Category: Politics

Friday was Wear Orange Day. This is a program created  by Mom’s Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I wore my shirt all day even if it was just around the house. Bernie and I intended to go to Clearwater for a walk to support gun control legislation. We wouldn’t have been able to manage the one mile walk but we could have listened to speakers and donated money for the walkers. We were deterred by a $70 fill-up in Bernie’s car and a recent exposure to Covid. Instead, I decided to write a blog.

It is a risky thing to do. I have friends and family members who are gun owners. As far as I know they use firearms for hunting and a few carry small guns for personal safety. Some of these have taken offense at my statements about gun violence. For a reason I don’t understand, they take it as a personal affront. I admit that about a year ago I backed off from posting anti-gun info on Facebook, but now I know I have to speak out. It is my belief that differences of opinion on this issue (and many others) has more to do with a person’s media choices than anything else.  My blog and Facebook are the most public ways I have to communicate what I know to be true. The death of our children is too important to worry about people taking what I say personally.

In recent weeks, every time I see a child walking with a parent or a group of kids playing in a park, I find myself praying for them. “Keep them safe, Lord,” I say. But I know that that little boy or girl may some day be put down by someone’s bullet.

Where is this God I pray to? I am not sure. I know Jesus had a special place in his heart of children. “Let them come to me,” he told the disciples…his ADULT disciples. He knew that the children were under the protection of the adults, so  he addressed them, not the children. Again, where is God? Why does God let such bad things happen to such innocent little persons?

The answer: He doesn’t. God created humans to be his hands and feet in the world. Our passions, when grounded in love, are His passions.

Hunters, keep your guns and bring home the deer or the elk for your family’s table.

Handgun owners, keep your guns but be sure to secure them lest they get into the hands of some curious child or some disturbed person determined to harm others.

Those of you who own military-type weapons that can kill multiple people in second, get rid of them. Donate them to the military. You shouldn’t have one unless you are designated specifically to use them in defense of the country.

If you believe that criminals and others who have been known to cause harm to others should not be able to have a gun, then support background checks and red-flag laws…THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE FOR!

If you believe this is about mental illness, support the hiring of counselors in schools and funding for mental health services and drug and alcohols treatment programs.

And anyone else, if you think this is not your problem, then turn off the news so you don’t have to see the bodies of children torn apart week after week.

If you are person that is not disturbed by what is happening to American’s children, then you are one that worries me.

 

As I continue to read about writing presidents in Author in Chief, I am struck by the fact that these writers were massive readers. I have to remember that, so far, these men lived at a time when there was no TV nor any of the forms of information that we get through our computers and phones. Not only did books satisfy curiosity but they were the main source for education and entertainment.

I thought this morning, I wonder how many readers we have in this world today? I am not talking about literacy as most people understand it as the ability to read. I mean, how many people actually read. For me, reading is what informs my opinion of things. It seems to me that, in today’s world, lack of information doesn’t do much to keep people from having opinions.

Since Covid started, we have  been let into the homes of those being interviewed on TV news. I can’t help but notice that almost without exception, the backdrop for these folks consists most often of book cases. Guess what? I will often approach my screen to see the titles of the books. I guess I am trying to judge whether this person’s opinion is well founded.

I don’t have much more to add. To the presidents I have mentioned thus far, I will add that Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were known to be avid readers. As the stories move into the more modern times, it will be interesting to see how many of our leaders qualify.

Today in Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and The Books They Wrote, I read about Ulysses Grant who served as Lincoln’s leading general during the Civil War. I was already familiar with his story. He wrote his memoir during his last days as he was dying of throat cancer, the last page being completed as he let life go. I loved this little bit I read this morning:

“I never thought of acquiring rank in the profession I was educated for,” he wrote to (his physician) – and yet he became a decorated general. Grant continued: “I certainly never had the ambition or taste for political life; yet I was twice President of the United States. If any one had suggested the idea of my becoming an author, as they frequently did, I was not sure whether they were making sport of me or not. I have now written a book.”

