My talk last night went really well and the ladies were funny as all get out. We had a laugh filled evening. I can’t thank these ladies enough for such the nice welcome.
Today was great. We have a nice full class and everyone is doing such nice work. Everyone has caught right on and is making beautiful things. I am so looking forward to tomorrow to see how all of the pieces turn out.
Most of us got together at Adrienne’s house for a nice dinner and conversation. I have my rules about no politics; religion or health issues are to be discussed in the classroom but the gloves are off at a social gathering I guess. I tried several times over the course of the evening to steer clear of any landmines that I might walk into, actually being in one of the BATTLEGROUND STATES. I actually walked away at least 3 times so I would in no way offend anyone with my beliefs of my political stands.
But at the end of the evening I got into a political, ideological debate for over an hour with a conservative self proclaimed “Kingsonian” I had never heard that term but he described himself as a man that followed the teachings of Martin Luther King. Now I had a great time, I love a good debate or a good argument…my problem is that this man did not and could not back up his arguments with anything substantive. He choose to not investigate his claims. He complained about the system but could not tell me why he thought the system was broken. He took pride in the fact that he knew but never did any investigation as to why he believed what he believed.
I forced myself to watch both sides of the conventions and the debates. I force myself to watch Fox News (occasionally) as well as MSNBC and CNN. I cannot listen to Rush Linbaugh but I try to read it to make sure I know what that jerk is saying. I make sure that I use the Internet to check facts from all sources, everything from the extreme left to the extreme right and as much in between as I can to try to have the correct facts on hand. This man has taken no responsibility for his part in the process and does not agree that we as citizens are obligated to question and to hold those in charge accountable for their actions.
It is our duty to hold our leaders accountable and to question the choices if we do not agree. It was a spirited and conversation yet one that was frustrating because, unfortunately, the argument cannot be held up as valid without the knowledge base of those convictions. Without knowledge we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. It was only that he realized that I was almost 45 and not some child in my 30’s that he thought my argument was thought out and not just a knee-jerk reaction to popular politics. He touted that his duty and his absolute conviction of having served as a soldier and that a soldier follows and responds to orders without question. He said that he was a true defender of the Constitution, The Bill of Right and the Declaration of Independence having never read a single word of any of those documents.
There are times that I feel like this frog balancing in something that no one should have to balance on. Only right now I kind f feel that I am actually under the damn pumpkin waiting for it to roll off. I just thought that this image was funny as hell. I have more to say but I guess that it’ll have to wait till the morning. I am tired and my mind is spinning with these past few days.
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