Why is Everything All or Nothing?
This country has become a country of you either identify with this or that, you support one but not the other, and belief is real or fake. We seem hell bent to force people to choose, and our middle ground continues to shrink as a result. Others decide the issue instead of us taking issue with something. One issue will land you in this camp or that camp. For many of us, not having an opinion puts you into a worse arena of not caring or having an opinion versus an affirmation of opinion and you must not have researched to have an opposing decision or opinion. I have long felt most issues have levels of attribute. We’re either attracted or repel. I have many issues supporting my gladness that I no longer manage people and know I made the right decision in retiring. This pronoun stupidity is one I would have gotten myself in trouble over. Abortion and women’s health care rights are controversial, and I still reside in the middle ground on some of it although there are more and more reason pulling me left and not right. Why is this gun an assault weapon and this one not? Why do we have Red and Blue States and how many colors are there? I now understand we have purple ones, but are any orange or green? Who decides all of this bullshit?
Yesterday, two of my daughters and my wife took a stance that health care was a strong enough issue on its own and should prevent someone else, not them, from accepting that a woman could still be attracted to move to Texas. Their stand has been deep-rooted long before abortion, being at the top of their list of why Texas is a scourge land is not worthy of any acceptance. The discussion quickly morphed into a discussion of whether Texas has a total ban on abortion or not. My viewpoint was the laws that had been passed, my downfall was not staying current on a couple of new laws that essentially does make for a ban on abortion. Ok, I don’t have a problem in being proven incorrect or admitting I’m wrong, but I still believe aspects of the argument are true for me. At the end of the day, and I hate that phrase, one daughter sends me proof of her notion of the law. Perfect, hard evidence, I like it, but the real argument was about a woman choosing to move to Texas in 2024. I think for her sake and with total understanding of why a huge issue with abortion and women’s health would be a showstopper in considering Texas. Of course, I never asked whether she would or wouldn’t move here, I have never held any belief she would even long before the ban on abortion and impact on women’s health decisions being made. What I had said via a discussion of one of the other daughters was that I didn’t think the politics of that daughter put it at a critical point of no go or go. Heck, I have no real idea, but I have been pretty good at reading people by things they say and do. In the end, I do love the fact that her strong conviction is just that, her strong conviction. It doesn’t take away from the fact that women move here everyday that obviously have stronger convictions in other areas of consideration. I will close this thought out by saying if I want a very liberal viewpoint on any topic, I don’t have to go far. I’m not a democrat, and I certainly don’t agree with the totality of Roe v Wade. What I do think is that there should be a ban on abortion once a life is sustainable on its own outside of the womb without connection via the umbilical cord, with the exception of grave danger to the mother’s health. This should remove any secondary statement for the rape and incest clause because that decision should have been made long before viability to sustain life on its own. That is the part that Roe v Wade failed on. Unfortunately, SCOTUS failed this country in overturning the law based on politics guiding its decision instead of the constitutionality of it. That is how it feels the decision was derived for me and I’m sure for many because most of the news outlets told us so and therefore must be so.
With Colorado finding it unconstitutional to allow Trump on their ballot, as well as Maine, doesn’t sit perfectly well for me. Although I’m humored by it as I can’t stand The Donald, I still believe people should have the right to decide. On the other hand, if SCOTUS decides to uphold Colorado and Maine decisions, then I would expect other states should follow and the current case against Trump should be a slam dunk. As of January 5, 2024, the Supreme Court has only agreed to hear the case with oral argument to begin February 8. We all stand on pause until that deadline, but it should make it clear where SCOTUS would stand on appeals for other court cases determining whether there were violations against the 3rd and 14th Amendments by Trump.
At one point over the last few months, I had decided that it was the younger generation that had flipped on living in the grey area on controversial issues. There were so many issues that generations clashed on. Gun control laws, legal rights for gay/lesbian and everything else seemingly lumped into that, women’s health, abortion rights, Christianity, pronouns, etc. The younger generation seemed more accepting of people and issues and older generations seemed more hardline in view. Now I believe everyone has taken a hard stance on everything, much like the huge political divide in this country. It feels an odd place to be when you have an understanding that each camp has valid points. There aren’t many of us that seem to think in the grey area anymore.
