Live & Let Live

In my profile, I share that I am a "believer in Love, Family, Nature, Equality, Peace, Kindness, Diversity, and Lifelong Learning". That list is the gist of what I feel in my heart is universally true and right in this experience we call life. No doubt there are those who'd read my profile and think there's something missing from her list of what she believes in or I'm sure her belief in God or Jesus is meant to be assumed. Meh. Not so much. I am genuinely happy for those who find joy, strength, comfort, peace, and whatever else they need through believing in a god or Jesus or in attending a church. Truly. I'm happy for anyone who genuinely experiences all of those. The truth is that worshiping a god or Jesus or attending a church does absolutely none of that for me.

"Oh, you must have had a bad experience at a church..." has been uttered more than once by well-meaning folks who just don't want to accept that I don't believe as they do. No, my disassociation with religion (organized or otherwise) is not merely about having a "bad experience" at a church. I grew up going to church on occasion--those experiences provided nothing more than lessons in how to taking mental vacations and other means of quietly entertaining myself for around an hour.
I've read the Bible--that overly wordy, poorly written, edited and reedited repeatedly over history, grossly contradictory of itself, largely misogynistic book; and it provided me no golden light of belief. No Ah ha! moments. Nada.
I attended nearly a decade of Catechism classes--truth be told though, I was the kid who was regularly getting into trouble in class because--brace yourself--I asked questions. Lots of questions. And when I didn't agree with the answers, I'd press for more meaningful answers. And when there were no meaningful answers (which was usually the case), I'd expect to have the line of reasoning behind those answers explained. And it turns out that those folks were not into providing such reasonings. "Just believe it because you're supposed to!" Ugh. I'm not so good just following something or someone because you're supposed to. It was about a decade ago when I finally admitted to myself that this whole religion & god thing wasn't doing it for me. Since that moment 10 years ago, I've regularly given great thought to what does bring me joy, strength, comfort, and peace... ... ...Ta da! Hence the list in my profile.

What perplexes me about those who want to explain someone like me away with "Oh, you must have had a bad experience at a church..." is that anyone who has talked with me on the subject at any length has certainly heard my reasoning for no longer believing in all that jazz. It's about so much more than having had a bad experience.... it's about religion and dogma and all their trappings making zero sense to my questioning mind. It's about no longer being able to subscribe to a belief system that actively discriminates to varying degrees, depending upon the denomination. It's finding it ludicrous to look up to some magical dude who supposedly has some grand plan that we humans are too moronic to understand. And when those "plans" by this supposedly all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving being involve violence, illness, suffering, and (depending upon the denomination) vengeance... well, hell no. I want no part of any such plan, thanks. I happen to think that we humans are more capable and more connected to each other than religion would have us believe. My rejection of church and religion and all its trappings is about realizing that we humans are so much more alike than different, and we need to look to each other for comfort, help, joy, strength. Instead of looking up for someone to solve our problems, let's look to each other. In looking to each other, we can find a little common ground. We can learn to live and let live.

When Politics Inspires A Language Arts Lesson...

Counting syllables. Practicing rhyming. Word meanings. A recent, impromptu language arts lesson:

Trumpty Dumpty bragged on a wall,
Ranting at rallies, on Twitter, and all.
All of his lackeys and fam and yes men
Couldn't keep Trumpty from acting insane.



(Artist: Sam Sisco, Mad Magazine)

Love > Fear

So, there is a video circulating on facebook (for the second time now) of a supposed U.S. Marine stationed in the Middle East. He speaks in favor of Trump's Muslim ban, based on what he purports to have experienced. What troubles me about this video is that he is painting all Muslims and Middle Easterners with the same brush, based on interactions he claims to have had with those who live in the country where he is stationed. Yep, he proclaims that we should ban all Muslims/Middle Easterners because of one or two conversations he's had with some men in the nearby village. This is unfortunate. 

Would it be fair to view all Christians through the lens of the Crusades or the Inquisition or the Witch Hunts or the Catholic Church protecting pedophiles or the Christian white supremacists in the U.S. who've committed violence via stabbings, bombings, and mass shootings? No. I am quite confident that Christians would be immensely offended and cry foul and scream about yet more oppression against them if they were all painted with the same brush as those who committed abhorrent acts in the name of "Christianity".

