Does this one really have a point?
“But when you look back you must realize
That nothing in your life's divine
Everything that's ever befallen you
Happened simply 'cause it crossed your mind
You're crashing by design”
-- Pete Townshend, “Crashing By Design”
When something bad happens to you, what do you usually think? If you’re anything like I was this past weekend, you begin to think you’re cursed at worst or someone bad in a previous life at the least. But what you’re really doing is blaming someone else -- in these cases, God. As humorous as those musings tend to be, I don’t think they go much further than that as being truth -- except, maybe, being someone bad in a previous life. I’m beginning to think I was the schoolyard bully who laughed at all the clumsy, dorky children, because I became precisely that clumsy, dorky child.
I’m a big believer in free will, meaning that the choices we make have the most effect on what happens in our lives. I’m a religious person who personally tends to downplay the belief that God has every minute detail of our lives mapped out. (I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong before; I’ll be wrong again.) It’s also the choices that others make for us that affect our lives -- whether we want them to have that kind of power or not.
As much as I’ve beaten the horse that is freedom of choice, the truth is we will never make every decision for ourselves completely by ourselves. Our parents decided where we’d live as children, what schools we would attend, which in turn, influences events such as the shaping of our personality, where we’d go to college (or if we’d even get the chance to go). That, in turn, influences the career we have, where we live, and so on. If you think about it, our parents really might not have made the choice of where they lived. It’s a long tangle, one that will take much more than 800 or so words to undo.
Well, I guess that the horse isn’t completely dead, because here I go again. Though there are elements on each side of the political spectrum that would eliminate the freedom of choice, it’s mainly the right that desires to take away our right to choose anything for ourselves. I bet if they had their way, we’d only be able to eat what they put on the plate before us. The government tries to choose who I can marry, who should live or die, what other countries can do, and so on. I’ve lost enough opportunities to my parents’ decisions; I don’t want to lose anymore. I think there is a proper role for government to make responsible choices on behalf of its citizens, but I don’t believe that, for the most part, our government can be called on to make responsible choices anymore. I used to be part of the so-called “moral majority” that advocated most of these government roles, but then I decided that I wanted to use my brain for something besides keeping my head inflated. I’m still a moral person, but I like thinking. Okay, before the hate mail starts to arrive, I know a few smart Republicans.
I had someone tell me once “I used to be a liberal when I was young and naïve; when I matured, I became a Republican.” Apart from the slap at my maturity level, I was intrigued and taken aback by this statement. Is it really naïve to desire equality for all Americans, not just the rich, white males? I suppose it is a bit idealistic, but I can dream, can’t I? It’s naïve to allow someone to make decisions for you without thinking for yourself. It’s naïve to trust someone’s judgment solely because they’re the president, solely because they’re your pastor, and so on down the line. I don’t trust the judgment of my president or my pastor. I don’t even trust the judgment of the leadership of the Democratic Party. That doesn’t mean that any of them are bad people or that they’re wrong simply because I disagree with them. It means that what you say has to pass muster with me and most statements never get that far.
Please don’t blame all your problems on someone else; take some responsibility. Most likely you’re the one who got yourself into this mess. And for crying out loud, don’t listen to me solely because I’m running my mouth in this column. Think about it, disagree or agree, it doesn’t really matter. Just think about it for yourself. Come to your own conclusions.
That nothing in your life's divine
Everything that's ever befallen you
Happened simply 'cause it crossed your mind
You're crashing by design”
-- Pete Townshend, “Crashing By Design”
When something bad happens to you, what do you usually think? If you’re anything like I was this past weekend, you begin to think you’re cursed at worst or someone bad in a previous life at the least. But what you’re really doing is blaming someone else -- in these cases, God. As humorous as those musings tend to be, I don’t think they go much further than that as being truth -- except, maybe, being someone bad in a previous life. I’m beginning to think I was the schoolyard bully who laughed at all the clumsy, dorky children, because I became precisely that clumsy, dorky child.
I’m a big believer in free will, meaning that the choices we make have the most effect on what happens in our lives. I’m a religious person who personally tends to downplay the belief that God has every minute detail of our lives mapped out. (I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong before; I’ll be wrong again.) It’s also the choices that others make for us that affect our lives -- whether we want them to have that kind of power or not.
As much as I’ve beaten the horse that is freedom of choice, the truth is we will never make every decision for ourselves completely by ourselves. Our parents decided where we’d live as children, what schools we would attend, which in turn, influences events such as the shaping of our personality, where we’d go to college (or if we’d even get the chance to go). That, in turn, influences the career we have, where we live, and so on. If you think about it, our parents really might not have made the choice of where they lived. It’s a long tangle, one that will take much more than 800 or so words to undo.
Well, I guess that the horse isn’t completely dead, because here I go again. Though there are elements on each side of the political spectrum that would eliminate the freedom of choice, it’s mainly the right that desires to take away our right to choose anything for ourselves. I bet if they had their way, we’d only be able to eat what they put on the plate before us. The government tries to choose who I can marry, who should live or die, what other countries can do, and so on. I’ve lost enough opportunities to my parents’ decisions; I don’t want to lose anymore. I think there is a proper role for government to make responsible choices on behalf of its citizens, but I don’t believe that, for the most part, our government can be called on to make responsible choices anymore. I used to be part of the so-called “moral majority” that advocated most of these government roles, but then I decided that I wanted to use my brain for something besides keeping my head inflated. I’m still a moral person, but I like thinking. Okay, before the hate mail starts to arrive, I know a few smart Republicans.
I had someone tell me once “I used to be a liberal when I was young and naïve; when I matured, I became a Republican.” Apart from the slap at my maturity level, I was intrigued and taken aback by this statement. Is it really naïve to desire equality for all Americans, not just the rich, white males? I suppose it is a bit idealistic, but I can dream, can’t I? It’s naïve to allow someone to make decisions for you without thinking for yourself. It’s naïve to trust someone’s judgment solely because they’re the president, solely because they’re your pastor, and so on down the line. I don’t trust the judgment of my president or my pastor. I don’t even trust the judgment of the leadership of the Democratic Party. That doesn’t mean that any of them are bad people or that they’re wrong simply because I disagree with them. It means that what you say has to pass muster with me and most statements never get that far.
Please don’t blame all your problems on someone else; take some responsibility. Most likely you’re the one who got yourself into this mess. And for crying out loud, don’t listen to me solely because I’m running my mouth in this column. Think about it, disagree or agree, it doesn’t really matter. Just think about it for yourself. Come to your own conclusions.
posted by Lacey Holley at 11:49
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home