Tolerance

I heard someone speak one time about the difference between tolerance and acceptance.  It went something like this:

When you tolerate someone or something it denotes action on your part - you work at not letting that person or those things affect you; it takes effort on your part so therefore is something you can be proud of...

When you accept someone or something it is effortless - you allow that person or that thing to have its own space in the world and allow the consequences to be what they will be...

When we allow others to be who they are or situations or things to be what they are we give up a sense of ownership over them, a sense of control really, but we also give up the right to brag about our efforts.

When I see, hear or read any alt-right people describe how they 'tolerated' Obama or how I/we are 'snowflakes' that can't truly handle diversity I think of these differences between tolerate and accept...

White people that say they have been victimized or suffered discrimination really have no clue what it truly means to be victimized or discriminated against: Exactly what makes them feel so threatened that they have become so defensive?

Armageddon 2016

As I said in September, I would like to have a conversation with someone that would choose to vote for T rather than HRC...

I don't want a screaming match, don't want to convince you that you are terribly wrong and don't want you to try and convince me by defending him...

I really just want to try and understand...

Is it because she is a woman?  I cannot stop thinking about how this election cycle would have played out if the candidates were reversed.  What if:

She had been married three times and had children from different partners
She started and failed numerous business ventures
She had declared bankruptcy numerous times
She had settled numerous lawsuits with payouts
She had no history of working to alleviate the struggles of others
She would not release her taxes
She was openly hostile to people that did not match her version of acceptability
She were caught on tape harassing, discriminating, and demeaning people

It really does go on and on...

Here is what I think:

She has worked her entire life for the common good
She has a proven track record of collaboration with others to get things done
She has the support of well-respected individuals from all sides and all over the globe
She has been under near constant scrutiny for decades by the media
She has endured government investigations that have cost taxpayers millions and found nothing indictable

Here's what I also think:

She is human and fallible, as is anyone that has ever been president
She is not as charismatic nor as likable as we may want
She is married to an ex-president and raised a child in the White House
She was a well-respected senator and a secretary of state
She is uniquely qualified to be the first woman president of the United States

Big news people: I'm with her!

Privatizing the public sphere

I have been thinking about this topic for a long time as I watched it unfold in front of me: Why are public services being maligned, their services being cut in the guise of overspending and abuse of tax dollars while at the same time we are spending unlimited amounts of tax dollars on endless wars and handing money over to the profiteers of those wars??

Why is public education such a mess? Why is the post office widely thought to be inefficient? Why are we defunding Planned Parenthood and slicing away at Social Security and Medicare?

And then, this morning I read this article which basically says what I have been worrying about - its all about the money; not the money saved mind you, but the potential money to be earned by privatizing public services!

http://www.salon.com/2016/09/24/behold-the-gops-not-so-secret-plan-to-dismantle-government-services-defund-degrade-and-then-privatize/

Seriously, we hear all about government waste, free loaders, inefficient government services, etc, etc. etc...but my question is: What has the GOP done for the people? What programs or services have they supported? How can we prove that the GOP supports the common good?

That's it right there - how do the policies and practices of the GOP support the common good?  Someone please tell me...

Help

I know, I know...
Ridiculous, I have so much to say and no place to say it - that's what I keep telling myself anyway...

Who wants to hear what I have to say; who cares? I decided I'd try again to keep a record of all of the fleeting thoughts that I have, right now its armageddon 2016 - I mean election 2016!!

I would really like to have a conversation with someone who supports T because I honestly don't understand that person.  I used to be a conservative voter, used to be involved in a Christian community so I think I understand the 'typical' GOP voter but I don't get the T supporters.

Unless...we/they/I have become so accustomed to hearing the truth be denied and facts turned into opinion. That is one thing that kind of makes sense - if truth is not truth and facts are debatable then we can enter into a world where a person that has begun and failed in numerous business ventures, been sued for everything from harassment and discrimination to tax evasion, verbally abuses others and declared bankruptcy at least 5 times could even remotely be considered as a candidate to run this country.

Unlees...we/they/I have heard so much hate speech and listened to so many lies that this behavior and those that support it have become the norm.

Unless...we/they/I have been listening to decades of fear mongering from all aspects of the media: fear of the drugs, the blacks, the cops, the muslims - basically fear of the other...

Unless...we/they/I have been inundated with negative images of the 'other' candidate - one who has faults but has served the public well for over 30 years. One who has a proven record of good works and championing the rights of all while enduring decades of accusations and been the focus of millions of government dollars being spent trying to find a 'smoking gun' in order to prove alleged illegalities.  

I would like to talk with someone that can explain the discrepancy between a proclaimed stake in the christian values and morals of the nation and the acceptance of openly hostile behavior towards 'the other'

I truly do not understand...

New thoughts

Well, the elections are over and I am breathing a sigh of relief; it seems we are not as intolerant as I had feared! 

I do wonder sometimes what our obsession with technology is ultimately doing to us as a culture - we are isolated islands of beliefs now and can tune out any voice that is disagreeable to us.  This of course means that we are only listening to the voices with whom we agree... like begets like and all of a sudden we are a divided nation, evidenced by the fact that we are not only politically polarized but frozen in our adherence to ideals and our so-called strength of convictions.

I suppose now is as good of a time as any to finally declare what is obvious to any reader out there: I am what I would call progressive in my beliefs; a reformed conservative who has been released from the constraints of self-righteous, judgementalism that dictates rather than discusses...

Yes, I would much rather have an intelligent conversation - even a disagreeable one - than to accept what is being force fed via conservative media these days.  Oh,  I used to listen to it so I know what I am referring to; the fear-based, intolerant, resistance-to-changers who are all over the airwaves and certain faux-news channels...

There I said it;  I used to be motivated by fear and everything it encompasses, but I slowly dug out of it and won't go back now - more to come I'm sure!!

new again

I don't know; sometimes I want to just write whatever comes into my head and other times I think I am supposed to be all organized...hard to do when there is so much going on and by that I mean the election of 2012 which is now only two days away!
I will be relieved when it is over and have wanted to participate more in the 'discussions' out there but have refrained due to my lack of strength in dealing with intolerant hard-heads who think they know it all.  Maybe they do and I'm the one out in left field but I would rather be out there trying to get along and make life work for all of us than hanging on to old ways, old fears, and old traditions that I mistakenly think are helpful...

A New Start

OK, another new start for me so let's see if I can maintain a blog this time around.
Truth is I have so many ideas floating around and don't know which one to follow, so I just let them roam around until I finally decide to write something!
Some of my ideas for this or another blog:

• My ramblings of the moment, hence the name - so these could be about family, life, politics, religion, or all of the above. Fear prevents me
  
• A more professional blog dealing with library searching, information competency, etc. Again, with the fear...
  
• A personal blog that follows my personal and professional life to date. Who would be interested???
  
• My 'Year in the Life' blog where I pick a year, write about it and add info of the times and leave space for comments/posts. A favorite that I am leaning towards...
  

So there I have it, but when we will 'we' have it??? Stay tuned!