"Well, I Saw On FOX News...."

I really considered making this blog apolitical, but after some thought I realized that politics specifically and social awareness in general are things that I am passionate about, and it would be useful to integrate those ideas in a personal blog of musings because it is information and knowledge I pursue on a daily basis.

I love a good political debate. I enjoy listening to political shows and dissecting the information I obtain from them to separate legitimate facts from those that are simply sordid opinion. You see, my process is that I hear the information, and then I seek the means to either prove or disprove the information I’ve heard before I store it in my brain as potential debate material. These are obvious qualities of a liberal mind. I say that because in discussions with those of a different political bend (and you know who you are), I find that often times the debate descends into information that has most often been previously dismissed by legitimate sources. As an example, I really am sick of the “socialism” label perpetrated by many on the right and even the center. There is no viable indication that the U.S. is sliding into socialism, yet the right has successfully scared many of our population into believing it is inevitable given the current administration. I have no doubt this is a popular position for the Republicans given that fear is easy to arouse in their members (an article published in Science magazine discusses the link between conservatism and high physiological response to fearful noises and images – see http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/321/5896/1667 for abstract).

I can understand that there would be differences between the political parties, but how do you debate someone lacking in critical thinking? Why are we all suddenly debating FACTS? It’s amazing to me that the leaders of the right have the ability to question even solid scientific evidence and a huge percentage of their followers likewise come to the same conclusion (I’m talking specifically about evolution and global warming here). I wonder why they haven’t attacked the principles of gravity and a sun-centered universe – of course, those issues probably wouldn’t be big vote-getters, but they sure would be divisive, wouldn’t they?

I do wonder at times if perhaps I’m being too harsh on those with opposing political views. I think maybe I haven’t yet spoken to the Conservative who really is a member of that party simply because they represent less government and fiscal responsibility but disagrees with those party leaders and the media who spew utterly false information to their constituents/viewers. I’d like to – I do respect someone who represents the “pure” Republican philosophy and debates me on those issues, which is almost a pleasure. I just do not want to once again find myself defending global warming or evolution when someone discovers my political leanings. That debate was waged and won already. Of course, if you want to talk about offshore drilling or health care reform, I say, “Bring it on”!

Self-Imposed Boundaries

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

This poem was said to provide inspiration to Nelson Mandela during the inevitable dark periods of his imprisonment. While imprisoned, Mandela remained for 9000 days in an 8 foot by 8 foot cell. For perspective, my walk-in closet is certainly bigger than the cell he lived in, while the house I reside in is over 6000 square feet.

It seems at times we don’t need physical boundaries to limit our range of motion. Despite the ability to travel at will, we nevertheless become emotionally incapacitated and rarely seek to move farther than the walls of our “imprisonment”. There are moments when I feel that the walls are meaningless physical boundaries, because I’ve bound myself to an emotional representation of my own making, which can often times be as small or smaller than an 8 X 8, enclosure. It’s not reality, but it certainly feels like my range of motion is so small as to be suffocating. As a good friend of mine liked to say, “Perception is reality”, thus despite the fact that the limitation I feel is merely emotional, it nonetheless feels physical.

It’s easy to sympathize with the plight of those in prison, then, because many of us have personally felt some sort of imaginary boundaries. Of course, we are not actually prevented from conducting our daily activities as we wish, so the commonality ends with merely an understanding of the emotional component of being unable to penetrate mental boundaries. Perhaps what those of us in this situation need to learn is the ability to force our minds to grasp the true freedom we are fortunate to have and allow ourselves time off for good behavior.