I belonged to a writing group that posted a 30 day challenge. I say belonged to because I am gearing up for NANOWRIMO in November. I intend to venture into new territory. But I love to write. So I will do the 30 day chalenge as well.
My advantage is I am retired and single and have resisted the urge to work or volunteer here in Cuenca, Ecuador.
I will title the in caps and if you would like to use the prompt for yourself please do.
This story stems from a union meeting in 1978. As a paramedic in a Florida county we had just received our Teamster credentials. Our first meeting changed the way I view a reaction to information.
The paramedics had power. Their voices would now be heard. The power of a voice came through the beer they drank. They sang, the chanted, they argued, they yelled. I stood with a soft drink like a fish out of water and asked the newly elected vice president what we were protesting and clamoring about.
I will never forget the look on his face and the looks on those around him. They were stymied. They had no issue. They only had perceived power. That is, until someone screamed “more money.” A smile came across their faces as they began chanting “more money, more money” As it eventually ended we had no money issues but we had some back pay issues that were handled under a different union that we changed to.
This leads to my close friend. She leans heavily to the left and says things that cearly spell doom to the future of America. I lean to the right for a litany of reasons. The biggest reason is logic, not emotion, prevails. Actually, that is not true as insanity prevails but logic, not emotion is the starting point.
A slight digression is necessary here. I believe there is only one part that serves the same goal that promotes money and power. I cannot understand the millions spent to get a job that pays 170,000 plus benefits. Unless, of course, it pays more that we don’t readily see.
I mentioned to my friend an article I saved about the destruction of education to the American male. I simply stated that this article I laminated because I saw what it portrayed. I learned to let other people talk so I could learn. I believe I do not know enough until I have something to base an opinion on. The sad part is I had so few opinions on anything partly because I never could get accurate information. i seemed to be hearing my information in sound bites, from Hollywood and a dishonorable media.
Then I watched the Academy Awards and heard a speech about equal pay. Since I have time in my retirement, I decided to see if this statement she made held merit. I found that the equal pay for women and men in Hollywood stemmed from a well known actor receiving more money in a leading role than his female counterpart. Seemed like the request be that experience, box office draw and past record was trumped by a need for equality. Part of the insanity in the U.S.
During my research I found a government statistic that women in their twenties earn more than their male counterparts.
I shared this with my liberal friend who demanded proof of that statement. When I offered her the proof she said, “They can make statistics say anything” I honestly took a step back. I listened to her dislike of a female conservative pundit who specializes in “cut to the bone” attacks on liberal double standards. Until that moment, I always felt her tactics a bit too heavy handed. But I no longer feel that way. She exposed the double standard and brought out the smiling hate from my friend.
She will always be my friend. I will still listen to her opinions, but I will also get closer to understanding the crazy thinking that sits in the middle of liberal thought.
These are the rough questions that will ultimately bring about more questions. Facts will be checked and “no spin” is allowed.
more to come.
A reader reacted to one of my dialogues. The dialogue went as follows:
The young child, around age seven, threw the paper on the floor. A woman sitting near by nicely asked the young boy to pick the paper up and place it in the nearby garbage can. The child screamed.
At first I thought the child had stepped on something. The child ran to the mother who had already begun to challenge the woman’s right to educate her son. I watched in silent amazement as the dissolution of a culture put on a live performance. The offending lady begged forgiveness but the mother and child would not let it go. The eventually packed up their toys,placed them in a vote for Hillary tote bag, and left muttering at the nerve of the woman.
The woman looked at me and said, “You did not seem phased by this transaction?”
“No, I come from a very liberal city where this is common.” ******
I left FaceBook, I write for myself, I even left the U.S. I decided that the world was no longer a place where my input made a difference. However I thought the woman’s interjection to the boy’s behavior appropriate. The world is now in the hands of the young. I can only hope that the mindset of these future leaders does not lean in that direction.
So I brought this incident up with people I knew. Most people stated they would have followed the lead of the correcting woman and encouraged the child to throw the paper away. Some even stated the rewarding good behavior as a psychological principle. I thought that positive.
Then I saw these same people violate the psychological principle they just espoused. They agreed that opening trade relations with Cuba, a failed policy, to be a positive event for the people of Cuba. A friend of mine pointed out that the Cuban government has killed, tortured and abused their people for 50 years and he saw this trade agreement as rewarding bad behavior(which I silently agreed). Well you would have thought he told one of these people’s children to pick up their trash.
I miss baseball. I live in Ecuador and they don’t play or even understand baseball. How un-American can one be?
Actually I miss my baseball pals. We could solve every major crisis within nine innings. In fact, if we adopted a baseball format, world tensions would abate. Instead of at bat (AB) we would use the category abates(AB). Everytime we solved a problem we’d give the government or representative a hit for an AB.
The most significant thing about baseball talk is there is NOTHING politically correct. The guys swear, use foul language, talk about sex with women. They call each other derogatory words and everybody seems happy.
I did say guys. There is a fear that the PC agenda might demand that each team be fifty per cent female. Plus equal representation from LGBT. But we figured that the females would already establish those quotas. We also figured that to counteract this possibility we would demand an 82/18 white to African American NBA. I think the NHL is safe because they could not find that many African Americans who can skate.
The beauty of baseball is if you perform you can move up or stay around. You can’t contribute you are dismissed. But since they can’t get rid of the entire team they fire the manager.
So in that tradition I suggest we elect four presidents. At the end of the season if he has not accomplished the stated goal (e.g.,bring the Congress together, end the war, brings jobs back, protect our borders) the next manager takes the place with the single objective.
Several advantages exist right off the bat (pun intended) . Bill Clinton’s exploits would be accepted so long as he got the job done. Hillary is out because she is too vile by baseball standards.
Congress people would either perform or get sent down. The place would be like a huge musical chairs. For instance, Bernie Sanders, hey Bernie Bernie, you want to give the kid who can’t walk a chance at the plate. Gotta go a different route Bernie, take a seat, This is baseball. We have rules. Next.
That sounds harsh but sorry that’s the way it is. A baseball player has no life. When I played baseball it was fun until I went professional. Then it was hit or get off the pot (intended).
Oh yes baseball does take care of the kids who need help. However the owners and MLB don’t quite get the sharing thing.
betterthntherapy 