A Singular Moment



The unexamined life isn't worth living, Socrates

There are moments in our lives which stand out as singular. Events, seemingly insignificant cause, us to alter a belief or a course we thought we were fixed to. Studies show that intelligent and liberal people are more likely to have these satoris.

 Some months back I vowed to not choose a presidential candidate to back until 90 days before the election. If Canada and Australia can choose a leader in such short time certainly the USA can do without the two year two ringed circus we seem to think necessary. Especially if the SCOTUS (2000) or compromised voting machines (2004) is going to be the way a president gets into office. Note: I did not say elected. 

The internet is a wonderful window into the world and what the world knows and yet a few moments spent on any social media site and you know there are people who have the blinds down and the drapes closed. I said upon graduation from the University of New Mexico that my ideal profession would be researcher. And the internet and Google has made it possible at least as a hobby. A blame my father. He bought us the World Book Encyclopedia and always encouraged us to look it up.

The goal of not picking a candidate gave me the freedom to look up the records as opposed to spouting the party line, and being dedicated to defending it.

My parents were Democrats and we lived in a Republican precinct so I suffered for that. In a time when girls my age had teen idols I worshiped John Fitzgerald Kennedy. A Catholic, heaven forbid. So I attended mass at the nearest Catholic church because I wanted to know what was so horrid about that. Nothing I found. I did find out my father had been raised Catholic. The pope was going to colonize the US. Now we are willing to hand it over to Jesus. Or at least people who claim to know what he wants.

So while I was in this place of self-imposed examination of the candidates I also examined the process. And became firmly opposed to the two party system long before I voiced that. Trump and Hillary just supported my conclusion. So right after I voted for my preferred Democratic candidate in the primary I changed my registration from Democrat to un-affilated. Or totally independent of all party politics. I have been both, you know. Republican when that was something to be admired and then back to Democrat when it became evident it was not the grand ole party anymore. 

My parents were abhorred about the Republican period and no doubt they would be upset about this new independence. But my research shows it is a growing trend. Currently independents out number Republicans and Democrats put together. So why is it those to obsolete and totally dysfunctional parties get to choose who we vote for? Which brings me back to not choosing a candidate I would vote for until 90 days before the election. Right now I know it isn't Hillary or Trump.

Hillary was eliminated when she announced she had won before the last round of primaries. My singular moment. This was not working for me. I thought in 2008 I wanted a female president. But not this one. Not anyone chosen by this flawed and corrupted process.

Comments

Post a Comment

I write for me but I care what my readers think. Please be polite and no scamming.

Popular posts from this blog

Polyethylene Packaging - a Dark Times Journal entry

Image
I was in the fourth grade when our family moved from El Paso, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We moved because I could not breathe the air there. I want to say they cracked petroleum there. But what did I know beyond the sky was sometimes yellow and I could not breathe. Mom was pregnant with Debbie, and Gary and I rode in the backseat separated by a round tank full of Dad's tropical fish. Dad had a job with Sealright, Inc which made paper milk cartons. Sealright was a polyethylene packing subsidiary of Phillips 66. The petroleum company. I was rather proud of myself for learning to say that, and to not laugh when adults would stare at me not knowing what to ask about that. Albuquerque smelled better. Then. Before all the freeways were built and the shape of the valley trapped the exhaust down near the ground in the winter months. We lived in the foothills. I could breathe. I learned that if I could see the air I could not. Still it was better than El Paso though I missed our trip...
Read more

Swimming

Image
For much of my college career my fitness workout was swimming on the B squad of the swim team. I remember it as the days before heated pools and women coaches. I also remember being so exhausted and cold I could only lean against the shower wall and throw up. Not exactly warm fuzzy images but I was in awesome shape. Needless to say it did not leave me with a overpowering desire to swim laps. Point of fact for years my swimming became really informal: Swimming to shore after the canoe tipped over, challenging my sister once a summer to across the lake and back, seeing how long I could back float without moving a muscle, and a scuba course. I also played around with other ways of staying fit: aerobics, bicycling, jogging, skiing and dance classes. All of which seem to be bad for the knees, back or feet. After my ski accident my physical therapist steered me back to the pool. Damn if I was going to swim laps! However, aqua fit was just getting rather seriously taken so I took it. It r...
Read more

The Pruning the Crown of Thorns

Image
Crown of Thorns Before I am a lover of Euphorbias . They are from the deserts of Southern Africa and Madagascar. They have evolved physical characteristics and forms similar to cacti of North and South America and are often incorrectly referred to as cacti. My big Crown of Thorns was one of my first of a growing collection of these succulents from the spurge family of Euphorbiaceae. I picked it up as a 6 inch plant in a New Iberia nursery when my sister and I were touring the northern gulf coast. I believe that was 15 years ago. I made an attempt at limiting its height a few years back to allow it to devote more energy to the new branches and make it a denser plant. That failed. And the height of the plant continued to challenge the window space and soon the long branches were leaning over and leaning against the window. I googled and found the proper way to prune this treasured plant. Still it was very difficult to cut off the four longer branches. Even with a plan. The f...
Read more