Grant just became my favorite president.

 

I don’t know how your life has been effected since Trump came along. Before the election of 2016, I didn’t really know much about him. I don’t follow the rich and famous because I find them boring. For me, rich is meaningless. particularly as a reason to be popular. Give me character any day as a reason to pay attention to someone.

I never supported Trump. I didn’t even have to know what his policies were for me not to like him. Here are my reasons:

1. He was unkind, even abusive in his rhetoric. My first introduction to him before he ran for office was a scene from The Apprentice in which he shamed a woman who failed to win whatever it was she was competing for. It was awful and it felt crushing to watch. There was nothing he could do after that to redeem himself.
2. He was dishonest. There are many excuses for not telling the truth. Among these are…just joking…not having all the facts…everybody does it…trying to achieve a good end…it is just a little white lie…not hurting anybody. None of these hold any water with me.
3. He was paranoid. He couldn’t seem to handle anyone disagreeing with him – anyone!. You were either 100% with him or !00% against him. Worse, those against him he treated as enemies and set out to destroy them.
4. He was known to screw people for his own benefit. He claimed to be a great business man, but there was a trail of money he owed to contractors and workers that somehow managed to stay out of the headlines during the election process.
5. He was sleezy. People who supported him didn’t seem to mind his treatment of women, even how he talked about them, but I did. He made me squirm. I thought that I would never allow him to be around my granddaughters if given the opportunity.

   No matter what I thought or felt, Trump became our president and served his four years. I don’t agree with all of what Biden is doing but he isn’t any of the above and that helps me to relax.

If we could say goodbye to Trump and move on, that would be great, but it isn’t happening. I am not talking about his control over his a party or anything like that. I am talking about the effect he has had on us, all of us. I don’t know about you, but I am struggling to remember how much I liked certain people before Trump came along. At one time it didn’t concern me whether a person was a conservative or liberal. There are definite political differences in my family, but we don’t allow these differences to get in the way of relationships. Don’t get me wrong. There was a time when our family was indeed nasty when it came to politics. There were some heated arguments. But over time it became apparent that we needed to make a choice to either let go and allow others to believe differently or to ruin the family. We chose love and respect. What little discussion there is about politics today, family members choose respect over trying to prove they are rights. Unfortunately, not all families have managed to find this level of acceptance.

Families are not the only communities impacted by this negative spirit of which I speak. A change has come over the country. Political parties don’t just disagree -there is genuine hatred between people. People are being threatened. Some have been physically harmed. The attack on the Capital Building on January 6 is one thing, but the continued threats to the members of congress and their families and the concerted effort to “punish” those who don’t agree is sick. I am seeing in the political world, national and state, all of the above traits of our former president. He left behind a poison and we are all effected by it.

I am genuinely worried about the families, neighborhoods, our country and the world at large. This spiral downward feels evil. I fear more people suffering, even being killed. To me there is only one answer: Jesus preached love, love with NO EXCEPTION! Remember “Love thy enemy”? Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King taught us how to disagree without violence. All of the major religions preach the Golden Rule as a guide to living in this world where others are different from ourselves.

It seems over-simplistic: LOVE. I remember the words of a song, “Love isn’t Love until you give it away” Love as an idea is worthless. We each need to grab hold of it and figure out how to apply it. Change our thinking. Stop the judgment,  Act kindly. Don’t just avoid abuse, but avoid abusive language. Don’t gossip. Don’t hold grudges. Show gratitude. Help those who are different from us.

As for political news, I now avoid listening to angry and judgmental rhetoric even by those who hold the same political position as you do. There are liberal news shows I no longer watch, not because I disagree with what is being reported, but because of the cynicism, sarcasm, and judgment in the voices of the hosts. I find they have the power to increase my anxiety level and throw me into a fearful stance.

I hope and pray we pull out of this dark place. I am working on it.