As I reflect on the events of January 6, 2021, and big lie that has been spread by the former president, I wonder why so many people believe that the election was rigged and why they thought that an insurrection was the answer.
We’ve all had to deal with presidents that we didn’t vote for, politics that we didn’t support, and frustrations over changes in our communities.
When I was a teenager, I saw the film A Star is Born where Gary Busey tells the fading star that “Nothing changes but the changes, slick.” In my teenage brain, that line created who I am today. I think it’s as true now as it was in 1976.
I don’t mean to minimize how hard change is: more so for some than others; more so for the older than the younger.
What I would like to know is for those of you who want to revert the USA to an earlier period, what time is perfect for you?
Is it 1850 when slavery was legal, women were not citizens, and white male landowners made all the decisions and had all the control?
Is it the early 1900’s when rural communities relied on horses and oxen to manage farms, most rural areas did not have electricity, and winters were isolating times in the countryside?
Is it the 1940s, when we were at war, food was rationed, and many families lost loved ones in World War II?
Our parents and grandparents lived through times of immense change and while they didn’t always love it, they did not try to overthrow the government.
My grandfather lived from the mid-1880s to the early-1980s and saw an incredible amount of change in his lifetime. I’ve grown up knowing that the amount of change I will see in my lifetime will be exponentially greater.
Now I’m not saying all change is good, but aren’t we grateful for many changes in our lives in the last one to two hundred years? I know I appreciate my ability as a single woman to have a bank account, own my own home, chose who I want to be intimate with, and care for those I love.
While I have worked hard to gain these freedoms, I want these options for all people.
Can’t we discuss how to create a world that meets the needs of all of us?
I am trying to understand why trampling on the rights of others is in your best interest.
I’m trying to understand why my life choices feel threatening to you.
I’m trying to understand why you don’t believe that united we stand, divided we fall.
What are your biggest concerns?