I do not and will not subscribe to painting everyone with the same brush based on the actions of a few. Such thinking is solely based on fear. We humans are better than that.

As My Sister Would Say, "We Are One"

I recently read an article about predictions that the economic effects of climate change will be devastatingly severe here in the south. (The article is here: http://theatln.tc/2sm3HHp ) As I read comments to the article, I was utterly shocked at the vitriol displayed by people as they declared that it would be "karma" and that the people of the south "deserve" whatever climate change-related suffering occurs--financial or otherwise--because "they voted for climate change" (aka they voted for Trump).
Now, clearly, I strongly dislike Trump. I loathe his world view, his thoughts, and his actions. I remain disappointed and disheartened by the widespread embracing of his lowest common denominator-type policies and/or behavior. However, the comments about "karma" and people "deserving" what happens are equally disappointing and disheartening. I may vehemently disagree with Trump supporters and what they stand for, but I don't wish them ill. 

Shortly after reading that, I made the mistake of viewing the latest NRA recruitment video. (I refuse to share the link because it is truly, utterly despicable.) It's total propagating of the dangerous "Us vs Them" mentality. It's dripping in talk about how us "liberals" are using education and the media for diabolical purposes that require the non-liberals to all own guns. My head is spinning. As usual, the NRA is fanning the flames and further pitting Americans against each other. And people buy into this manipulative, utterly divisive bullshit...?

Where is our compassion?
Where is our humanity?

We are all human beings. We are all in this together. We. Are. One.

To the 45th Guy in the White House...

Dear Charlatan-in-Chief ~

Reporting on the dishonest, bigoted, misogynistic, and asinine things you do is not "fake" news. Fake would better describe things like your "respect for women" or your newfound piety or your administration's embracing of "alternate facts". Yes, so stop with the fake finger-pointing and bullying of those news outlets who aren't kissing your butt. And the fact that you're doing this while traveling abroad for the G20 is embarrassing as hell. You make us look like a bunch of thuggish, furiously flag-waving, blindly-following-you numbskulls--which most of us are not. Jiminy Crickets, you're highly reminiscent of that crooked Prince John from Disney's Robin Hood...that comparison, as you would say, is "very bad!"

Instead of you constantly foaming at the mouth and the tweet about this "fake news", might I suggest you try pulling up your big boy pants and behaving like a thoughtful, decent, mature adult who has a vocabulary above the 3rd grade level? Furthermore, many of us (like NBC) don't give a rat's ass about your days on The Apprentice. That's like your frequent throwbacks to Hillary--both are currently irrelevant. Live in the now! 

So to review:
•no more bratty, whiny, manby tantrums
•news about things you actually do = not fake; you and your administration = the epitome of fake
•speak and behave as a mature adult would
•stop trying to muddy the news with your irrelevant babble
You can keep your "modern day presidential"; many of us would just like to once again have a POTUS who doesn't act like a whiny, imbecilic, seriously unhinged, spoiled brat. 

Sincerely,
The Majority of Americans 
(most of who did not elect you, but which now includes a few regretful ones who did)

Is This What Your Jesus Would Do?

This Senate & House Republican healthcare "overhaul" bills. This monstrous proposals that will cost millions their healthcare and millions more the level of healthcare that helps prevent catastrophe. This greedy bill that would constitute one of the largest transfers of wealth in recent memory. And that wealth wouldn't be coming towards you and I, as our healthcare costs go up (as if they're not high enough already) and protections for out-of-pocket caps and pre-existing conditions go right out the window.  Nope. That transfer of wealth will go right into the already-heavy pockets of Congress and their wealthy, corporate cronies. You know, the folks that need the least amount of financial help on the planet. (Although they are in dire need of help in the compassion department.)

The Republican Party--as it is now represented in Congress--can no longer be allowed to call themselves the party of "family values". Really? Someone who values family wouldn't gut the healthcare options of those who are less fortunate than themselves. And I certainly no longer accept this idea that they are the party of "Christian values". Seriously, Christian people-- is that what your Jesus would do? Jesus would basically send a big "f--k you" to those in poverty, the working poor, and the middle class?  These are people who literally live paycheck to paycheck. And for many, those paychecks they work so hard for don't cover expenses. They have little to no savings or cushion. No safety net. In another life, I went to many years of Catechism classes and in none of what I heard or read or debated in those classes was there any reference to The Big J hoisting a middle finger to the masses.

