that same right to be censored.  Not in the America I know and love.

Naive

I am pretty naive. I have actually known that for quite some time but lately it has been more apparent just how naive I am.  Especially when it comes to how people view the world and politics in particular.   I have always thought that your beliefs should coincide with how you live your life and how you vote.  I am finding out that not everyone thinks that way.  It has been pretty surprising, but has given me insight into how that guy in the white house has managed to bamboozle so many folks.

I get it when people say they did not like how things were going before the election.  I didn't think it was so bad, but then my guy was President.  I wasn't as pleased with him as I wanted to be but I did respect him and knew he was a decent man.

So, it amazes me when I talk to people who say they do not like how the new guy acts or what he says, but they think he will make big changes.  So far, the only thing I can see him changing is how the world sees our country and him in particular, which is sad, considering we have been the ugly Americans for a long time.  I don't like that title.  I don't want to be an ugly American and I don't want someone who really is an ugly American representing me to the world.

Okay I got diverted.  So how can Trump supporters overlook the fact that the man is a bigot, anti-Semitic, male chauvinist pig, whose buddy is a socialist, fascist.  What are they seeing that I am not and are they being truthful with themselves when they say they don't like what he says.  I could not back a democrat or independent who lied every time he opened his mouth, so how can they justify doing the same thing.

I am naive and I believe that our leaders should be examples for us, so that we can be proud of who we are as a nation.  Now if the guy in the white house was on WWE I would find him hilarious.  They are supposed to entertain and be braggarts and pump themselves up for audience attention.  It is not so attractive from the President of the United States.

Yeah, I am not as naive as I was a few months ago and I have learned that we really are a great nation with some true heroes but we sure have a long way to go before we become a civilized nation.  That is if this guy does not take us down so far it will take an Act of God to get us back on Track.  Hmm, I must think on that, maybe, just maybe.

Privilege

I watched a monologue by Darryl Wellington, a freelance writer who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  I had discovered him through a piece he did on homelessness awhile back.  In the monologue he talked about white people being privileged.  I thought, no I am not privileged.  I come from a middle class background and I have been middle class all my life.  Then I got what he was talking about.

Yes, I have seen discrimination all my life but I have never lived it.  I have never been watched in a store to make sure I was not going to steal something.  I have never moved over so someone else could pass by because of the color of my skin.  I have never had to fight to get an equal education. I have never dealt with the same kind of treatment that many people in our country have dealt with because of the color of their skin or the nature of their heritage.

I don't know how I would respond to that.  As I am right now it would make me very angry.  It makes me angry anyway and it is not happening to me.  In the monologue Darryl spoke of not wanting to talk about his feelings about the election and did not want to hear how sorry people were that this regime was so bigoted and prejudiced.  I am sure that his heart is aching, as we all thought we had come so far, only to find out we hadn't come far at all.

Yes, I am a person of privilege and right now I am feeling pretty ashamed of that privilege.  It hurts other people and makes them feel less than.  I would gladly give up that privilege to have my friends and neighbors truly feel they are my brothers and sisters.

Where did that dream go?

My guy and I have been kicking around for weeks, maybe even months, how Donald Trump was elected.  Who voted for him.  My guy thinks it was disenfranchised, older white men who had not gotten what they felt all the folks getting handouts were getting.  Believe me those handouts are not as easy to come by as those folks think, but that is for another time.

So, I asked him what about the women who voted for him, and there were a lot.  He, being the idealist that he is when it comes to women (that certainly works to my benefit), did not have an answer.

I think I might have some insight into this issue.  I was a product of the 60's.  I was not raised to join corporate America and take on the role of a bread winner or even a half a loaf bread winner.  I was raised that my husband would work and I would raise children and stay home and do whatever I wanted.  I liked that idea.  My mom did it.  My sister did it.  It was good enough for them, it would be good enough for me.

Well that plan did not work out so well.  First of all, I am not very good at just staying home and cleaning toilets.  I mean how many times a day can you clean a toilet before you are really, really bored.  And the economics with rising prices and the chase for the American dream meant go to work.

Frankly I  have resented it somewhat my whole life.  The generation before me mostly stayed home and raised children.  I was in the generation of super mom.  You know work, perhaps go to school, and make sure you raising a decent human being.

I am not the only one who felt somewhat cheated.  After all TV said that the Brady Bunch mom stayed home, the Partridge Family, you know all those "programs that depicted real life in America."  So many of us from the 60's felt cheated.  Then the evangelical Christians did not help with that living the dream as they teach that the man is the head of the household, the wife is supposed to take care of the children, and him too.

So here we are with a population who bought into all that nonsense and want that "dream" in their lives.  Along comes this person who says what they want to hear (never mind he does not believe any of it nor live any of it) and they think they have found a Messiah who will lead them into the promised land of the 1950's.

I hate to say it folks but that can never happen.  Even if the regime gets half of what they are trying to do by force there will always be those of us who know they are liars and fight them.  Their vision is not the promised land.  It is a cage.  It does not allow for growth or compassion or basic human rights given to  us by the Constitution of the United States.

So folks don't be fooled by the Piped Piper, you know where that led.

Get a handle on him

I was fired for not being politically correct.  "I told someone I was going to kick their ass."  Never mind that person was young enough to be my grandchild and over 6 feet tall (I am 4'11").  The point is that political correctness has been taken seriously by corporations and the public for a very long time in this country.

