So, I made a sort of quiet resolution this year to begin assuming people were operating in good faith until they proved otherwise. I was pretty sure that if I did this, I would find that more often than not, people were.
In other words, I was going to stop assuming nefarious causes for that email from a coworker, stop assuming that the SUV cut me off on purpose. And, you know, it's been pretty nice. I've found myself a lot less irritated in general, and found the world an easier place to be.
And since this has been better for my soul than yoga (I'm not a bendy person and yoga generally just makes me feel old and fat), I thought I might try extending it to the public, political arenas I travel in.
I know that there are Conservatives and Republicans out there who operate in good faith. I know that even if I think their politics are wrong, it doesn't mean that they're mean or stupid. I've tried to be aware that the quickest path to ideologue is the assumption that all opposing arguments are de facto without merit.
But let's take a look at this quote from today's Rush Limbaugh Show today:"
I want you to remember, it took [Obama] three days -- three days! -- to respond to the Christmas Day fruit of ka-boom bomber ... He comes out here in less than 24 hours to speak about Haiti ... [later in same program] ... they'll use this to burnish ahhh their, ahhh shall we say, ahhh credibility with the black community, both the light skinned and, ahhh, hmmm ... dark skinned black community ...
I was going to let this pass without comment, because I didn't want to use this horrifying humanitarian crisis to shore up a political point of my own. But, I feel like I really want to say something about that, and that is this:
It is time for conservative party leadership to start acting in good fucking faith. For Mitch McConnell or President John "bomb bomb bomb Iran" McCain to to stand up and say out lout that vile, toxic, racist, and stupid politicization of EVERYTHING is wrong and bad for all of us.
But, I won't hold my breath for that one. Instead I'm going to make a paltry contribution to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. If I were a praying woman, I'd pray. But I'm not. Besides, I think my $25 is probably more useful.
