So here I sit, at my desk, in the home stretch of my workday. It has been painfully long as I await the return of my sweetheart from six days in Las Vegas. An old boss of mine used to call it "Lost Wages", but hey, that's another post.
As I sat here I heard a voice say, "If only she weren't a Democrat, I could love that woman." I can only assume it was in response to some image that flashed across the TV monitor in the radio studio just steps from my office.
So people can't be good people if they aren't Republican? or Democrat? (depending on your persuassion...) It is reminiscent of a comment my sister made to me in hushed tones during one of my recent trips home. I had metioned that she had grown up so much and really come into her own when it came to her opinions. She looked around and under her breath whispered, "I think I might be a Democrat."
Now, why should that be an admission worthy of hushed tones? The answer is it shouldn't. If I remember correctly, when I first asked my parents about political affiliations they were Democrats. Today I would imagine they would side with the Republican persuassion, but I think they are much more likely to vote issue by issue and candidate by candidate, but she should not feel that she has to keep her affiliation under her breath like a dirty swear word.
Here's my take: Democrat, Republican, whatever. I am progressive. I want to see movement forward. I don't want to sit around and argue about the same old issues at the expense of action. Let's move forward here people! Put the time, energy, and money into acting upon the issues instead of yakking them to death. Now don't get me wrong, I am the queen of yakking, but yakking can occur while we work. Pick up a baby, serve a meal, counsel a teen mom...not only are you serving and moving forward with action, but you can yak in the process if you like.
Seriously, we need to stop getting caught up in labels. Soon as you know it, we will be saying, "Oh yes, he is the pro-life democrat who drinks a double espresso each night at 7." Who cares what they or anyone else says! Who cares what they are called! What do they actually do???
Shakespeare seems to have had it right, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." It is not the name that creates the sweet smell, it is the plant. Look around you, what do the "plants" around you smell like? Then you can decide on their names.
1 comment:
You're a blogger! :) I wish I had time to write everyday, but I'm pretty sure it would look like the cat wrote it on my keyboard b/c law school is just sucking out my brain, one case at a time.
Anyways, just wanted to say hi and let you know I'm reading. I think that those terms - Democrat, Republican - stand for certain ideologies, and regardless of whether or not you vote by issue, by candidate, or by party, you cannot escape those connotations. You, obviously, can be a great person and a Democrat. However, our culture has so loaded those terms that such a title evokes a huge response, often unwanted.
So that, my love, is reason enough for hushed tones. However, you are definitely right...you should feel free to speak up, identify as you wish, as long as you are making a positive impact on the world at large. :)
Miss you and love reading your stuff!
Ashley
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