I've noticed lately that people who have a tendency to weigh-in on political blogs/stories/etc. are those with the strongest opinions. And maybe sometimes crazy. (Plantboy found one the other day slamming the "comunist public eduacatoin" system. Spelling from the original.) Reasoned discussions are getting harder to come by, though I dearly love them. I feel like throwing in the towel entirely when a friend, an actual friend, basically announced to the world on my Facebook page that people who didn't see Romney as the one to save us from ourselves just hadn't prayed enough about it. Okay, that is maybe a little bit dramatic . . . but any implication that my spirituality is in question because I'm an Obama supporter is just really not okay. And I wish members of the Church would just STOP IT. And I also am sorry to those Romney supporters out there if I have made you to feel that wasn't okay. I am sorry if my criticisms at times have crossed over from problems with him as a candidate or his positions into problems with members of his voting bloc. Members of the Church need to STOP THAT too.
And along with things we are stopping, how about dropping some of that gloom-and-doom last days stuff we hear in Sunday school in exchange for optimism, hope and joy. Contrary to whatever some people think, I don't come to Church to feel worse about my neighbors or terrified about raising my children. And I think most of my neighbors are pretty good folks . . . and I have no idea what (or if any) religion they are. We focus so much on what is OUT THERE, but the scriptures tell us the Church was never destroyed by what was out there, only by what was inside.
Just yesterday we were riding our bikes and rode through pile of crunchy leaves and I felt unbelievably happy to be alive at this time, in this place, with these kids and with that sound. Whenever we talk about getting back to the "good old days" let's at least be realistic about what life looked like then. Few opportunities for women. No voting rights. No community diversity. Uncertain air and water and food supplies. Education for some, but no for all. Work from sun up to sun down just to feed your family. No laws to protect women from male piggishness; which, let's face it, has been a part of humanity since the discovery of sex. Sanctioned segregation. Again, if we are to talk about some fictional return to Mayberry, let's remind ourselves that it really is fiction.
I've also noticed that mom-blogs with the most hits and responses are those that tend toward pictures of cute new mommies throughout pregnancy, book reviews, recipes, fashion tips and decorating ideas. Don't get me wrong; I like these blogs too. But I hope we aren't losing our chance to say something important because there are things easier to think about than hard things. Conversely, I hope I don't lose my chance to enjoy life because my head is always filled with the hard things.
On these musings I'm going to close by saying that I'm not going to post anything political here or on Facebook until the election. You know my views and for the most part I know yours. TamathyC said that we don't post to convince (how often does THAT happen), but to know we aren't alone. You have taught me to know that I'm not alone. That there is place for me in the culture of my choice. It is just that the opposition voices are getting too loud, and sometimes too personal. I just think I can't stand up as a target anymore. Of course, I'm still happy to have a private and reasonable conversation with any one of you. You know where to find me.
6 comments:
You're not alone. I share many of your opinions. But I don't like to talk about politics on Facebook or on my blog. I guess that makes me a coward but I don't care :) I do love reading your blog no matter what you post
I have to say, I was totally flabbergasted by that comment. You and one other friend both shared the Brooks article. I am a regular reader of his columns, and I listen to him and E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post every Friday on NPR. I have a not-so-secret crush on the man.
What I found most interesting on the comment stream on FB was that the comments were not really related to what Mr. Brooks said - in short, that Romney insulted his own base with his comments and it was yet another sign of an undisciplined campaign. The comments, though, were right back to whether Romney's tax ideas (which haven't really been specified, despite a lot of pressure) are better for the nation then Obama's. To me, the comments were just not at all about the article. I saw the same thing happen on my other friend who shared the same piece.
Also, did you hear Mr. Brooks on Friday on NPR? (You are probably not as devoted to tuning in weekly. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I love Fridays because that is the day the garbage truck comes, which I love because Ike loves, AND that is the day of Brooks and Dionne.) Anyway, Brooks said Romney's problem is that when it all boils down to it, he is not an ideologue, but he's running in an election when he has to pretend to be. This makes him seem insincere, in part because he is. I thought it was a very interesting point.
Amen to that. I made a comment very similar to what you said during Sunday school a couple of weeks ago. Immediately, a couple of people responded "oh, but in the scriptures it says blah blah blah". They had, very obviously, completely missed my point. But then several other people came up to me after church and thanked me for the comment I made. I was glad to not feel so alone, like I sometimes do here. I have had to actually block some people on FB because I just couldn't stand the political rants anymore. It's sad, really. I'm looking forward to the election being over with.
I hear you, sister. Genuine, respectful discussion is refreshing and often enlightening. Rants are neither.
I'm with Doreen - I'm eager for the whole thing to just be over with. I'd probably feel that way even more keenly if I had a TV and was dodging mud each time I turned it on. Sigh.
Check out these articles.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/25/harry-reid-mitt-romney-mormonism_n_1913356.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregory-a-prince-phd/mitt-romney-is-not-the-face-of-mormonism_b_1897404.html
I still support Mitt, but as time goes on I'm losing faith in him, he's run terrible campaign.
I've read both of those Nate; they are very good. I think the best thing about our "Mormon Moment" isn't Mitt at all, but the many voices we have spoken with in our public discourse.
And we all know that you really wanted Ron Paul. :)
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