Vicki, thank you for this, for your particular brand of sanity and wisdom. I love the invitation to craft our own Desiderata and to live it. My spiritual path provides that for me on the most fundamental of levels but then there are the particulars of this life wanting to be lived through us in the uniquely expressed ways that they can and, most especially, at this time of life. 🙏🏼
So I've been visiting several lefty substacks, trying to strike up conversation across boundaries. No luck. With two exceptions (you know who you are, and thank you) there is wall to wall grim silence. Sanity hasn't yet arrived. What is notable too is the lack of conversation among the commentariat. It's largely insults toward Orange Man and reassuringly politically correct statements and slogans.
I heard there was and maybe still is such a conversation on FB, but I don't do FB. If anyone knows of a more accessible place, I would love to hear of it.
Try ditching your snark and donning some compassion for how traumatizing "the orange man" is for so many people, even MAGAs that are losing jobs, health care, care for their elderly. It's a shock a minute. The orange man's style is to create a bit of chaos to see what he wants to do next, like dropping a rock in a still pond and watching all the fish scatter in all directions. The fist don't love it. Try curiosity. Try not poking people in the eye to make friends. Thanks for coming over to our barbecue and throwing your steak on the grill so we can taste something other than our boring hot dog opinions... but gentle it a bit.
Well, your comment doesn't seem as unfriendly this morning as it seemed last night. Thanks for that part. :-)
I am at a loss. Y'all's views don't seem boring, they seem to me divorced from reality and doing harm in the world. Meanwhile, y'all are always assuring each other how compassionate your side is, and how wicked and unfeeling the others. What will it take for robust, open, honest discussions to take place? They are so badly needed... so I go and poke people with a stick, going "say something, wokester!" And people run away, even though I am not poking anyone in the eye, you gotta admit that part.... no fair...
Where is the snark in what I wrote above? I was being friendly. In response, you lecture me? How about putting yourself in the shoes of the rest of us, who have been traumatized by years of woke nonsense? It's woke nonsense that's destroying San Francisco, not Trump. It's woke nonsense that's destroying what's left of public schools and universities, not Trump. It's woke nonsense that gave us homeless encampments trashing the forests of Oregon, not Trump. For starters.
I am being polite about a shitty situation. I call nobody names. How do you want me to gentle it? I am listening.
I care for truth. As best as I am able. While acknowledging my limitations, my inability (as a human being) to be entirely certain about anything.
I pick political sides with those who tell more truth than others. And when it comes to, for example, South Africa, the truth is not with those who would rather quibble about the definitions of "genocide" and assure us that what matters is "Trump was being rude to Ramaphosa" and that's all you need to know.
Vicki, thank you for this, for your particular brand of sanity and wisdom. I love the invitation to craft our own Desiderata and to live it. My spiritual path provides that for me on the most fundamental of levels but then there are the particulars of this life wanting to be lived through us in the uniquely expressed ways that they can and, most especially, at this time of life. 🙏🏼
Indeed, if we don't translate a teaching through our own quirky lives, what fun are we to the gods?
So I've been visiting several lefty substacks, trying to strike up conversation across boundaries. No luck. With two exceptions (you know who you are, and thank you) there is wall to wall grim silence. Sanity hasn't yet arrived. What is notable too is the lack of conversation among the commentariat. It's largely insults toward Orange Man and reassuringly politically correct statements and slogans.
I heard there was and maybe still is such a conversation on FB, but I don't do FB. If anyone knows of a more accessible place, I would love to hear of it.
Try ditching your snark and donning some compassion for how traumatizing "the orange man" is for so many people, even MAGAs that are losing jobs, health care, care for their elderly. It's a shock a minute. The orange man's style is to create a bit of chaos to see what he wants to do next, like dropping a rock in a still pond and watching all the fish scatter in all directions. The fist don't love it. Try curiosity. Try not poking people in the eye to make friends. Thanks for coming over to our barbecue and throwing your steak on the grill so we can taste something other than our boring hot dog opinions... but gentle it a bit.
Well, your comment doesn't seem as unfriendly this morning as it seemed last night. Thanks for that part. :-)
I am at a loss. Y'all's views don't seem boring, they seem to me divorced from reality and doing harm in the world. Meanwhile, y'all are always assuring each other how compassionate your side is, and how wicked and unfeeling the others. What will it take for robust, open, honest discussions to take place? They are so badly needed... so I go and poke people with a stick, going "say something, wokester!" And people run away, even though I am not poking anyone in the eye, you gotta admit that part.... no fair...
Sigh.
Where is the snark in what I wrote above? I was being friendly. In response, you lecture me? How about putting yourself in the shoes of the rest of us, who have been traumatized by years of woke nonsense? It's woke nonsense that's destroying San Francisco, not Trump. It's woke nonsense that's destroying what's left of public schools and universities, not Trump. It's woke nonsense that gave us homeless encampments trashing the forests of Oregon, not Trump. For starters.
I am being polite about a shitty situation. I call nobody names. How do you want me to gentle it? I am listening.
I care for truth. As best as I am able. While acknowledging my limitations, my inability (as a human being) to be entirely certain about anything.
I pick political sides with those who tell more truth than others. And when it comes to, for example, South Africa, the truth is not with those who would rather quibble about the definitions of "genocide" and assure us that what matters is "Trump was being rude to Ramaphosa" and that's all you need to know.
Yes. Vicky. If we don't stand up for ourselves, who will? This is my question for the day: What do I stand for, and am I living it?
As old as I am, I am trying to figure out what I want as this stage of life.