What gets you all riled up?
If you're me, the answer is not much of anything.
My mother rants about George Bush until she's about purple. For other friends global warming is their cause. What about political correctness run amok? I just read another blog that had a reprinting of a letter from the Seattle school district stating that Thanksgiving should not be mentioned in the classroom, because it offends Native American students, reminds them that their friendship to the pilgrims was rewarded with 500 years of death and dislocation. Sigh.
My main feeling is THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO OR WANT TO DO ABOUT IT. Most days it feels like all I can do is hold myself and this family together for another 24 hours.
I recently rented a movie called Year of the Dog about a woman who loses her beloved pet and it inspires her to get involved in the animal rights movement, and it made me think about all people who get wound up in various causes. Good for them. But do they really change anything? Is my flat lack of passion a sign of disregard for others and the world around me, or of chronic apathy in myself? Is it wrong to wish people would JUST GET OVER IT?
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A MIDLIFE CRISIS IN PROGRESS . . . HALF TEMPTED TO CHANGE THINGS, NOT QUITE TEMPTED ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY DO IT.
About Me
- Half Tempted
- A 40 year old mom, homesick for places I've never been before.
2 comments:
Wish what you may, but passion for a cause/issue is what gives meaning to many people's lives. Especially when they act on these passions. It also becomes another way in which people define who they are and what's important to them. Look at Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony to see where passion for a cause can not only define and give meaning to one's life, but it can also effect many other people's lives in profound ways. Without these people, where might we be?
I just don't think that there are many issues today that are as clear cut as the examples you use. It all feels like shades of gray to me anymore. Do I think the war in Iraq is wrong? Yes, absolutely. I believe that it was wrong to invade and that the reasons given to do so were invalid and those in power who chose to invade KNEW they were lies. HOWEVER, we are there now. What consequences arise from leaving the country in the state it is now in? Do I think some animal testing is cruel? Yes, absolutely. HOWEVER, I see the need for testing new drugs which may someday save the lives of my children. Do I worry about global warming? Sure. I drive a fuel efficient car and have replaced my lightbulbs with the curly ones. Do I think it will save the drowning polar bears? No. I think business has too much money to make and too much power to worry about what they are doing to the environment. I also think we may be past the tipping point on the issue, too little, too late. Even things I used to believe in don't seem quite so clear cut anymore. In my single younger days, I used to subscribe to MS. magazine, belong to NOW. But as a mom and wife I think that maybe there is something to be said for more traditional roles, that someone was home for the kids, and that men had some pride in being able to provide for their families and actually could be counted on. I know the happiest time in my marriage was when I was home with the kids and my husband was proud to be able to support us. Instead now it feels like I can't give fully to the family and I can't give fully to work and both suffer. How is that progress?
The other part of my thought on this topic is actually only slightly related. People taking offense too easily. People not recognizing that there are two (or more) sides to issues. And do they try to calmly educate the person who offended them, show them their side of the matter? Oh no, such grievous insults can only be solved by SUING them. When did we become such a nation of victims?
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