I suppose I can relate to the guy in the white house, into my brain often comes out of my mouth without much of a filter, but I am not the guy in the white house and I do not have the welfare of the people of this country at stake.

I have seen the stupid tweets he has tweeted ad nausea and, even though I did not like them and thought someone should take his phone away from him, they did not make me angry.  That is until today.  What right does a draft dodging, narcissistic, demoralizing man like the guy in the white house have to insult a true hero like John McCain.

Now do not get me wrong,  I do not agree with Mr. McCain's politics but he has done more for this country than most of us will ever be called upon to do.  He was a prisoner of war, captured while doing his duty for this country.  Trump goes too far when he starts taking shots at such an honorable man.

Has anyone tried to tell him how stupid he looks and how he has degraded the office in which he is serving.  Maybe a little counseling or a chat with someone on how to win friends and influence people. It is not bullying, huffing and puffing or threats. What about that is presidential. I don't care what he says behind closed doors to the people that kiss his butt, but as a citizen looking for leadership I am really tired of it.

Quit embarrassing us. Don't insult people like John McCain who, in my estimation you are not worthy to lick his shoes.

Don't throw a fit because your daughter's clothing line was dropped from Nordstrom's.  If they are ugly they don't sell.  It is simple. Who cares.  Talk to her about it.  Not the American people.  We can sometimes be shallow but not so shallow that her clothing line takes priority over running the country.

Somebody get a handle on him.  And please for goodness sake close his Twitter account.

Conversation

During the super bowl, I text my daughter about Lady Gaga's performance and how she had subtly criticized the policies of the existing man in the white house.  At first her reply startled me.  She replied "Oh, so it was political.  That is why I left."  (She left to go the store.) I sat staring at what she had said for several minutes.  Was my only child turning to the dark side?  Had a conservative virus been injected into her?  I must find a cure.  After all I raised her and opinions and discussion were the norm at our house.

After thinking it over and wondering if I should jump in the car and drive the hour to her house to have the discussion, I settled on just texting back, "Okay," and waited, still wondering where my car keys were.  Then I got this response "You know what I mean it's a lot of people yelling and no one listening."  Ahh, my daughter is still there, forget the car keys.

My response to her was this, "I agree.  I would like to see more reason and thought given to a solution.  The only thing I can say is that change begins with me.  But, I have believed that for a long time.  You (meaning my daughter) taught me that.  You introduced me to people and things that, left on my own, I might not have encountered.  You called me on my attitude and touched my heart.  I carry that every day and I thank you for that.  I have friends who absolutely do not believe the way I do.  It is not my job to change their mind or even try.  It is  my job to speak my own truth.  By that I mean what I believe in my heart to be true.  You helped teach me that."

Her response was a mother's dream, "Wow.  That all goes back to you and the way you raised me.  I think the reason I so tired is that my heart hears what everyone really means and it hurts for them that they can't just say that.  Everyone gets wrapped up in what they think others want them to say."

My response was, " You are absolutely right.  Everyone wants to change every one's mind.  It does not work that way.  Facts can change minds.  Faith changes hearts.  Put the two together and you have an unbeatable combination."

Her response, "Now if humans can overcome their faults instead of giving in to them.  The heart thing has to come first.  People have to stop hearing and talking to be right."

Me, "Yes.  Treating another human being as the Bible says in many places, but everyone seems to forget that.  I don't care if you are Hindi, Muslim, Christian or dog catcher.  What I care about is how do you treat your fellow neighbors, whether you like them or not."

Now I wish for the world to have a conversation with open ears and an open heart.

Our neighbors

When I started this blog I really had no intention of it being so much a political statement.  But my guy told me a blog sometimes takes on a life of its own.  Well, I have found that to be true.

We all belong to something. A family, an organization, a political party, a community, something.  What a lot of people do not seem to realize these days is that we belong to a world community.  We always have.  We are a country of immigrants.  Not one of us here in the United States, except native Americans and Latinos, can say that our ancestors have been here for more than 250 years.

Part of why I started this blog is because I have a hard time feeling as though I belong.  I wanted to express who I am, so that those who think they know me and read this could know me better and I feel I have some things to say.

The events of the last few days, the immigration ban, has caused me to do some serious soul-searching about why it made me so doggone angry.  I took it very personally that we were stopping people from coming into this country who were fleeing oppression or just trying to get back to their families.  I felt like they were trying to stop my next door neighbor and in a way that is true.

We cannot think of ourselves any more as anything other than a member of a world community. If people around the globe are having issues they are our issues.  They do affect us.  From our economy to our hearts when we see what the atrocities taking place are doing to our fellow human beings.  We can no longer look at a screen and say "Oh too bad about the war here or there."  That war effects each and every one of us.  We have troops around the globe who have families waiting for them here in the United States.  If you don't think they think of the world as a community, think again.  They are defending those neighbors.  They are losing their lives for those neighbors.

Maybe that is what needs to happen.  We need to start thinking of immigrants as our neighbors. Would you turn away your neighbor if their house was on fire?  Well many of the people who are being turned away do not even have a house to be on fire.  It was bombed, by their own leader, especially Syrians.

So I challenge you to think more about who your neighbors really are.  Broaden the scope of your community, because in this day and age, the people of the world are our neighbors.