I mention Christianity and belief and maybe I would like to believe it plays a little into some of this divide. From the highpoints of Christian identity in the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies of near 90%, the percentage has been on a steady decline to present day coming in somewhere between 40% and 60%. I understand the whole movement against the believer becoming the questioner of faith. I certainly fall into that category. But again, why wouldn’t it fall victim to this along with any hard conviction way of thinking? It had really seemed tolerance had become more a mainstay of life and as long as it didn’t directly impact you, then let thrive. But then, as always happens, tolerance becomes expectation and then expectation becomes requirement with hard lines being formed yet again. We people can fuck up anything given the chance to do so. The problem with Christianity or any other religion since Christianity is really one of the infant religions in the world, it bases its beliefs and teachings from books and doctrine over two thousand years old and from countries that we have never been able to align our lifestyles or ideologies with. Why wouldn’t Christianity fall victim as anything else that hadn’t evolved?
Pronouns, what the fuck? Really? If someone wants to identify as a bug, then they should be squashed. I’m a tree, then stand in the corner and shut the hell up. I know those aren’t examples of pronouns, but that is what real pronoun identify makes me feel. I looked up lists and lists such as: 78 gender pronouns for LGBT, 30 examples of pronouns, 25 most common pronoun, 12 personal pronouns, and what the fuck is Ze Zir pronoun for gender-neutral? Thank the lord of less common faith that I no longer manage these divisionary identifiable idiots that have been given an inch. Give me back my mile.
Long thinking I’m fairly progressive in the latter half of my life, but after yesterday I feel more like I’m a dinosaur. One thing is for sure, those that have a strong conviction towards any issue, belief or faith seem to be able to sleep better at night. Me, I’m about as confused as ever. I no longer seem to vote on issues I believe in but more in defense of someone or something. I don’t have a black and white stance on anything I can think of as years of remaining silent have done nothing but make me question myself. I used to gladly jump into an argument to defend my belief, now I seem to fall into traps accidentally and have to fight to keep my head above water in saying the right thing in hopes of making it just go away. I look for bail out points and feel I’m often saying the same thing but am still be given point after point seemingly trying to change the way I represent myself. None of us like to be told we’re wrong for how we think. How could another person determine not having lived one day in my shoes. I honestly know I must make someone else feel the same by just trying to defend myself. It’s complicated for us all; I get it and we are trying to make the world better for those we raise. But then we find out they don’t have the same opinion as we do when they are thirty-something, you think why did I put so much effort into trying to ensure they understood me while they were growing up. Maybe we should jut stick to making sure they have the freedom of choice instead of trying to steer them in a particular direction. Most of the time you just become a frustrated parent by the time you’re sixty because that is what all kids do, they rebel. Maybe to varying degrees, but they all do.
Here is what I do know. I know that I love trucks. How does any man get by without one? That was a joke question for city boys. A man should always have a pocketknife. I love owning guns, the history and family heritage of it and I would never do anything to destroy that. I love to fish, hunt, and camp and am annoyed I’ve allowed myself to be misdirected to other things less important to me. I want to consider more but become myself more in the process. I want to take a stand on where and what I believe and then stick to it. I’m tired of pleasing others at the sacrifice to me. I want to be fair and tolerant but not be taken advantage of in the process. I think it is time for me to stand independent and identify bullshit for what it is, bullshit, and this world is full of it. A criminal is a criminal, and it is ok for punishment to be hard and less considerate to their rights. That is part of doing the wrong thing and paying for it. A new controversial death penalty method does not have to be safe; would not that be counterproductive to causing death. But again, we should not use on people as a guinea pig. I love reading good westerns and being romantic to the lifestyle although I will never be one. Mostly, above all else, I want to be able mumble my opinion semi-loudly with a soft-landing for those that disagree. Heck with that, I don’t want to have to care if I hurt someone’s feelings, what’s the point? They are just going to try to make sure I feel wrong about doing it and somehow I should care instead of accepting that we just don’t see eye to eye and that has to be okay. You don’t need my acceptance of you, look in the mirror, that person is the only person you have to answer too.