Tag Archives: politics

Even If You Can’t Have A Good Day . . .

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Someone made a Walgreens employee cry last night. I learned this after the employee thanked me for being nice. And then her lip started to tremble as she began to tell the story of why she was so emotional about my being nice.

The world is a rough place on a good day. There’s no need to go around making it harder for others.

And honestly, lots of people have been doing their best to ruin my day by forcing their politics on me and by being cruel and judgmental toward others not like them. There’s no need for that either. Having an opinion doesn’t entitle you to beat others over the head with it. It doesn’t entitle you to be cruel to a store employee who has done nothing to you other than dare to breathe the same air as you.

Service employees deserve your respect and they don’t deserve to be made to cry on the job. This particular employee is young and probably needs to toughen up. All the more reason for grown adult customers to show a little compassion and empathy as they try to remember their own first job and what it’s like to be just starting out in the world.

Half of what’s wrong with this country is the overall lack of empathy. An awful lot of our political leaders and wannabe leaders have no empathy, no character and no decency about them.

Don’t be like them.

Show some character. Be kind to others. When the world feels dark, be the light you need and help others around you.

Even if you can’t have a good day, don’t go ruining someone else’s.

Please be clear that I believe most of my readers here to be good and decent folk. I’ve heard from so many of you over the years and I’m confident that you should not be on the receiving end of my rant. But this is actually a condensed version of what’s been on my mind and what I feel needs to be said. At this point, I could almost write a book on all the darkness I have witnessed lately.

Every person reading this has likely been on the receiving end of someone else’s judgement and meanness. I hope rather than feel chastised, you can commiserate!

Friends, be happy, be well and look after your mental health. You deserve it.

I’ll Believe It When I See It

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“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

This is a statement people once used all the time but it’s as useful today as telling someone to roll down the car window or to let their fingers do the walking. Remember when you used to be able to slam the phone down when you were mad? 

I’ll believe it when I see it is a phrase you can still use some in real life. “I’ll believe he will quit smoking when I see it” or “l’ll believe he’s an honest politician when I see it,” are phrases that come to mind. 

But technology has almost banished this phrase from my vocabulary because you really can’t believe anything you see when it comes to photos, video and even voiceovers on television and the internet. 

It’s easy to edit and create photos and videos to represent anything you like. Artificial Intelligence has made this process literally as easy as pie. Mangled up facts and opinions get passed off as truth and facts provided by sources that are increasingly unreliable. Actors like Tom Hanks have their voice and likeness stolen by unscrupulous companies that are peddling all manner of goods and services. You can manipulate any picture or video to look like anything you please using a cheap app on your phone. 

Now when you answer the phone, it’s hard to know if you’re even talking to a real person and even the voices of friends and family can be replicated. 

At least in my state, there is absolutely no regulation of political advertising. That means parties, candidates and their pacs can say anything they want, edit videos of people speaking in any way they like and misrepresent facts in whatever way best suits their interests. 

I have seen so many smart people sharing things on social media that are blatantly untrue, false representations and terrible click bait. It occurs to me that much of it gets shared because they want it to be true – even if they know deep down that it isn’t. 

All of this garbage impacts our minds and elections. It impacts how we interact with our neighbors and how we view community leaders, organizations and churches. Even our vocabulary is changing as we have added new insults and transformed words and phrases with new meanings. 

As we delve deeper into this strange new world, I find myself constantly checking my own thoughts and biases. Instead of relying on one source for news and information, I look at many. 

As the political season heats up, we can expect this all to worsen. Unfortunately, the fate of the nation hangs in the balance between lies and truth. We all have a responsibility to focus on the facts and to stop the sharing of misrepresentations and lies. Whether it’s political or just an ad that sounds like Morgan Freeman selling carpets, let’s all do our part to slow down the flow of bad information.

Loyalty

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Marietta, Ohio is the place to be if you wish to see the American flag on display.

On this 248th anniversary of the founding of this country, I am reminded that my loyalty lies with the United States of America and the flag that flies over this land. Not with a political party. Not with one man. Certainly not with the fast and loose playing with the facts that appeals to so many.

This flag. My flag. My country.

Long may she wave.

The Bernie Meme

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Can we talk about how Bernie Sanders has become internet gold this week?

In case you missed it, a photographer captured this basic image of Bernie at the inauguration. It was cold and Bernie had come prepared to stay warm in a heavy coat and handmade mittens that were a gift from a New Jersey school teacher.

He looks crabby here but the photographer says he really just looked cold. He also stood out, appearing surprisingly casual and comfortable in a sea of more formally dressed attendees.

