Friday, October 5, 2012

Romney and Racism

So we all know I am in to politics. However, I did not watch the debate as I was busy and have found past years to be very disappointing   Since the debate, I have heard many things about it.  Last night, however, I had a conversation with a very nice man who happens to be a self described Liberal hippie.  I rather enjoyed them as customers. I found them delightful to talk to and rather un-offensive. I say that not because I assume the above described would be offensive but because of the conversation that occurred right before he walked out of the restaurant.  I must say, here, that one of my best friends is a Progressive Liberal, so being of that political mind set does not make a person into someone I don't like.  
On to the conversation at question.  We talked about politics. When I work, I try to be as non-political as possible. I try to be agreeable and find "common ground" which I believe I did when I expressed term limits for everyone (in politics), salary reduction, and finding people to run for office who have the best interests of the people at heart, not a desire to makes "lots" of money.  He moved us on to the political debate, which again, I had not seen.  I had heard about Romney referring to "Obama's facts" as being untruths that he (Obama) repeated until he thought people would believe them and that Romney referenced the fact that "I have boys and they try that too" or something along those lines. I took that as a reference to Obama being a younger man.  This gentleman, that I was speaking with, informed me that Romney was being a racists by referring to Obama as "boy" which is apparently a derisive term to blacks.   While I admit that it was used derisively in the past (and possibly still today in some areas), it could hardly be what Romney was referring to.  The only "proof" that Romney is a racist is the made up examples like this.  Unless Romney has his own "blacks" that he was referring to when he posited that his "boys" do the same thing, it is more likely that Romney was referring to his younger sons.  It's time that we stop trying to make others into our preconceived ideas of what people of different ideological perspective are. How about we judge each man according to his own actions?  It's novel and all, but I think it might work better than trying to force others into the box of prejudice that we have set up for them.  
While living in North Dakota during the early 2000, I went to a rodeo in the "back woods" with all of the locals.  While sitting around the camp site (for lack of a better word), I listened as the un-educated, local haters talked about the one "nigger" at the Rodeo.  Apparently, not all black were "Ns" to them, but this one was because of the way he walked around there.  He didn't know, apparently that he was to cower and be afraid while there.  He got beat up; I heard about it afterward. I have to say that I wanted to throw up. I only knew one person there and so stayed quiet for fear of myself.  I wouldn't have known how to get out of the rodeo grounds as they were way back in the middle of no where in farming country which is a lot like a maze to people like me.  That was racism. That's what racism looks like.  It's ugly and very hard to hide.  
In my opinion, Romney, who is not my first choice for president, is better than the man we currently have in office, not because of the color of his skin but because of the failure of his policies.  I am proud that our country has gone from enslaving people of color to electing them in office. What a great achievement for a people.  Now, lets stop creating division and racism where there is not and start working towards what is best for this country.  Let's deal with real racism where it is instead of creating it where it is not.  Let's work together towards a better country to pass on to our children.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Jeremiah in the Morning

"Heal me, Lord, that I may be healed;
save me, that I may be saved,
for it is you whom I praise."
Jeremiah 17:14

So simple, so powerful.  Let these words reverberate in my heart constantly, let them be the song on my lips, and the prayer in my heart.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Tale of a Survivor

The Tale of a Survivor
I believe I was sixteen and my sister almost 18 when our Mom called us in to talk to us.  For some reason, at that point and time, we thought it was funny to ask: “Who died?” whenever our parents wanted to share something serious with us.  It may have just been my imagination, but, after that, it seemed that our mom hesitated before she spoke. 
“When I was 16, I had an abortion…” she spoke.
I froze. I can’t speak for my sister, but for me, I suddenly saw my mother as someone I didn’t know.  It was like falling through the floor into another dimension.  You must understand that I am the youngest of 5 kids, I guess now I can say of 6 kids, in an actively pro-life family.  We were members of a Teen Pro-Life Group. We went to church every Sunday.  We did not do that.
At that point, a lot of feelings and questions went through my head.  How could she do that? How could she keep that from us? What else was she lying about? What else would I find out wasn’t true about my life? Why was “he” aborted and not me?  What made me worth more than him? 
My mom had been dating an older guy (a couple of years older) and had only had sex with him once but was “un-lucky” enough to get pregnant.  My grandfather was not excited about his daughter being pregnant and, it seems, didn’t want the embarrassment of her having a baby out of wedlock; my mother, also, wasn’t ready for a baby.  It was just a blob of tissue; surely her parents wouldn’t let her do something that would harm her?  My grandmother went with her; my grandfather never spoke to her about it again (even now). **
My Mother had feelings of unworthiness and feared sharing this terrible secret with us. She had to wonder how we would feel about her after this revelation.  For a day I had to work through my feelings so I could look at her, and maybe a few days more to come back to knowing that she was still who I thought she was.  She loved us enough to change her life, to help change the lives of others through her work with Project Aurora and Rachel’s Vineyard.  She volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center and helped us to be involved in Pro-life groups, hoping that we would never go through the trauma she went through, and hoping, also, we would help other girls to not make the same choice she was pushed into making.
Last night, I had a dream that I had had an abortion.  There was such sorrow in my heart for that baby I would never know.  I kept wanting to go back to undo the abortion so I could give life to my child. I thought about, in my dream, the lives that wouldn’t be because of the life that was ended.  When I awoke, I was free of those fears and worries but people like my Mother will never be free of them.  The only hope for them is healing. 
That’s where my mom comes in again. She wasn’t content to just heal from her own abortion, she wanted others to be healed too.  Through her ministry in Project Aurora and Rachel’s Vineyard, she has helped lead many women (and men) to be free of their terrible secret and to come to a place of healing in regards to their lost children.
**I must mention that my Grandmother came to regret her part in my mom's abortion and would attend the Rally's for Life with us at the state capitol every year.

If I were to leave you with one thought it is this: be open to those who need to share and be healed.  Confirm life.  Don’t hide your abortion from those that love you but allow them to help you through your pain. Don’t let others make you feel badly about yourself because of your past mistakes, and use what you have learned to help others.  As a survivor of the womb, I would also ask you to choose life, to  confirm life, to live life. There is help out there for you who are survivors, help that does not come with condemnation but with love.  


Seek help! Don't date men who use your past against you.  You are the mother of a wonderful child who wants more for you than for you to blame yourself and be in abusive relationships because of their death. 


http://project-aurora.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Aurora/