"Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?" -- Galileo, The Indigo Girls.But those who know me well (or who follow me on Twitter) know that I have a temper that is fearsome when aroused.
Now, I am not really ashamed about my volatility. Mainly because few things really set me off. It mostly boils down to injustice, ingratitude, life out of synch; Koyaanisqatsi. Okay, well, and traffic jams. I'm hardly a saint. My political beefs usually encompass one of these conceptual hotspots, and the fact that Austin 5:00 p.m. traffic moves faster and is more productive than the current Congressional House has just spiked my blood pressure that much more.
My son asked me about an incident apparently related to him by his dad, where I smashed some dishes in a fit of pique. The full truth was this; the last thing a tired new single mom with a full time day job needs is a white glove inspection of her kitchen. So yes, things got broken. It would have been vastly simpler if the inspector had simply rinsed the offending speck off the dish himself.
Why this introspection? I think it has to do with the company I keep. In the paranormal community, you will find persons of all shades of opinion, and a fair number of those persons exhibiting a disdain for gubbermint. I don't blindly trust bureaucrats myself, and have long been convinced of hinky business regarding the assassination of JFK. More on that soon.
But being privileged enough to be a very small part of the mechanism of government, I understand that it is complicated. Our democracy demands the balancing of all interests, even the interests of stupid and selfish persons, even the interests of persons that aren't really persons but corporations. Most of the time, our state and federal officials really do strive for the best and fairest result, regardless of their party affiliation. Heresy, I know.
Forget campaign nonsense, and forget the high profile attention whores that are always inflammatory, always in front of the camera. They are the outliers. The rank and file, agency officials and their staffers, the ones who do the REAL work of public service generally do their best. They may not always use sound reasoning and can often be blinded by naivete, lack of experience, deference to party leaders, and failure to utilize critical thinking. But they typically try very hard to discharge their duty to the people, within the sphere of their influence.
It is a hard and largely thankless job. I have learned to appreciate their efforts and now, although I am incredibly partisan, I cannot paint all party members with a broad brush. It is unfair and unproductive and doesn't promote peace or unity. So these days, I reserve my virulence for those who deeply deserve it. And I try to qualify my criticism of party politics by pointing to an example of the problem.
So today, while in a paranormal chat room, I found myself at first amused and piqued, and finally full on pissed when one genius started blatting about the Dread President Obama and his war on all things good and righteous. If it were a political chat room -- I used to help moderate an IRC political chat years ago -- I would have argued him down. But this was not that situation. It was the wrong venue for such a brawl. So I counted to ten, Tattycorum. And then I walked (signed) out, claiming a food prep crisis.
People, if you are going to have a life and friends and interests outside of politics, the best practice is to eschew politics when in company with your other interest groups. Don't let partisan politics taint your REAL life.
Most people don't have the slightest idea what they are talking about anyway, seriously. This goes for both sides of the aisle. Lawmaking and public service is incredibly complicated, and if you can't take the time to read the law and understand all of its implications and effects, you don't need to be pontificating on it to others.
I will go back to the chat later. I had to leave because a member of the chat felt they needed to start an inflammatory and ridiculous train of insults and motormouthing that I took great issue with. And I value the people I am meeting in this group too much to sear their eyeballs with the wrath I felt welling up; had I responded like I wanted to, I am sure I would have won the argument, but lost the camraderie. Not worth it at all.
Am I a coward? Have I matured? Why does this incident bother me?
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