It’s only just begun
The past week has been rough.
The nonsensical political posturing has begun hitting very close to home. My own heart aches for problems that I cannot solve, far-reaching issues that I’m powerless to fix, and broken hearts that I cannot heal.
Since about 2015 when I began (later than I should have, but I digress) taking a more public stance on my scruples, I have tried to walk the tightrope of speaking my heart while also balancing the need for public-facing professionalism. It's a difficult line to walk, because I work alongside, am related to, and have close personal connections with people who – quite frankly – confound me.
I wanted to share a post about my perspective and why I feel so disheartened right now, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the people I really wish I could connect with probably wouldn’t listen, anyway. So, this is me, screaming into the Void.
Unfortunately, I have superficial relationships these days with people I used to be very close to. We talk about the weather, work, my grown kids … but not the truly important stuff. For example, we don’t talk about how I worry about someone dear to me who identifies as non-binary, much less the utter disregard for science behind the new Executive Order stating that biological sex is identified at conception, yet in reality: “During early development the gonads of the fetus remain undifferentiated; that is, all fetal genitalia are the same and are phenotypically female” (National Library of Medicine, 2001).
Wow!!! Welcome to the Matriarchy! It’s about damned time. I’m pleased to report that any American who identifies as a man is actually a transgender man, since “his” biological sex at conception was, in fact, female. Testosterone doesn’t even begin production until about 9 weeks gestation.
Perhaps the most heart-breaking aspect of all of this, to me, is that the folks who need to hear it, the ones I really wish I could talk to openly about these things … won’t be receptive to it. It’s as if people have dug their heels so far into the ground that they are unwilling to budge for fear of losing face by admitting that they were wrong.
They were wrong about chanting: “Character matters!” when Bill Clinton’s elicit powerplay of a White House intern came to light, yet they wholeheartedly support – and even put onto a spiritual pedestal – a thrice-divorced, philandering, racist, self-professed p*ssy-grabber who gets off on disparaging others and manages his unearned wealth like a 7-year-old taking his allowance money to a convenience store unsupervised.
They were wrong about condemning Michelle Obama for wearing a sleeveless-yet-totally-appropriate dress for shamelessly “baring her arms” while simultaneously justifying the “bearing of arms” with no constraints, offering feeble “thoughts & prayers” to a litany of school shootings by deranged white dudes, and calling a p*rn star-turned-FLOTUS “classy.”
They were wrong about demanding that we “lock her up!” when Hillary Clinton allegedly used a personal email account for official correspondence yet turned a blind eye to DJT for taking a mother lode of security-protected documents to his personal residence.
They were wrong about preaching the “sanctity of life” to condemn abortion while also supporting sex offenders to serve as judge, legislator, and Chief Executive.
They were wrong about decrying evolution, all the while asserting that “losing one’s virginity” morphed her into something irreparably tainted, used, ugly, and less worthy.
They were wrong about claiming “Blue Lives Matter” yet supporting someone who would immediately pardon the Jan. 6 cop-beaters and cop-killers.
They were wrong about believing that “DEI” was crafted as a workaround to avoid merit hires, when in fact, DEI began because “merit” hiring wasn’t working. It turns out that the folks in power only want to elevate folks who look & think like themselves, even when others are equally (or better) qualified. Surprise, surprise … it’s like trickle-down economics, except the human resources version.
I was raised to believe that being an American was something to be proud of: a “melting pot” of immigrant cultures; life/liberty/happiness, etc. etc. I was raised to believe that Sunday School lessons were life lessons: love your neighbor; look after the poor; pursue justice; walk humbly. I was raised to believe that I could do anything & become anything I set my mind to.
Nowadays, unfortunately, America has demonstrated itself to be a wealthy, albeit conceited country that is hellbent on turning back the clock to revoke progress on individual rights & liberties. The 2nd Amendment means more than the other 26. The “church” – at least, the American evangelical church – has been infiltrated by Christian-Nationalists who would rather post the 10 Commandments in classrooms than feed hungry kids lunch. American women today have fewer personal rights than many of our grandmothers had.
This is why my heart breaks. This is why I will not, cannot, be silent – because I need my grandkids to know that I took a stand for what the world should look like in their generation.
References (like anyone cares):
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding the Biology of Sex and Gender Differences; Wizemann TM, Pardue ML, editors. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter? Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2001. 3, Sex Begins in the Womb. Available from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222286
