Going Off The Rails...

 On a Crazy Train.  

So, here's a wordy rambling.  

I'm feeling very much the way I felt in 2020 on the run-up to Election Day and I wrote I'm Empty And Aching...  But this time, it feels different. More frightening. More dark.  

The morning after the election, after Trump again became the President-Elect, I did something VERY out of character.  I fired off a knee-jerk, angry/scared/sad status update on my Facebook.  I don't usually do that.  And I invited people to unfriend me if they voted for Trump in that status update.  I wish I had taken a moment before posting.  Some did unfriend me.  I did some unfriending.  I rarely do that.  It was definitely out of character.  Childish even.  

Instead of what I posted, I wish I had posted something more like this:  

I'm disappointed.  I'm scared.  Y'all voted for a man clearly in both mental and physical decline.  Who says crazy stuff.  Weird stuff.  Slurs his words.  Clearly unfit, and you KNOW he is unfit.  He calls America, the greatest country with the best economy in the world, "a garbage can for the world".  You were so afraid that your little girl would go to school and come home a boy (y'all don't really believe this do you?) that you voted against someone who wanted to help people buy their first home.  You voted for a man who already has caused so many women to not be able to get the health care needed, in mid-miscarriage, sepsis taking hold (and sepsis moves quickly), and even some have died after being turned away from emergency rooms.  And he brags about it.  If you haven't read Project 2025, you need to.  Because it appears this could be the future of America.  I really REALLY hope that it isn't.      

I. Am. Afraid.   
/end status

I'm trying to believe you didn't mean to do it though.  You've just been SO misinformed.  You voted for him because you believed all the disinformation you were fed by Fox News and other right-leaning networks, podcasts, and social media.  Remember y'all, Fox News admitted in court that they lied to the American people and are NOT to be considered a news channel, but only entertainment.  They paid out millions of dollars in a settlement.  

The media sells it, And you live the role. 

Click to enlarge.

I also have to admit to the hypocrisy of my previous blog post. I guess it was written from a place of hubris.  It was SO clear to me that Harris was the right, competent choice and would be elected.  All the huge early voter turnouts, massive rallies, and her positive message of lifting others up and protecting women's reproductive rights, the possibility of making history by electing our first woman President.  But when it didn't come to pass, I apparently, momentarily, lost my mind.  Just total disbelief and just sadness at the future we're now going to be denied.  She had a plan and policies that would help the country and the people of our country.  All Trump wants is retribution.  

Through this, I've learned so much about how easily people can be led and misinformed.  And that there are some who just don't or won't try to know or learn about what's happening in the world around them. It's also taught me a lesson about myself.  I'll never understand those willing to vote for a convicted felon who was also found liable for sexual assault and is promising to pardon insurrectionists who assaulted police officers.

There have been reports that before the election, most voters preferred Harris' policies over Trump's, as long as they weren't aware of which candidate proposed them.  That is very sad. (Wish I could locate the source of this information, but sadly I can't. I'll link it here if I do find it though.) 

Some recent things Trump said shortly before the election that freaked me out.  He said he's going to let RFK, Jr. go wild on food.  Go wild on medicine.  Go wild on healthcare. Y'all know some of the crazy and weird shit that guy has done? This guy is scary AF!  And he's now appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Y'all.  I can't even. 

 And Speaker Johnson says there will be a major overhauling of healthcare.  Without the ACA, I, and so many of y'all, will likely lose our health insurance. I'll lose the ability to get the treatment needed if I get any recurrence or new cancer.  My thyroid issues, diagnosed in 1997, would go back to being my financial (and expensive) responsibility.  It could mean the end of coverage for preexisting conditions.  But apparently, that's what the majority wants, sadly.

I suspect as we move through Trump's next presidency, so many who voted for him are going to wonder why all kinds of terrible things are happening.  They'll be angry about it.  Rightfully so.  They'll say they didn't know. But his agenda has been no secret.  SO many in his own party, decorated military people, and people who worked with him and know him very well have been sounding alarms.  But apparently, his MAGA voters just think it's all bullshit what they're saying about him. Fake news.  But he's already said so much of it himself.  
Believe him.

