I'm a news watching, political junkie and Rachel Maddow is my hero. But, after the Wednesday night debates, I refuse to read another word or watch another news program. I can't believe that we as a country have sunk to the level where we celebrate lies and deception. I watched a little red faced man, who doesn't even deserve to stand on the same stage as President Obama, conduct himself in the rudest rant filled with lies performance I've ever seen in a presidential debate. I'm not saying he needed to say please and thank you after every remark but I do expect a man who wants to represent my country and represent The United States of America on the world stage to show some class and decency. Sure, the whole spectacle was done to whip up "the base". They loved it! I'm not surprised, look at the type of people "the base" represents. Divisive, bigoted people who want to "take their country back".
Looking at presidents throughout our history - Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Obama - it's plain to see that Mittens is in no way, shape or form representative of the character of a President. He started out as a moderate but has sold his soul to the "tea party" who went around calling themselves "tea baggers" (really, do you know what that means?) Anyway, we've built a great country through the contributions of all walks of our society. We abolished slavery, women fought and won the right to vote, The Civil Rights Act, Roe v Wade. These "tea partyers or baggers, whatever, have been dismantling layer by layer the fabric of our society since coopting the Republican Party. The likes of Todd Akin, Rick Perry, and Rand Paul would love to see slavery brought back. Women, forget about it, barefoot and pregnant since there will be no birth control, the right to our own bodies, and anyone who believes in "legitimate rape" should be institutionalized.
In a world of ever increasing technology and immediacy, we've actually gotten dumber. We have at our finger tips access to a body of knowledge we've never had before but what do we do with it? Play games, ignore people as we walk down the street with eyes glued to a screen, texting about nothing. We've become rude, obnoxious, hateful and uncaring about the truth. I know sometimes the truth can be difficult to discern, but come on! Facts are facts and saying lies over and over doesn't make them true.
I just needed to get this out of my head because I'm becoming increasing saddened and frightened for the future of this country. Not in my lifetime have we been this divided, angry and disillusioned. My Sands Kym posted on her Facebook page, "I really hope that by the time my three year olds become adults that there is not so much hate in this country". To that comment I say - Amen.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
"Who Am I Meant to Be?"
Whenever I describe myself I usually use the phrase "A work in progress." Just when I think I've achieved that "ah ha" moment I reluctantly have to admit that "ah ha" what I know for sure is nothing. If you've read my other 2 posts you'll probably notice a reocurring theme; attempting to figure out what the heck to do with this life and then how to go about achieving it.
It took me forever to write "Best of Times Worse of Times" because of over analyzing the process. I need to fully understand a concept before expressing my thoughts. My background is traditional writing - newspapers, articles, even poetry. But blogging? That arena felt foreign and therefore uncomfortable in my mind. Finally, I just had to do what I did in junior high to learn how to swim. Jump into the deep end and let the struggle for survival take over. It worked! I guess that's just how to approach blogging. Jump in and have faith in my skills and my ability to pull it off.
Okay, this might sound like it's "off point", but when I lived in Minneapolis, I worked for a marketing firm and reps from various magazines would often leave complimentary copies. On one particular occasion the rep from Oprah magazine asked if I'd like a copy and because my mother raised me right I accepted with a "thank you." I'm a firm believer in cosmic energy and karma and believe this particular edition of Oprah came to me as a vision quest for my life. On the cover of the magazine in bold, 48 point font was the title "Who Are You Meant to Be?" Well, I don't think the Universe needed to scream much louder because I had to check it out to see if Oprah actually had a clue as to who I'm meant to be.
This edition included a quiz based on personality science. It identifies seven "Striving Styles," modes of thought and behavior that direct us to seek satisfaction in different ways. The article went on to explain that although everybody is wired with all seven styles, most people have one that dominates. The payoff for taking the quiz is to discover your striving style and use that style for the best shot at fulfilling your potential. Now I'm definitely in!
I won't go into all the questions but the Seven Styles are: Striving to Help, Striving to Be Recognized, Striving to Be Creative, Striving to Be Spontaneous, Striving to Be Knowledgeable, Striving to Be Secure and Striving to Be in Control. I was sure my personality would play out as Striving to Be Creative or Spontaneous but it blew me away when my score added up to Striving to Be Knowledgeable - You are an Intellectual. I've never considered myself to be an intellectual. My husband's the intellectual in the family for Pete's sake! But, as I continued to read their definition, intellectual means being incisive and curious; driven to understand how things work.
I read that article over 2 years ago and the irony is I'm still trying to figure out who I'm meant to be. My life has taken several twists and turns since that day I pondered my place in the world. Truth be told, who we are isn't set in stone. We are perpetual "Striving Styles" because our lives aren't linear. We are constantly adjusting our style to meet the hopes, dreams and challanges we face along our paths.
"Ah ha"! - I do strive to help, be recognized, be creative and spontaneous. And "Ah ha"! - I also strive to be knowledgeable, secure and in control. Who am I meant to be? The book is still out on that one.
It took me forever to write "Best of Times Worse of Times" because of over analyzing the process. I need to fully understand a concept before expressing my thoughts. My background is traditional writing - newspapers, articles, even poetry. But blogging? That arena felt foreign and therefore uncomfortable in my mind. Finally, I just had to do what I did in junior high to learn how to swim. Jump into the deep end and let the struggle for survival take over. It worked! I guess that's just how to approach blogging. Jump in and have faith in my skills and my ability to pull it off.
Okay, this might sound like it's "off point", but when I lived in Minneapolis, I worked for a marketing firm and reps from various magazines would often leave complimentary copies. On one particular occasion the rep from Oprah magazine asked if I'd like a copy and because my mother raised me right I accepted with a "thank you." I'm a firm believer in cosmic energy and karma and believe this particular edition of Oprah came to me as a vision quest for my life. On the cover of the magazine in bold, 48 point font was the title "Who Are You Meant to Be?" Well, I don't think the Universe needed to scream much louder because I had to check it out to see if Oprah actually had a clue as to who I'm meant to be.
This edition included a quiz based on personality science. It identifies seven "Striving Styles," modes of thought and behavior that direct us to seek satisfaction in different ways. The article went on to explain that although everybody is wired with all seven styles, most people have one that dominates. The payoff for taking the quiz is to discover your striving style and use that style for the best shot at fulfilling your potential. Now I'm definitely in!
I won't go into all the questions but the Seven Styles are: Striving to Help, Striving to Be Recognized, Striving to Be Creative, Striving to Be Spontaneous, Striving to Be Knowledgeable, Striving to Be Secure and Striving to Be in Control. I was sure my personality would play out as Striving to Be Creative or Spontaneous but it blew me away when my score added up to Striving to Be Knowledgeable - You are an Intellectual. I've never considered myself to be an intellectual. My husband's the intellectual in the family for Pete's sake! But, as I continued to read their definition, intellectual means being incisive and curious; driven to understand how things work.
I read that article over 2 years ago and the irony is I'm still trying to figure out who I'm meant to be. My life has taken several twists and turns since that day I pondered my place in the world. Truth be told, who we are isn't set in stone. We are perpetual "Striving Styles" because our lives aren't linear. We are constantly adjusting our style to meet the hopes, dreams and challanges we face along our paths.
"Ah ha"! - I do strive to help, be recognized, be creative and spontaneous. And "Ah ha"! - I also strive to be knowledgeable, secure and in control. Who am I meant to be? The book is still out on that one.
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