Ok...I am so tired of this nonsense...

So...I get back from an evening at Chuck E. Cheese...not exactly the type of food I like to feed my family, not exactly the type of entertainment I'm super into but the short of it is that my son had a blast and I had a great time watching him. I log on for my pre-bed Facebook fix and am perusing a friend's posts about the possible healthcare reforms. I'm not really in her camp on this but I make my best effort to respect her opinion. Then I notice that someone I don't know commented on her post saying, "That's what you get for electing a socialist president. Great job America!"

I'm not going to get into some super long explanation for exactly why I find this incredibly stupid, immature, unproductive, short-sighted, narrow-minded and embarrassing. However, can someone please explain to me how it is that we went from having a president who every time he spoke aloud made it more difficult to travel outside of the country without people hating us to having one who seems to be increasing our stature in the rest of the world and yet a huge group of people want nothing more than to go back to what we had before or worse (Sarah Palin)? It seems that a lot of people out there are willing to vote and align themselves politically exclusively based on their own limited understanding of how a given politician might affect the industry they work in. That's a pretty limited criteria for evaluating the health of a nation.

I am fearful of where this country is headed, not because of our politicians on either side of the aisle so much as the division that exists between its people. There are many out there who see this country as having two teams and that you are on one side or the other. I suppose this might be a natural outgrowth of a two party system. The day after the election I wrote a post about how we are not all that different in what we ultimately want. Apparently that post wasn't the earth-shattering, society changing epiphany I hoped it would be. But really people, at what other time in your life have you ever been willing to allow someone else to set up a set of values and opinions for you and you swallow them all hook, line and sinker?

I guess what I'm crying for here is please, think for yourselves. Turn off you talking heads on tv or the radio and think on your own. Evaluate the pros and cons of each plan, of each politician, of each piece of legislation. While you're at it, try to think of someone other than yourself when you do this. Try and imagine what it's like to struggle with something that you've never been confronted with before. It's really easy to be confident in what you believe and what you stand for when you've never had it tested.

As usual, this post is a somewhat disjointed rant. But, I wish that some people out there would just try, just a little to step away from their tradition of intolerance and consider another way of being. Socialist? I am laughing out loud at that one. I don't even have the energy to explain all that's wrong with that statement.

I moved...

Anyone who is bothering to read this probably already knows that I have moved - geographically. Which of course, being who I am, makes me think about how else I've "moved." Most people would describe this move for me as "going home," as I have lived here before and it's quite close to where I grew up. In many ways that's true. In many ways it's not.

When I lived here before I wasn't a college graduate nor did I have a license to practice psychology. When I lived here before I wasn't married, I didn't have a child. I was 21 for crying out loud. I'm 33 now. Am I even the same person? Mostly I am but it's interesting how changing some of those things about the mechanics and make up of my life have changed how I view not only the geography of the landscape but the culture, the people, the values, the politics and the living that goes with it. Places, things and people that seemed exciting, stimulating and fun now seem dangerous and "terrible for families." Places, people and things that used to seem dull, eccentric or uninteresting are now "family friendly," peaceful and comforting. I am finding that I like being places that are familiar to me from my childhood and college days. I am excited to reconnect with events, resources and ideas that are meaningful to me. I also find myself slipping into old habits of road rage and frustration with the density of people.

Having these full circle experiences in life is kind of nice but at the same time reminds me that I'm aging. Having a child makes you think of that a lot anyway, I didn't need the extra reminders. But, the truth is, no matter how hard this ride of life turns out to be, going backward or never changing would never really be satisfying. I am comforted by the fact that I'm capable of appreciating more ways of being not only for myself but for others too. This is because I've "moved."

I believe that thinking and opening your mind is about moving. You go to different places with your ideas and ways of viewing the world and those in it. What amazes me is how many people don't seem to have moved at all, despite having undergone as much change in their lives as I have. How can some who have lived in the same place most of their lives have "moved" but those given every opportunity and resource to "move," never do? I think it's an important question to ask; some of you probably don't, no, some of you definitely don't.

I'm not certain that when I left here 12 years ago that I would have understood how important it would be for me to appreciate differences in the world and more importantly cultivate them in myself. I'm not certain I would have understood how important I think it is for my son to grow up in a world that embraces difference and respects it's necessity for the health of our society. My husband is always saying that being "liberal" (which I guess I am by Fox News's Standards) is an inherently weak position because it is one of tolerance. And, if you believe in tolerance you make room for the bullies who see things in a narrow intolerant way providing space for those who try to eliminate you as an independent thinker. Well, I guess...so be it...I like to move...and those who don't well, you know where to move.