Last night, it took me the longest time to fall asleep. It’s like my mind was on a loop, and it just cycled through all the things I’ve been thinking about or doing or not doing, one right after another, and I flopped around, thinking while lying on my left side, thinking while on my right. I never can fall asleep on my back, but sometimes I tried that anyway, for variety at least. I have a feeling this post is going to be a little like that–I can’t order my thoughts, can’t collect them into a narrative that is neat and makes sense. (Okay, fine, you’re not surprised, I know.)
So. There’s this–four hours of catching up with a dear friend, talking about babies (she has two; one is ten and one is six weeks. she’s an amazing woman) and careers and influence and unconditional love and politics. We voted differently in the last election, and here’s the most amazing thing. We could talk about it, openly and honestly, without having to convince one another of anything, and never did she make me feel like I had some major character flaw or that I was mentally deficient. Incredible! I’m only half joking about my surprise. Of course I wasn’t surprised that she was treating me well, regardless of what my current political leanings are. Sue is fantastic like that. What has greatly surprised me over the course of this election and its aftermath is how free other people have felt to express not only their disagreement but their contempt, shock, and disdain for my choices, and how vicious people feel they are allowed to be on this topic. But maybe that’s because we’re all talking on the Internet, and isn’t it easy to be mean when you’re typing rather than looking someone in the eyes?
And while we’re on the subject, and I promise this is the last political thing I’ll say here today, I must say I’m quite disturbed at things I’ve been hearing (especially on Facebook) about our current president. In the course of a political conversation, a friend wrote, “He needs to go.” I was floored. I don’t care who you voted for or what terrible things you may think about Obama–he’s our president, and he isn’t going anywhere for the next four years unless he’s impeached or assassinated. And I don’t know that my friend was hoping for an impeachment trial. I sincerely hope it was just an offhanded comment of frustration and nothing more. She probably didn’t mean it the way it sounded. But the fact that it was not an unusual comment in the current political climate, and the fact that no one else seemed to find it shocking, greatly troubled me. My friend is not crazy, but there are mentally unstable people out there, and they all have guns. I don’t remember anyone wishing things like that on Bush, and I have some pretty vocal liberal friends. Never did I hear any of them mention anything remotely like this. (Impeachment, maybe, but the other option…I can’t even type it again.) Why would anyone, regardless of political affiliation, wish that on our country? It is beyond comprehension.
Anyway, I’m not one to end things on a political note, and I may get in quite a bit of trouble for what I’ve said already, so how to change the subject? I think I’ve said all I can on lard without grossing more people out. I could talk about cookies, which are lovely, but cookies are better to eat than to talk about. I’ve been watching a lot of Rob Bell’s stuff lately and can I say how refreshing it is? He is a great mind, and the things he puts out are always artfully done. Of course, just by saying good things about Rob Bell I may be putting myself in the “fringe” category with some people, but oh well, I’m already there with them anyway (and sometimes I get a kick out of that).
Yesterday I watched “The Gods Aren’t Angry” and was blown away by some of the things he said. The purpose of sacrifice, the clearing of conscience, the whole Abraham and Isaac thing. Stories I’ve heard all my life, turned on their heads. Yes. Love it. (Go here: http://player.flannel.org/ and click on “Free Tickets” and watch it on a fast computer.) Isn’t that better than politics? Why, yes, of course it is. You don’t feel mad at me any longer for being different, now do you?
I’ll probably be talking about “TGAA” again if I can ever put my thoughts to words, so if you watch it we can have a lively discussion. Now wouldn’t that be fun?
8 Comments
Politics and emergent theology… You, my friend, have an affinity for the controversial. And I definitely appreciate that.
Thanks, Dave.
“What has greatly surprised me over the course of this election and its aftermath is how free other people have felt to express not only their disagreement but their contempt, shock, and disdain for my choices, and how vicious people feel they are allowed to be on this topic. But maybe that’s because we’re all talking on the Internet, and isn’t it easy to be mean when you’re typing rather than looking someone in the eyes?”
— Or maybe is it possible that these people didn’t mean to be hurtful or vicious about it, or make you feel less of a person, but simply were pointing things out to see if you knew about them? That’s a big problem with the Internet, Erin. The inflection gets interpreted contrary to the writer’s intention. Usually, if one already feels on the defense about a certain topic, if someone nonchalantly sends an e-mail about that topic, it can be taken as an attack (because one is already predisposed to defending oneself concerning that topic). I have had to learn, when it comes to texting as well as e-mails, to ask the writer what his/her intention was in sending the text/e-mail. I have avoided a lot of disagreements/hurt feelings simply by asking him/her what the intended inflection was.
As for the friend who was saying that President Obama “needs to go”, there are plenty of people who felt that way about Bush, and there is always going to be at least one person who feels that way about any President, whether they mean impeachment or otherwise. Every President of the United States has had at least one assassination attempt. I wouldn’t worry too much about it… There are plenty of men and women who protect the President. He’s in good hands.