So, we've got a couple of more months before the shit hits the fan.  And time will tell how successful or not he will be in implementing his agenda. Y'all see Trump's cabinet pics so far this week?  If he really cares about the country and the people, why is he choosing such outlandish, unqualified, inexperienced people?  For the shock value?  Well, I do think that's part of it.  But it's mostly because these people will do exactly what he expects of them.  They will pledge loyalty to him over the Constitution.  

And now the GOP will have control of both the House and the Senate. Still think Project 2025 wasn't for real?  Still think he has no idea what it is?  I am fearful for the future.  Fearful for our national security, our healthcare, our reproductive rights, our climate, our economy...for America.

I hope there are enough Republicans opposing Trump to maintain some guardrails, enough to prevent us from becoming a dictatorship.  

I've been feeling so sad and abandoned.    

I am trying.  I will get there.  I must.  Now that the initial shock has subsided, it's time to remember how to compartmentalize, limit my news exposure and get back to ME.  I just felt I had to put this out there, own my missteps and now I'm ready to get out of this dark place.

Maybe it's not too late, 
to learn how to love and forget how to hate. 

If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made A Choice...REPRISE 2024

 VOTE.  Please. 

Reprising my post from 2020. 

This is just some of my thinks and feels.  Some will understand, some won't.  Here's a rambling batch of words.  

I don't often share political memes and opinions or even FACTUAL posts on social media.  I may start posting factual things as we get closer to the election...likely the most important one yet.  And yes, that has been said of the last couple of elections, but since the insurrection on January 6, 2021, and the revelation of Project 2025, it's truer now more than ever.  I hope this is the last election we have to fear for the survival of our democracy.  

This post isn't even meant to be of a political nature, really.  But what it IS about is relationships.  Here's the thing... I have not and will not let politics affect my feelings toward our friends and family.  I have not unfriended (maybe unfollowed) anyone on social media simply because they feel the opposite way that I do about a candidate or political party.  I'm trying really hard to not start unfriending, but when I see people posting utter foolishness, misinformation, and just downright ugliness...it's hard y'all, but I will try not to do it.  

I WILL, however, delete you if you flagrantly disregard my request to NOT engage in political debate or start an argument with me on a rare political post I may make.  If you post or comment with anything that is downright hateful, nasty, vulgar or criminal sounding, I will likely go on ahead and block you.  You can always, just, you know, scroll on by; that's what I do.  (Can I just say how annoyed I've become about how social media has taken over so much of our lives and interactions with others?)

I appreciate that most times, our friends and family members know that politics (and religion) should be taboo at get-togethers.  Unfortunately, sometimes a friend of a friend or family member at a gathering will start in with silly political rhetoric, or a smart-ass comment aimed at getting a reaction.  It happened recently, actually.  It got zero reaction.  

A sidebar:  Recently, our town went through a major, 1,000-year flood due to Hurricane/TS Debbie parking right over us for 3 days.  I love how quickly our community sprang into action to help their affected neighbors.  So many volunteers helping with sandbags, helping people get out of the flooded neighborhoods with boats, delivering supplies on boats and kayaks.  They didn't hesitate.  I'm pretty sure no one stopped to see if they were working alongside or helping to assist a Republican or a Democrat.  Both sides were working hard, side by side, to help their fellow humans...their fellow Americans.

I wish that people could agree to not let political opinions divide, damage or estrange friends and especially family.  Blood is supposed to be thicker than politics.  

That being said, I may post some of my hopes for our political future on social media.  I may not.  I hope my friends list doesn't decrease in numbers as a result if I do.    

I understand that there are those who might disagree with their significant other's candidate of choice but aren't comfortable saying so.  Keep in mind, the voting booth is a private situation.  You can vote however you want.
You can choose free will.  Just sayin'.  

I hope everyone will get out and vote.  If you will be 18 by election day, go on ahead and register and then make your voice heard on November 5.

Voting feels wonderful.  I'm downright euphoric after I've seen my ballot counted.  And after we vote this year, early, we will likely celebrate that we can and have voted.  Please y'all, don't let your candidate lose to the couch.  

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.  
~Geddy Lee / Alex Lifeson / Neil Peart