Saturday, November 25, 2023

This Changing World

 


Greetings to all! For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your holiday was a safe and joyous one. Normally, I would just take time off the day after Thanksgiving, but this time around, I also took off the day before.

There are moments when I look around and fail to recognize the world I'm in.

It's not that this sensation has never occurred before, but it's more prevalent now than any time I've been alive. Not more so than the "you know what" (which has become the Kryptonite on some media platforms that if one says it outright, one gets demonetized) from 2020 ... but pretty darn close.

I never thought that ailments that people truly suffer from would become trends on Social Media platforms for clicks and views.

To be honest, I not only don't find these amusing but insulting to people who have been officially diagnosed by a medical professional. As someone who knows others with these conditions, it mimics profiting off someone else's pain. 

It's also disappointing that critical thinking is not only sorely frowned upon but that today's society is threatening to eradicate the practice.

It is hypocritical to encourage free speech but shut down or attempt to cancel someone if their opinion doesn't match yours, or to tell others to really think about something before hopping on the groupthink bandwagon. 



In some situations, my decision to stay silent has nothing to do with not caring but everything to do with the obtuseness and hypersensitivity of the current environment. I've seen the decrease in humanity's ability to effectively debate — the inability to balance passion for a subject while sticking with the facts. 

In other situations, I truly don't care.

Some examples ...

1.  The sweet potato pie vs the pumpkin pie debate (and whether that indicates one's level of blackness)
2.  If stuffing and dressing are the same
3.  The proper way to say pecan pie
4.  Whether laying edges is important

I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

For me, no matter how many people may give the "thumbs down" 👎 or the "gross" 😖 emoji, it is not going to move the needle on what I think, which is:

1.  I eat pumpkin pie more than sweet potato pie, and last I checked, my skin didn't turn white.
2.  Stuffing is not the same as dressing. If we want to keep it basic, one goes in the turkey; one is served as a side dish.
3.  Yes, I am Southern-bred, but pronounce pecan as "puh-kahn".
4.  For me, laid edges are not a priority, and I don't think they ever will be.

It is funny yet sad that politics has become a VH1 reality show.

In my opinion, it boils down to toxicity on both sides. It's not solely "the right"; it's not solely "the left". Both sides are nuttier than fruitcakes on so many issues.

However, I don't think it's traditional liberals or conservatives.

It's the radicals that have asserted their beliefs and have placed pressure on the rest: if you don't believe "x,y,z", then you're not a true member of said party.

This sucks for all parties.

I'm sure there are individuals that are conservatives but don't label themselves "the party of Trump". Just like there are people who are progressives but don't consider themselves "radical liberals".

I still consider myself a progressive, but there are many changes happening within the party that I am not in agreement with. It isn't enough to make me switch party lines, but it's enough to make me study what else is out there.

This goes beyond the issue of student loan debt relief and the Supreme Court's ruling on a woman's right to an abortion. It is about the universal struggle we all have. Everything is expensive and instead of political parties working together to provide a solution, they are gambling with our lives just to get their agendas across. Agendas that do not benefit us domestically.

In conclusion, I'm going to drop this here as a summary of how I'm feeling. Take care and be safe everyone.





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