I seldom post about or talk politics. Or religion for that matter. I don't have energy for debate or even discussion. It can drain me. So I avoid such for my mental and emotional and physical health.
Actually I don't like to debate, even if I had the energy. There was a time I did. Maybe when I saw things more black and white. But was it really debate, or me just trying to change the other person's mind? Maybe that's what debate is, at least in part.
Things I think about.
I lean pretty far left in my ideal world. I wish people could freely migrate. I wish money didn't exist. I don't like guns for killing. I wish we didn't kill animals for consumption (though I am not a vegetarian, so that's hypocritical of me). And that when we do kill them, it shouldn't be for sport. And that those we kill to eat should be treated humanely. But then how can killing another for my own consumption ever be humane?
Things I think about.
But my far-left leaning ideal isn't practical and will never work in this world; greed doesn't allow for such. So I vote with that in mind. Maybe crimes against humanity are in there too - as far as my ideal not being practical. And as far as peace without weapons. But then, outside of severe mental illness, what are the reasons people resort to crime?
Things I think about.
Usually my political talks are with Hubby, Daughter, Daughter's partner, Son, and one friend. Not all of us are politically left-leaning. That said, none are far right; but rather, more middle-right. A couple of us even voted for Trump, but those couple aren't Trump loyalists. So, we have one of those mixed families. And we still love each other and respect each other. Politically-mixed families. One reason I wish Roseanne hadn't been cancelled (though I never watched a lot of Roseanne) and one reason I like Tim Allen's show, Last Man Standing.
Things I think about.
So, what was I gonna write about? Oh yeah...that I seldom post about or talk politics.
But, I want to put some of my thoughts out there regarding some of the stuff in the news. Even though I seldom voice my thoughts (except in private conversation as noted above), I do read, both right and left, and center. I sign a few petitions, and I send emails from time to time to my representatives. How much influence those small actions have, I don't know. That said, I am a believer that enough small actions combined, can influence. And I vote. Before I vote I read up on the people and the issues on whom and which I'll be voting.
I have lost sleep over Trump and his policies. Especially the children in the holding centers. Especially the littlest ones - five and under. When I read the words of a pediatrician who toured one of the twelve-and-under facilities, I think it was in Texas, and learned the caregivers could not touch the children to comfort them, I was horrified. Yes, horrified. I thought, What the fuck is wrong with these people!?! "These people" referring mainly to the policy makers. From what I gathered the caregiver wanted to pick up and comfort the child that was in distress that the pediatrician was witnessing at that moment, but the pediatrician was told that touching the children was not allowed. Surely though, they could touch babies? I mean, if diapers need changing, etc., they have to touch them. Maybe it was limited to what was deemed only "necessary" in the physical. (I couldn't find the article I initially read, but I found this on which, in the context of comforting the child, states "...we were told that they couldn't pick up the children and hold them.".)
That night I barely slept.
Trump harks about crime committed by people who are in our country illegally. I really question how much crime is committed by those people versus us legals, proportionally speaking. I don't think any of the mass shootings have been by illegal migrants. I think most mass shootings have been committed by white males. People are murdered daily in the US. I speculate most of those murders are committed via gunshot. How many are committed by illegals? Recent crime in my local area isn't committed by illegals. If it is, that isn't reported on the local news.
I've read a bit to try to get a grasp on asylum seekers, who, from what I gather, have recently been charged as criminals when in the past they were given a court date to reappear to decide something about their status. Trump stated only 3% return for their hearings. I read elsewhere, that listed a government source (I'm pretty sure it was a government source), that 75% return, if I understood what I read correctly. (I can't find the article I initially read, but here's one with similar information.) Trump lied stating we have 1000s of immigration judges. For him to not allow two-hundred-something judges to be added to the three-hundred-something we already have so that these cases can be expedited and so that the current children may be more quickly reunited with their families, is cruel.
I think Trump's bullying and degrading rhetoric has been a catalyst for both the left and the right to ramp up their own dehumanizing rhetoric. I hope that doesn't sound sanctimonious. Maybe it does. But, still, his normalization of such is toxic.
He so reminds me of Craig Martindale, one of the past presidents of The Way International.
I was recently updating my Way story again and came across a line about Martindale's obsession with "keeping the Household pure." "Household" refers to followers of The Way. And it was an obsession. Sniffing out any gay people and then kicking them out, sometimes literally. One Corps guy told me that he caught some gays in the act in a bathroom at the Rock of Ages and used his cowboy boots, literally kicking them. Sometimes folks weren't even gay and the decision was based on suspicion and so-called revelation from God. Kicking out people, again by revelation, for not following any number of "directives," as The Way called them.
When I read the line in my story about Martindale's purity obsession, Trump's toxic Nationalism came to mind. No, it's not identical, but the mindset and some of the tactics are similar.
I went along with Martindale's mark-and-avoid. One time I even called our leadership on a believer, who was a friend of mine, and reported her for having debt. She was going to the Advanced Class and believers were supposed to be out of debt to go.
I did that.
I sent back a letter in an envelope to an ex-Way friend and wrote something like "mark-and-avoid" on the outside of the envelope. If I recall correctly, I didn't even open the envelope. I did call our immediate leadership and asked what to do and followed his directions.
I did that.
I can't think of other incidents at the moment. I'm sure there are more.
My did-thats were wrong. They were cruel. They were dehumanizing, treating people as things. All to support a doctrine and practice that, at the time, I believed was God-ordained and the right thing to do. It was a slow process to get me to that point. I made little compromises along The Way.
Well, that isn't what I planned on writing. I was going to write more about politics and some of the current issues/events I've read about and my thoughts about such.
*~*
I just searched my blog to find a specific post about Trump. In my search I discovered that I've posted more than I thought about our current politics and Trumpism.
Black-and-white thinking brought to mind a Bruce Hornsby song which, to my recollection, I heard for the first time a few months ago. This video brought me tears, mostly thankful ones...
~*~
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