tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post929359555482623007..comments2023-10-26T20:05:14.669+07:00Comments on intrepid flame: DividedJabizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15060918134697370964noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-79035049404703409622008-10-03T05:41:00.000+07:002008-10-03T05:41:00.000+07:00I have a friend with a "Celebrate Diversity" stick...I have a friend with a "Celebrate Diversity" sticker on his car. We were talking the other day about how hard that is to really live up to. He said, "You know, some days I really find it hard to celebrate that SUV speeding down the freeway with the W sticker in the back window. But I can't really claim to celebrate diversity if I'm only celebrating people who are just like me."<BR/><BR/>That seemed really profound to me.<BR/><BR/>I also had a really really cool conversation with my partner's ex-boss the other day. He's pretty much the epitome of red state religious conservatism that I can't stand. He doesn't believe in evolution and won't let his kids watch science shows that talk about it. He thinks my partner and I are wrong for living together without being married. He's virilently anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-divorce. I pretty much avoid any hot topic at all when I need to interact with him, but he came over to borrow a tool from Preston the other day and I was the only one there and I'm not sure it happened but somehow we got to talking about the state of the world.<BR/><BR/>And I realized that we are really coming from the same place. He knows that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Things are pretty much fucked (obviously, he didn't word it quite like that), and that has a lot to do with our government. He and I are both operating from a place of deep deep sadness and fear about the state of our world. And we even have common ground in our beliefs about what it would take to fix it. We both believe that a connection to spirituality, a belief in ethics and morals, and a strong sense of family and community are what's missing. We've become disconnected from our support systems and that makes us vulnerable to manipulation from governments and entities that do not have our best interests at heart.<BR/><BR/>Obviously, our thoughts about how to actually implement those beliefs differ greatly. But it was eye-opening, and heart-opening, to realize that even this ultra-conservative old middle-class white guy and I have much more common ground than difference. That seems important somehow.<BR/><BR/>So to give my answer to betmo's question, why would you want to understand someone who is bent on destroying the american way of life? Because in understanding is your only chance of averting it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-55711927190104358292008-10-03T03:20:00.000+07:002008-10-03T03:20:00.000+07:00realizing that for the present all of us have to s...realizing that for the present all of us have to share the same country- and planet- i would have no problem keeping my contempt to myself when it comes to the christians. unfortunately, a large chunk of them want to take away civil liberties from everyone in order to maintain their fragile facade of a fearful life. no thanks. it isn't snobbery i feel- it's self preservation. as a woman, a deliberately childless one, the fact that they not only want to repeal roe v. wade- but take away contraception as well- makes me angry. the fact that they want to control who lives together within the same house and raise children as a family unit- when their own backyards are full of infidelity, incest, and pedophilia- well, hypocrisy aside- they have no right in a free society. i was born an american and the america i was born into inspired me that i could live where i wanted, marry who i wanted (if i so chose) get a decent education and well, the sky was the limit. and i grew up poor in a poor section of my state. so for these christians to deign to tell me how to live my life- well, it isn't elitism that makes me feel contempt and disgust and the urge to fight back- it's self preservation.<BR/><BR/>but i ramble. :)<BR/><BR/>why would i want to understand someone who is bent on destroying the american way of life? it doesn't really matter to me what they believe or why they believe it (and yes, i am aware that i sound like bush invading iraq)- they need to keep their religious beliefs to themselves within their own churches, homes and religious schools. period.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16206096509976316141noreply@blogger.com