Well! It has been some time since my last posting to the blog, aside from the publication note for my Fantasy trilogy.
Apologies . . .
To catch up, I, like everyone else, have been dealing with the Covid19 pandemic and all the resultant changes to our society. Some have been good. Most have been not so good. Not so good would include the degrading of our national economy, the strong international tensions worldwide, and the enormous amount of distrust growing in the American people.
Groups of people are being even more separated and enclosed within their beliefs than ever, by a very noticeable margin. Each group has its own needs and desires, its own goals and agendas, and too often the people of the group are fighting so hard to maintain and proselytize those needs, goals, and agendas, that they become inured to the needs of any other group. What I am seeing is group isolationism and separatism. This produces not only anxiety, but then aggressions.
I try very hard, very hard indeed, to try to remain apolitical. I do not claim any political group affiliation because they all disgust me with their partisan fighting with other groups. Yeah, I know . . . I am going to take a LOT of heavy-duty disagreement for some of the things I write here.
But, then, anyone who says anything or takes any kind of stance publicly these days immediately becomes the target of dissenters and trolls who wish to tear apart that person’s position and statements. Sometimes, it is not honest dialog or disagreement, but rather the simple act of tearing down someone else for the only benefit of an anger release by tearing them down.
This is my point. There is so much angst and anxiety, distrust and fear, out there in the populace of America, that it is easy to get lost in the resultant mud-slinging. The Internet is filled with haters and trolls who only wish to tear apart others for no other reason than the venting of their own angst and fear. Political parties and their affiliates are doing exactly the same thing . . . isolationism, separatism, lashing out at anything which does not directly support them, and using the American people as their cannon-fodder.
I have spent three years or more, counting the time from the beginning of the pandemic, watching the U. S. government deliberately obfuscate and outright lie about the pandemic and its horrible effects. We all have witnessed the distancing between party lines, and the vehemence of each party arguing against the “other guys”, who are presented as complete morons and liars and criminals. Really? Do our government representatives actually think the common person in this country is so stupid as to believe whatever they say?
My position is that our government is irretrievably broken. Congressmen and Senators blatantly break state and federal laws, and EXPECT to get away with it. They resist prosecuting each other because they do not want to set a precedent in case they get caught at something and might face prosecution themselves. They bend laws to the breaking point, they willingly try to find ways to violate our Constitution and get away with it.
There are no good choices for voting for a representative at any level, any more. There are only what seems to be bad choices, and worse choices . . . or possibly equally poor choices. How can we, as a people, possibly trust our government when we are faced with voting for the “least offensive or less objectionable” choice.
And . . . worst of all . . . we, the people, let them get away with it. I am not pointing fingers here, because I am among the worst of the lot when it comes to letting them get away with it. I try to not vote because my choices are “bad” or “worse”. Or choosing someone of whom I know nothing at all.
I do not do nearly enough research about the prospective candidates. I do not make statements in public where someone might argue with me or take slight and want to escalate to a fistfight or pull a gun and start shooting. I don’t want conflict with my neighbors so I either don’t discuss politics or religion with them, or I make generalized statements which are meant to defuse rather then confront.
I am a horrible person when it comes to this political stuff. I whine about how broken and terrible it is, but I am doing almost nothing to make it better. I just wave my hands in disgust at the news on television, and then try to stay in my own house and backyard as much as humanly possible.
It is a good thing our forefathers, guys like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and all those others, were not afraid of controversy. They may have been afraid, but they forged ahead anyway. Jefferson pointblank talked about the blood of patriots and tyrants being spilled, and how revolution is necessary in the political world as much as violent storms are necessary in the physical world. Despite whatever fear or misgivings they may have felt, they stood up. They ACTED.
Jefferson also addressed the question of who you are, or what you stand for, or how to figure that out if you are really not sure. Many young people are not sure of who they really are, or for what things or ideas they wish to stand. I was like that most of my life. With so many ideas coming at me from so many different and “trusted” sources, which idea was right? Which source could truly be trusted? Especially when so many of the ideas and sources disagreed with each other. How can you figure that out?
Jefferson said, and I paraphrase, if you want to know who you are, don’t just sit around questioning this and thinking about it. Instead, stand up, move, and TAKE ACTION. How you make your decisions, and what actions you take will definitely define you. And if you don’t like the definition, you don’t like what you see . . . turn and take a new direction, take a new action. Repeat, until you like what you see, and respect what you are.
It is exceedingly rare to get it right the first time, so don’t despair. Just keep trying until if feels right. Oh . . . and don’t let anyone else tell you if you are right or if you are wrong. Decide that for yourself based on your choices and actions.
I am taking action just by writing this essay in a space where anyone can read it. And they can respond if they like. Tell me I am right, or tell me I am wrong . . . but give solid reasons for why you think the way you do. Don’t just do a drive-by and call me names before disappearing behind the anonymity of the Internet. That is not fair to either me or you.
I am going to keep trying, too. To find other ways and means to let people around me know where I stand, and why. Maybe I will succeed. Maybe I won’t. But I do promise to try.
Will you try, also?