Our House

If you are following my personal tumblr, or if you have spoken with me lately, you know that I am very actively working to focus on the positives in my life. One result of this new focus is that I have realized I am most stressed when I am reading the news. Other than the fact that I am acutely aware of many injustices occurring in my state/nation/world, there must be a simple reason many news stories make me so upset that I can barely breathe. This morning I think I may have pinpointed it.

Every time I read a positive news story, or look at a poll that shows more than half of the respondents agree with my own views, I think “I cannot wait until my generation is in charge.” I am not naïve enough to believe that everything will magically be mended when that happens, but I do believe that we will take many, many steps in better directions. But the frustration comes – and here’s the connection to my previous point – from the realization that my generation, the one with the desire, innovation, skills, and compassion to change everything, is overwhelmingly stuck.

The system we want to change is so broken, and the people who run it are so possessive of it and afraid of change, that we have not yet found a way to wedge ourselves in. We are facing a dearth of opportunities to prove ourselves. We are lucky if we can even claim opportunities to support ourselves via work that we are severely overqualified for, thereby minimizing our usefulness to society AND simultaneously taking entry level jobs away from people who have not been as fortunate as we in obtaining education and experience. In this system, everyone is depressed several levels below their potential.

Regardless, I am focusing on the positive whenever I am capable of doing so. Even though we are not being given many opportunities, we are beginning to make them. We are making our voices heard, even though it takes thousands, tens of thousands, millions of our voices to reach a handful of privileged ears. And much of it started here in Wisconsin, the place that allows me to be proud of my home even at times when I am embarrassed to call myself a US American.

In this morning’s Wisconsin State Journal, there was a small cover story about the one-year anniversary of our current political battle, which has “practically turned Wisconsin politics inside out.” But it’s not just Wisconsin. Two quotes in particular made me feel so good about what’s happening here that I nearly cried.

One poli sci professor notes that Wisconsin is now “viewed as ‘Main Street USA’ nationally” and that we have “come to represent the power and potential of people getting involved in politics.”

A young Wisconsin woman who says she was never interested in politics until last year is now very engaged, and has traveled to other states to participate in protests as well. She had this to say about going to the nation’s most publicized protests:

“I went out to Occupy Wall Street a few months ago, and I was overwhelmed with people telling me how Wisconsin was the spark that started the fire of the Occupy movement.”

And so, finally, we are becoming a force in this country. We have made it abundantly clear what we want and need, so no legislator can claim to have our best interests in mind when she or he works against us. This many people can’t be wrong, and even if we were, this is our house. The house of the 1% may be bigger and fancier, but our house has room for everyone. Our house has more love. Our house has more hope. Our house has more potential, just waiting to explode into action. Soon, the 1% will wish they had come over to our house when we first invited them, because the party is going to be unbelievable.

Hear what I mean, not what I say

I am in A Mood this week. Add to that the fact that this morning I simultaneously consumed caffeine, read the newspaper, and listened to Ani DiFranco, and we have a recipe for a rant. Batten down the hatches.

I went to college at a Lutheran school in small-town Iowa, so I have a lot of conservative friends. I also have a lot of friends and family who don't like to think about politics at all. Usually we just don't talk about it, and I'm not sure whether I wish that we did. Every now and then I try to subtly mention how this or that policy has limited my quality of life, but the following post is what I really wish I had the guts to say. This is what I really mean.

Dear conservative friends and family,

I don't have inherent problems with conservatism as a political approach. I don't have (m)any inherent problems with the republican party, though I have endless problems with what the republican party has become. I can respect your decision to vote republican, if you can demonstrate to me that you have really, deeply thought about the ramifications of your vote. I can respect your decision if you can give me a reason good enough to justify all the ways in which republican policies would limit my ability to thrive in this country.

Every time the government or anyone in a position of power makes a move to limit civil rights, to favor those who are already living comfortably, to silence a group that needs to be heard, to make equality less attainable, it is also a move to erase not only my views, but my existence. It is not exclusively conservatives who are to blame for this--it would be unfair of me to omit that fact. But what I want to emphasize is that these are not abstract concepts we are talking about here. We are talking about people. Maybe you have not been personally affected, or maybe you think it only affects people who deserve to be affected. I wish I could convince you to see it this way:
Every day, the politicians and laws of this country make attacks on me, personally.
Every day, we uphold laws that jeopardize the rights and safety of me, your friend.
Every day, presidential candidates claim that unemployment, national debt, and going uninsured are the fault of me, a law-abiding, tax-paying, working (after nearly 5 months of applying for jobs) citizen.
Every day, the rhetoric of the leaders of the United States reinforces the notion that this country does not want, care about, or need me, a human being.

I am constantly told that I am less worthy of rights and legal protections because I am not Christian. Because I am a woman. Because I am gay. Because I live below the legal poverty line. Because I chose a "frivolous" line of education. Many others are bombarded with still more reasons: Because of their skin color, or a disability, or mistakes made in the past, or any number of other reasons.

The United States as a nation is apparently terrified of governments that operate under Islamic law, so much so that it will declare war on such nations. But at the very same time, many of us believe that the best way to run our own country is under Christian law. A great many of the hot issues today are issues exclusively because we have failed to maintain separation of church and state.

Example 1: Educating teenagers about birth control is problematic only if it is against your religion--so don't use it if it is against your religion. It's not a sin to know that there are safer options available to people who are inclined to sin. In a time when our population greatly outstrips our resources, it would benefit us to limit our rate of population growth.

Example 2: Same-sex marriage is an issue only if you are morally opposed to it, and nobody would force you to perform a same-sex marriage. You wouldn't even be obligated to respect same-sex marriages--only to tolerate them and allow your fellow citizens to obtain legal rights and privileges as consenting adults. Weddings contribute a great deal to the economy, so again, benefit.

Even if I weren't able to provide the above examples, when is it ever fair to force someone, by law, to abide by the tenets of your religion? And who decided that these particular beliefs were the ones our nation should enforce? Think how many rules and commandments are laid out in the Bible, and not followed today. I'm not stating anything new here; I'm sure you've thought about it. Only two of the ten commandments are law (three if you count adultery in some states), and if all of them were incorporated into our legal system, then every single one of us would be a criminal.


I do not, by any means, intend for this to be a tirade against Christianity. There is much that is beautiful and good about it, just as there is much that is beautiful and good about any religion. This is precisely the reason no single religion should be favored in our nation's laws.

If you are conservative for reasons other than your religious faith, then I still urge you to consider the ramifications that political policies have for real human beings. Ask yourself why you support the politicians and policies that you do, and whether you want them badly enough to sacrifice the well-being and freedoms of fellow Americans.

This, to me, is the greatest irony of all. Those conservatives who are unable to articulate their reasoning (I don't mean to imply that this refers to the majority of conservatives) generally fall back on an argument along the lines of "Regardless of the problems you may have with the government, at least we have freedom!"
Ouch.
After reading the above post, you should have some idea of how many freedoms I am not afforded, and you will understand why that argument bears no weight for me.

Please, next time you go to the polls, ask yourself who and what you are supporting. Ask yourself what rights and freedoms you think I deserve. I promise to defend yours, as long as they don't preclude everyone else's.

Love,
Your friend, sister, daughter, niece, cousin, fellow citizen and human being.