There’s been a lot of upheaval in the news lately.
Hurricanes, fires, mudslides, snowstorms, blizzards, floods. So much. So many images of people suffering. It’s difficult to watch and difficult to process. I wish these people love, healing and hope. Through the suffering, we witness people helping people, reaching out to make sure that their fellow human being can find their way back to some kind of normal.
We can do it! ~ Rosie the Riveter.
“Let’s not turn women into snowflakes.” Condoleezza Rice
There’s other changes as well. Attitudes in the way in which women are treated and have been treated in the past. Women, as all human beings, should be respected. They should never be subjected to feeling as if their opinions don’t matter, face pay inequality or, for God’s sake, never, ever be in a position where they feel as if they have to put out to get in. Ever. I think most of us believe in this very clear aspect of how people should be treated. With decency and respect. I went through that climate in its past heyday. It wasn’t good then and it’s not good now. I do believe that everyone, including male human beings, are innocent until proven guilty. I so hope that statement is taken as a common sense one.
Then we have to listen to those in charge argue about this or that and they do so nonstop. We hear about it relentlessly, so much so, some people say they don’t watch the news anymore.
We are in a perpetual state of he said, he said, she said, he said she said. One person states: “I was there and I heard this!” Another says: “I was there and I did not hear that!”
Who are we to believe? How do we come up with a conclusion if facts from one individual differ from the facts of another? If both say I was there! Believe me!
How do we process this?
This Woman’s View
I’ve lived through several episodes of upheaval having lived on this good Earth for a while. I base my opinions on facts I receive from reputable sources, from what I perceive, see, hear and filter through the lens of my beliefs and core values. That’s what we all do.
Facts are facts. They don’t waver or change. Truth is truth and it always wins. Unlike lies or illusions, facts and truths stay strong. They don’t change to accommodate us.
I am a person of common sense. One who believes that everyone, and I mean everyone, is entitled to their opinion and their unalienable right to believe how they choose to believe. I don’t believe in censorship even if it means someone’s opinion may hurt me or cause me to be uncomfortable. I have the right to walk away, not listen to them and still hold hard and fast to my core beliefs, my values. So does everyone else. Even the ones that I think to myself, how the hell can you think this way? They do because they do and they, like me, are entitled to their opinion. I don’t get to dictate how a person believes and/or feels just as they don’t get to tell me how to believe or feel. That’s what our country is based upon. Freedom.
When I demand “they” believe as I do, when I am intolerant of their views, when I shut down, or yell or name call, or become so dug in to my opinions, I am doing exactly what they are accusing me of doing. I become “them.” When I’m so incensed with my way, I lose sight of the fact that we all are just human beings trying to find our way.
We live in country where each of us can state our opinions, practice a religion or not, pursue happiness, love who we choose to love and enjoy other freedoms.
It appears that what we have lost is kindness and empathy. We have to weigh our words carefully. If we don’t speak the way the climate dictates, we can suffer the consequences of a world-wide platform of bullying. The “us” and “them” sentiment continues to widen. Snarky and mean isn’t working. It isn’t. It’s widening the divide.
We seem to have forgotten how to be nice to each other.
I don’t like this climate. It saddens me. This climate doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of one person, “this side” or “that side.” We are all part of the problem. All of us.
My parents taught me to respect others, to have a sense of decorum. To be polite, nice. I can stand strong in my beliefs with a calm commitment. I can choose to listen, to empathize.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If we give into this climate—name-calling, shaming—this new normal, we are headed for a place where up is down and down is up. That would be a scary place indeed. I believe we don’t have to because I believe that most of us want the same things.
Aren’t we supposed to work together to find a common-good plan in order for us to co-exist and help one another? We are all humans who love, live and die. I’m not a solution expert and I’m not suggesting that a few words in a blog post can change everything. But I really believe it begins with kindness and understanding. That’s a good start to anything.
It seems that we forget our differences when we are put into positions where we have to pull together and help others find their way.
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing anyway and all the time?
As always, if you choose to comment, please do so with respect. This isn’t about name-calling or identifying who said what. It’s not a place for political discussions. It’s a place where I listen to you and you listen to me, (you just did – thank you!) her, or him and we empathize with a heavy emphasis on decency.
I respect and appreciate your opinions.
And yes, I love Dr. Seuss.
UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
–Dr. Seuss, The Lorax