No Republicans. Don't preach to me about "Christian values" or "family values". To follow the banner carried by Trump and McConnell and Ryan and the rest of them is to embrace an attitude of "Mine! Mine!" It's to forgo genuinely caring about and acting in the best interest of all families. It flies in the face of what Jesus purportedly taught. It's embracing the worship of the Almighty Dollar.

No, your sandal clad, tunic-wearing, poor carpenter from Nazareth would not hold with these values.

Our Nation's Lost Soul

Truth be told, I still grieve Trump being in the White House. Every. Single. Day. I continue to be dumbfounded that this guy somehow won the electoral college and that he still has so many supporters... how is that possible?
The heart and soul of our nation has a long, ominous shadow of hate cast across it by The Donald and his supporters as they repeatedly embrace fear, anger, bullying, and discrimination. I grieve that woefully insecure, fearful, close-minded, negative individuals across the nation are choosing to put all their toxicity into action, as if they've been given license to do so by the example of He Who Shoves Fellow World Leaders Out of His Way. And all these folks--including their reality-tv-star leader--call themselves "Christians"?
I grieve that Trump--as the Guy in the White House for a mere five months now--has done zilch to discourage or squash the toxicity. He fans it with every Twitter rant; every abominable cabinet appointment; every rollback of protections for women, LGBTQ, and the environment; every version of his Muslim ban; every version of his party's loathsome "healthcare" bill; and every time he fires someone who won't do his bidding or "pledge loyalty" to him. Trump is bigotry and hatred wrapped in the rabidly insecure go of a tiny human with no sympathy, no empathy, and no heart. 
I understand that many Americans feel left behind, disenfranchised, and angry at the system. Let's face it: the system is not rigged for the success of regular, working people; it's rigged for the benefit of the wealthy. Period. That should be something the majority of us can agree upon! While some have felt forgotten during the Obama years (though I've yet to read or hear an intelligent answer as t why), others of us felt that way during the George W. Bush years. But, I make the case that the Trump administration is different and rightfully alarming. No, I was definitely not a fan of George W., and I often mocked his invented vocabulary ("strategery" and "nucular") and that regretful "Mission Accomplished" photo op. But I didn't feel that President Bush was a morally bankrupt person or a heartless person or that he was actually working to stick-it to people or that he was unhinged (or as they say in the South, "touched in the head"). I believe that--in his way, guided by his world view--he was truly trying to do right by the United States and his presidency was not solely about enriching himself and his family. It just happened that he and I had very different world views. No...Trump is a totally different animal. Very few people really dispute that he's racist, sexist, misogynistic, bullying, ill-tempered, greedy, homophobic, untrustworthy, religiously intolerant, has bragged about sexually assaulting women, mocked a disabled journalist, and is overall a bigot of monolithic proportions. By and large, Trump supporters don't genuinely listen to the well-documented and factual grievances about him. Usually, the rabid defense is purely deflecting to some supposed Hillary flaw (hello, she lost the election; live in the now) or some over-dramatic diatribe about those commie-heathen liberals. Nope. Such non-answers don't forward the dialogue at all.
Maybe from their perspective, Trump supporters feel just as exasperated about talking to liberals and progressives. Perhaps for their sensibilities, all that hopey-changey-peacey-lovey-equality stuff just gets old. But why can't we find was to move closer together on issues? Why does it always have to be Us vs. Them in our nation? The recent shooting at the Republican baseball team's practice clearly shows that there are dark, unstable, ill-intended people on both sides of the political aisle. To see another mass shooting (practically at Congress' doorstep) should be bringing us Americans together on the need for common sense gun ownership guidelines. (Notice I said nothing about "taking away people's guns") But this doesn't appear to be happening. A quick visit to Twitter confirms that the divide remains wide. Admittedly, as someone who just wants everyone to be safe, healthy, educated, to have a shot at happiness, and to live and let live--I don't gt the Trump party's perspective. Ultimately, the heart and soul of our nation--and the world--is in OUR hands. As I watch and mourn the state of our nation every single day, I choose to put my faith in people and their ability to be kind, to be love, to stand up for what is fair and just for ALL humans. You know, all that hopey-changey-peacey-lovey-equality stuff.