Nonetheless, the internet got ahold of the image and generated something completely unexpected. He has been photoshopped into every imaginable scenario from sea to shining sea. He’s been spotted at Niagara Falls, at the the Grand Canton and at the Rutherford B. Hayes historic site here in Ohio. The pop culture references have been fabulous as he’s popped up in everything from Mayberry to a Bob Ross painting with his “happy little mittens.”

Even local businesses like antique stores and book shops have their own version of the Bernie.

Joann Fabrics had a fabulous take on it too as they hock their supplies to those wishing to make their own mittens.

But none are as perfect as this Big Bang Theory reference.

It’s funny. Right?

But it’s more than just funny pictures on the internet.

Hear me out.

My Facebook feed is packed with a bizarre combination of people who believe a vast array fact and fiction. From the left to the far right, I can point to people who don’t agree on even the most basic concepts like who won the election and whether the insurrectionists are heroes or criminals.

But they’re all sharing the Bernie memes!

The Bernie meme has become some kind of weird unifier.

And why not? We all have that cranky grandpa or uncle who wears his thirty year old jacket and looks cranky everywhere he goes.

We all know a Bernie!!!

(I hope you read that in a Bernie yell!)

And we can all get behind the silliness because we just need something to make us laugh.

Scout even got in on the action.

Who knew that we just needed a practical New Englander to don some homemade mittens and slump on a metal folding chair to curb the feuds as we all giggle over the ridiculous?

And it is ridiculous but that’s what makes it fun.

In case you’re interested, Bernie is selling a commemorative sweatshirt and all the proceeds will benefit Vermont Meals On Wheels, an excellent cause. Click here to see that or to order.

Deep Breath

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It has been a rough week here in America.

A roller coaster has had nothing on our politics for the last few years but never more so than this week. We clearly are witnessing history so I have labored to balance my desire to stay informed with my need for peace of mind.

Today, sanity needs to win. It’s Saturday. Let’s try to have a good weekend.

Turn off the news. Shut down Facebook. Stop listening to the rantings of conspiracy theorists.

We can’t fix the world and if arguing politics with your neighbor for the last five years hasn’t changed them yet, today won’t matter either. You can, however, help yourself. So go do that.

Take a deep breath.

Go outside

DO SOMETHING.

The forecast today is for thirties and maybe some sun. Good enough for me. I’m going to find a place to walk or take a hike in the woods.

Afterward, maybe I’ll clean out a closet or curl up in my new chair with a book and hot chocolate. Maybe I’ll listen to vintage records while making pancakes to freeze for some other morning. Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” is in my LP collection somewhere and reminds me of this image above. It’s from a walk at a local park last month.

I could play with the watercolors I got for Christmas or make some sweet potato chips and have a movie marathon with the cat. The shower needs cleaned and it wouldn’t hurt to clean out the fridge.

I know I won’t be shopping and spending money as this is just day nine of my No Spend Challenge. Luckily, the list of possibilities for a winter Saturday around home is endless!

Take care and enjoy this day. Our problems can wait till tomorrow.

A Patriotic Shadow

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This is from last Saturday’s adventure through Ross and Highland counties. The flag is fabulous but so is the tree’s shadow.

This week has been a bumpy one, stressful even, as our country has lived under a shadow of uncertainty. Our modern world has made us more impatient than ever and has shortened our memory too. Many years we haven’t known the outcome on election night. Although I’m not sure how long it has been since we were left hanging in the balance for this many days.

I’m guessing the Pony Express was involved.

I have a lot of thoughts on this topic – not on the subject of politics so much as observances on human behavior.

My own Facebook feed is full of people who do not understand that election laws differ by state or that counting every legal vote is, indeed, the patriotic thing to do. The Electoral College also seems a mystery to some and the conspiracy theories are running rampant.

It’s an indictment of the average American’s grasp of their own government.

I’m hopeful for many things this morning.

I’m hopeful that we’ll have an answer today and that we can begin to move forward and prepare for the next four years. I’m hopeful that we can begin to heal from the trauma of late.

And honestly, I’m hopeful that a few of those swing states that have held us up will learn a thing or two from their neighbors and be better prepared in four years.

Meanwhile, we are expecting a beautiful seventy degree fall day here in Ohio. Despite the problems our nation faces, the sun will rise and set again today. The days aren’t as long as we would like so let’s make the best of the sunshine we have available.

Take a deep breath, relax those shoulders, turn off the news and go find something else to do. This could be one of the last beautiful fair weather days of the season and you don’t want to waste it.