I was a history major in college.
I was going to minor in Secondary Education and Political Science. I did not go out and complete my semester of student teaching, and I was one class short in Political Science in order to complete those minors.
I'm ok with that.
However, I do love to talk history or politics. Recently, the political chatter has been off the charts.
That said, this blog's purpose is to be non-political. I do not want to (and I will do my best to not) talk about politics on this blog. This is to be about my journey as a "recovering museum professional" to Ironman. My political views are my own. I try not to publicly share or promote.
However, since we are in the midst of an election, I feel I need to address the issues everyone is talking about!
The past couple of weeks have been heartbreaking, alarming, frustrating, and just unbelievable--no matter where you fall on the political spectrum.
I firmly believe that anyone can do anything they set their mind to, regardless of obstacles. If not, then we wouldn't have the United States of America.
I also believe that we need to support each other more and criticize each other less.
I have taken to not speaking my mind, because I ask myself, "will this do more harm than good, if I express this?" Will I unintentionally offend someone? Is this a trigger? It is not that I don't like a good debate. It's just that it is getting harder to debate, because it quickly escalates into yelling and fights. It has become "personal."
I understand that many would say that saying nothing is the same as doing nothing--accepting the status quo and not working toward change or righting a wrong. That's ok. Again, this blog is not intended to speak about those topics, even though they weigh on my heart.
Until recently, I could take a position that I didn't believe in, in order to have an interesting discussion. Now it is more difficult. I used to enjoy speaking with many of my friends who thought differently to get their points of view on different topics. Sometimes, they changed my mind. Sometimes I changed theirs. Sometimes we just had lively discussions and agreed to disagree civilly. Those days seem to be gone.
All I can do is support my fellow human, regardless of their opinions. I don't need to agree with them, to still encourage and love them.
Sometimes I think that Aaron Burr had it right in the Hamilton Broadway show.
"Talk less...smile more."
Therefore, I intend this to be my one and only post regarding politics. I hope you all understand.
Meanwhile, just be good humans.