You’re absolutely right, Becki. The Internet causes so many conflicts because it’s just difficult to know the intent behind the text! We would probably all get along much better if we talked about these things face to face. The viciousness I mentioned was in reference to a specific instance I experienced where someone literally told me they wished I lived in another country because of the way I voted. That person made the intent behind the text clear enough for me! Besides that, I see friends post things on Facebook all the time about how they think anyone voting a certain way is crazy or [fill in adjective here]. No, they might not mean me personally, but someone has to stand up and say, hey, that’s not helpful and it can hurt feelings.
And it’s true that there are crazy people of all political affiliations, just as there are crazy people in all religions, but that doesn’t mean all people of that affiliation or belief system is crazy. (I guess that’s what we can all come to consensus on!) I think what worries me is how casual it’s become to say things that could be very dangerous. That’s what I don’t like–that it’s acceptable, normal, and expected at this point that people, including people of very high profiles, to say things like that.
I agree, Erin. When people like Glenn Beck say things like, “I believe the President has a deep-seated hatred for white people,” and then a minute later say, “I didn’t say the President doesn’t like white people,” it sends a message that we are no longer responsible for what we say. You can say just about anything, and if you do it loudly enough, people just might listen. And while most people are smart enough to separate truth from falsehood and malicious intent from careless banter, some people take everything at face value. And those people go on to have a very warped world view. These are the people who protest soldiers’ funerals and shoot innocent guards at the Holocaust Museum.
It’s like the recent discussion about Obama’s birth certificate. People are no longer concerned with having the facts and reporting the truth. Apparently you can make any claim, no matter how unfounded, and expect to be taken seriously. It’s a very worrisome trend in our culture.
And by the way, I was one of those people who wanted Bush “to go,” but I meant it in terms of impeachment and not assassination. I would never wish death on anyone, but I believe that criminals should be prosecuted and held accountable for their crimes.
I really do hope this is just a phase our country is going through because everyone’s freaked out about the recession. I hope that once things calm down, people will as well. I hope it does not escalate into something even more out of control until something truly awful happens.
To be honest, I don’t think anyone means those statements in the way you are inferring. I mean, I am sure some person does, but there are people who wish that about all Presidents. I think their main impetus is that they desire change…
And, I don’t really think that the conservatives are any more reactionary than the liberals were during the Bush era. I think most people who are making the noise on the negative side are legitimately afraid of the direction the country is headed under the President’s leadership, but are not able to form a logical argument against it or are so upset, that they lose rational thinking. And unfortunately, the squeaky wheel gets the grease…
I do also feel there are people on the other side of the fence that are so blinded by their party line that anything their candidate does is sacred and the end all solution. Therefore, you can’t criticize what that candidate is doing or you are immediately wrong. And if the parties were reversed, I believe the reactions would be the same.
Now, I think we should all be responsible for the consequences of what we say, but the beauty of our country is the freedom to say how we feel without being jailed, beaten or killed. This kind of criticism is not new either. You can look throughout history and see how Presidents have been lampooned and skewered. I think it is a painful, but wonderful thing at the same time.
I am just glad I belong to neither party and can criticize them equally!
Dave, you’re so right about party lines. I think you’ve hit on part of why it’s bothering me so much. I don’t remember the people who are the most vocal right now saying anything the past eight years (that statement is not fully fair, because I haven’t been using Facebook for eight years, but I think you understand my point). Wasn’t there anything they were unhappy with under Bush? And certainly those who voted for Obama don’t agree with every single decision he’s made, right?
I hate the lack of real debate that’s going on, at least that I can see. There are so many emotions on either side, and I don’t hear people standing up and saying, Hey, can we talk about this like people and not like Republicans or Democrats? Can we have someone say, hey I didn’t vote for him, but I like the way Obama has done this…or, hey I did vote for him, but I don’t like the way Obama has done that…? Why does that seem impossible right now?
It’s true there was plenty of negativity going around when Bush was president, and some of it made me quite uncomfortable, even though I wasn’t happy about what was going on either. There’s a level of respect I think we need to maintain for the person who is our president, regardless of whether we think he’s doing a good job. I think it’s entirely possible to disagree without being disrespectful, and I didn’t like it when people were disrespectful under Bush, and I don’t like it any more now. I guess the tone of most of what I’m hearing right now just seems much more emotional and hysterical than what I heard when Bush was in office, though it could just be that my liberal friends are less prone to hysterics and they weren’t representative of the overall tone in our country. (I am in no way saying everyone who disagrees is in hysterics–not at all! Just that there are plenty of people who are.) Who knows. Maybe people are just crazy right now because the recession is on the news 24 hours a day, and it’s stressing us out.
But you are absolutely right. And I think we need more people like you who can say, I’m going to be critical–in a logical manner–of either party, because that’s the beauty of democracy, and how is our country going to improve if we are forced into two modes of thought with no variation?