I nod with a smile and feel a sense of wonder over how did it ever become an issue to not talk about things that make us uncomfortable or uneasy????
Ever since we are born we are asking "WHY?"
(If our parents don't run out of patience for us as we grow up asking "Why? Why? Why?" then they will try to answer as best as they can but if they are not talking about anything real then their answers become stale.)
If I socialize with people who get so worked up and angry, they start yelling in my face for being a socialist hippy I am not uncomfortable, I am not offended at all....maybe because they all remind me of being back home, I grew up in the heat of disagreement and challenge. To say what you honestly think was a very brave move in a big family of diversity. I saw at the young age of 10 just how crazy it all can be to talk about politics with Grandma crying and the adults shooting facts or fiction like a invisible bebe gun over the long Thanksgiving dinner table. The red face yelling and the calm cold responses of clearly not liking the other's opinions I found myself thinking about everything I heard and learned while watching off to the side, as a 3rd party witnesses I could see through all my love for that family moment in how each person made a great point and had a good idea in all of us wanting the same things for our nation.....I realized back then watching every dramatic moment that in not taking it all so personal allowed me to hear the other side of the coin toss in who is our president. Since I loved all my aunts and uncles, since I enjoyed the play time with my cousins if they had an opinion or thought about money, religion or politics I listened and admired them for being honest in sharing with me. This is how I have always been, I know what I think or feel but it's not my job to make everyone else see these things in the same light that I do.....yet not talking about any of it out of fear or out of annoyance then something is lost in our humanity and in our personal growth.
it was November 2000 as I was working my cell phone rang, I looked at the caller I.D. surprise and worry it was my father and he only called me if something bad happened so I answered quickly "Dad?" He replied "Today we vote so make sure you are home before 8pm and I'll take you down to vote...for BUSH." I chuckled and replied "But I really like Ralph Nadar." I knew by saying this he would freak out and I laughed even more as he continued "THIS is why I called you! BUSH is who you vote for,,,,Bush, Bush, Bush. If you vote for Nadar you throw away your vote." I smiled as I held mu phone to my ear in the break room "Okay...okay....see ya tonight then." He replied "Tell everyone ya know to vote for BUSH today. bye."
I shook my head as I hung up and knew I wouldn't do that, I didn't like bullying politics and insisting everyone vote for who I think should win.
I felt clever to of been teasing my father with my Nadar comment, because we didn't have a friendship at all so to tease or to behave like we were friends was my way of trying to let him know I was different from him without being disrespectful or making him mad.
That very next early morning at work I asked "Whose the President?" the older man sitting next to me everyday gave me the whole run down in what was happening between Gore and Bush. It was all so fascinating to me as I listened on in many more questions saying back in annoyance "Well of course I vote for the first time in my life and it can't be an easy win...I have to wonder all week what the hell is going on around here? WHO is the President????"
The other day I realized as I was chatting with some friends about the most magical moment in 2008 when Obama won and we all cheered, sprayed out champagne, jumped up and down hugging and crying arm in arm for joy and feeling such new hope in "YES we CAN!"........yes we can change the world, end bullying hate, and stop stupidity by being apart of this whole new system against greed, against manipulation and to focus our nation more on world peace and equal rights to ALL.......
I sighed loudly in remembering, Now THAT was a great celebrating night in November of 2008!
I will always cherish that memory, it was a perfect moment in history that I got to be so involve and so passionately aware of politics, every cocktail party, every double date dinner and every social event was full of political conversations, religious debates and wise money tips in how we all can be better off in our society. I loved it all so much because it wasn't brutal, it wasn't trashy and it wasn't limiting our intellect.
"So you were an Obama fan?"
I replied back thoughtfully "Not for the 2nd term...in fact I have NEVER voted for a President to take on another 4 years,,,not ever.
Especially If they can't keep their campaign promises in that first 4 years then what makes us think they will be any better in the next 4 years???"
Life is always going to be a bowl of questions, we may even find some answers for things we don't like but it's still the quest in being alive that has us asking "WHY?"
To vote or to not vote, to ask questions or to not ask questions, to belong to a religion or to not belong to a religion is our individual choice, if we don't allow discussions on the topics we do not grow, we do not learn from each other.
To save money or to spend money it's an important choice we make everyday, AND it's a helpful tip to show the next generation how to fix things, how to debate and challenge while remaining respectful and honest.
To understand how things work and how things need to change is be fully focused in this moment right here and now.
Once we get pass the "Us verses THEM." distractions, those who say "I'm going to heaven and you are going to hell." or the "I'm rich and you are poor. because you are lazy and I am not." messages THEN we can get back to supporting our local communities, creating cozy good safe homes for the best life possible in the newest generation to have a better future in creating world peace and putting an end to all abuse.
I like my ideas for the future in understanding that we will always be asking "Can we do better then our parents?" or "Can we fix these problems in our time on earth?"
Maybe it's true, that we will always just be 5 years away from the Utopia that is like a dream world.....
No comments:
Post a Comment