Politics
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Keep your light
This, my dear, is the greatest challengeto being alive.To witness injustice in the world and not allow it to consume our light.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh There’s no way around it but through it. Unless you’re in denial, it’s been a difficult week for everyone. The ongoing post-election analysis isn’t helping nearly half of our wounded country, nor is it mending the broken personal relationships that were damaged by years of nefarious, name-calling politics. As a good friend put it, “Things aren’t going to feel normal for a long time.” But we can’t let fear or despair “consume our light,” as today’s quote suggests. All week, I’ve been talking with loved…
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Get out and vote!
“Every election is determined by the people who show up.” ~Larry Sabato, political scientist Tomorrow is a critical, history making Election Day. There’s a palpable sense of anxiety hovering like a thundercloud over everything. So much is at stake. These are stormy times, and ours is a volatile, divided nation. Political attack ads on TV are uglier than the back end of a baboon, and for that reason alone, some of us will be relieved when it’s over. That said, I’m always shocked and disappointed when I learn that many people haven’t voted yet — and don’t even plan to — including a couple of my relatives. Whether they’re uninformed,…
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Is freedom of the press at risk?
“Free speech is not speech you agree with, uttered by someone you admire. It’s speech that you might find stupid, selfish, dangerous, uninformed or threatening, spoken and sponsored by someone you despise, fear or ridicule. Free speech can be unpopular, contentious and sometimes ugly. It reflects a tolerance for differences. If everyone agreed on all things, we wouldn’t need it.” – Robert J. Samuelson, The Washington Post, 2014 As an American and a professional journalist, I deeply value freedom of speech. I feel fortunate to live in a country in which we all have the right to express our opinions and beliefs on highway billboards and lawn signs as well as in…
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Crossing the not-so-great divide
“Being nice to people you agree with can be a piece of cake, but if we’re only spending time around buddies who share our beliefs, we aren’t learning how to extend kindness and understanding to those who we don’t see eye to eye with. Practicing empathy across divides requires occasionally and willingly crossing those divides.” ~Rebekah Brandes, Nice News Last week I talked with another friend who’s on the verge of cutting ties with folks who don’t support her favored presidential candidate. If “the other candidate” wins, well, that’s the end of those relationships, she implied. Sadly, it’s not an uncommon conversation, given that we’re in the heat of the…
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Courage, kindness, and lawn signs
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” ~Rumi Last month, I retrieved a nonpartisan lawn sign from my garage and placed it near the side entrance of our home. The sign, shown above, simply encourages us to “BE KIND” — a gentle piece of advice we could all use during a terribly divisive election season. But until last week, I swore I wasn’t going to display a sign for a presidential candidate on my lawn this year. I had dozens of reasonable excuses for that decision, starting with the fact that I didn’t want to offend my neighbors with opposing viewpoints. I…
