America at the "Y"...

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Since the election… nothing has been the same… It’s as if the illusion I’ve been living was struck by a lightning bolt… which destroyed even the thickest of stones… and the condition of the foundation on which I thought I could depend… became clear… Not that I haven’t realized for quite some time… that change was upon us… Even so, it was still a shock… leaving me in unfamiliar… uncomfortable… and frightfully new territory… Until this morning, I had been unable to put my finger on what I was feeling… I wasn’t able to voice what I was sensing… However, now, I can…

The election of Donald Trump is symbolic of the fact that the bottom has fallen out… the foundation has cracked… the rules… beliefs… laws… which held the illusion together… are no longer dependable… (They never really were.)… Donald Trump represents the fall of the illusion… the “blowing up” of the system… And though many of us have sensed the drastic need for change… due to the fact that we’ve outgrown our own illusion… I’m not so sure we were ready to be tossed into the deep end… The President-elect doesn’t believe in rules… He doesn’t follow “tradition”… He has his own protocols… and his beliefs, as well as allegiances, seem to change second-by-second… depending on what he wants… There is nothing sacred… and little to be respected… at least this is what is implied through the actions and words of society's perfect reflection -Donald Trump… 

The election of Donald Trump is symbolic of the fact that an old reality is imploding… its time has come… and we are now faced with the decision as to what will replace it… What will stay?... What will go?... What are our values as Americans?... What is the foundation on which we can depend?  We the People are at a “Y” in the road… and stepping up… taking a stand… empowering our voices… remaining vigilant… is crucial…

There are those of us desiring to continue the “grand experiment” the founders began… We desire to pursue the utopian society envisioned… a society based in freedom for all… where our unity is emboldened and strengthened by the inclusion of our diversity… a society policed by the individual empowerment of each member… standing at their border… while respecting the border of every other… a society where our systems are strong because we've created them together...

Then, there are those of us who wish something very different… a society based in one language… one religion… one ethnicity… one race… one type of marriage… one type of sexual orientation… one of everything… not realizing that this type of society will not escape “diversity”, either… and will eventually – and perpetually – be at war… deciding which “difference” has to be destroyed… outlawed… next…

And finally… there are those attempting to gain control of it all… establishing a hierarchy… where the “have-a-lot-of-a-lot’s” continue their dominance… while the “don’t-have-hardly-anything’s” disappear…They benefit from all the infighting and fear-mongering… separating all of us into factions… However, in this scenario  as well… a time will come when even the most ardent of supporters is next on the “voted-out- of-this-incarnation” list… Only one can win in this game… and, of course, in the end, they won’t win, either…

  

Yes, my descriptions are overly simplified... but the fact remains... we have arrived at a juncture where the rules of the old illusion are no longer dependable… many are no longer applicable... many are no longer worthy of support… many never benefitted the whole, ever… Whether we participate or not… the rules of a new foundation… a new reality… are up for grabs… What will America look like… be like… in the years to come?... Will she still be a beacon for freedom?... Will she collapse into fascism and corruption as other societies have done before?... For those of us who believe in the “grand experiment”… who desire to create a reality we know is possible… a reality empowered by the uniqueness of God’s creations… now is the time to step up… claim our power… and never… never… give in… This is the time we’ve waited for… so "Buckle up, Buttercup"… this is why we’re here.

In Love and Freedom,

Karrie

So...what are YOU screaming about?

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

There are some who would say Facebooking isn’t real activism… I would disagree... and for the following reason… Sometimes, just a simple, authentic conversation, can make a huge difference… a conversation where we aren’t afraid to find out why the “other” is so upset… why they’re screaming…

I’ve been screaming since the election results… and I’m not the only one… Protesters are screaming… Anti-protesters are screaming… Many, many people are screaming… I say “Awesome!... Let’s get it out!”... Most likely, all of us have plenty of anger, frustration, grief, disappointment and resentment stored up… and not from just this election… This election is the catalyst for the release… and maybe we need to take advantage of it… Maybe we need to scream… and scream… and scream… if only to get to the place… where we can finally ask each other… “Hey... what are you screaming about?”…

I had such a conversation this morning… and it began with just asking a simple question… do you believe in freedom and equality for all people?... I mean, wasn’t that what the Declaration of Independence was really about?... Isn’t that why we revere it?... For me, this is the foundation… and without this foundation… the other conversations about government spending and programs, for example… are going to be rough going… Perhaps it’s helpful for you to know that about me… I’m certainly willing to have conversations about programs and spending… I would welcome them… However, freedom and equality come first… If we can’t simultaneously work toward these ideals… we probably aren’t going to get very far.  In my perspective… if freedom and equality truly were the law of the land… many of these government programs people scream about wouldn’t even be needed… But the truth is… we’re still working on the freedom and equality thing…

So… some people are screaming about freedom and equality… some are screaming about God and religion… some are screaming about government programs... trade agreements…  immigration… the second amendment… free speech… etc… etc… etc… And what I’m finding is… there is no clear-cut dividing line when it comes to these issues… You can’t lump those protesting for freedom and equality into opponents of the second amendment… You can’t lump those protesting for freedom and equality into some anti-God movement… and vice-versa… We all have core issues… but that doesn’t mean we don’t agree on other issues… This is where political parties, or the lumping of separate issues together, become dangerous… What we’re going through as a nation isn’t that simple… it cannot be solved by a political party… This is an issue by issue process… a sorting out… and perhaps the only way to wade through it successfully is via conversation… And, real conversations – where each participant listens as well as shares - take courage, don’t they…

I have a sense… that if we could do this… we might just find out… that as far as a majority goes… we aren’t as polarized as we might think… and that perhaps our unified focus could actually be very useful elsewhere… other than on each other… So… perhaps one form of activism begins with a conversation… one conversation at a time… where we each muster the courage to ask another… “So… what are you screaming about?”

Here’s to empowering our voices… as well as our ears… J

Much love,

Karrie 

PS This doesn't mean I won't be tenaciously defending my border... and I expect nothing less from each of you. 

As we make each other uncomfortable...

Sunday, November 20, 2016

I have spent much time since the election attempting to figure out my new strategy for living… my new approach to life… my old strategy having been completely disintegrated by the realization of a reality completely blown apart… Something happened with this particular election… something shifted… something erupted from the core of my being… and nothing… absolutely nothing… will ever be the same, again…

I have spent much of my life persevering to be “good”… “kind”… doing my best to “understand”… making every attempt to “unconditionally love”… while simultaneously taking the hits… taking the judgment… accepting another’s experience-less opinions… and stifling my own expression to great degree… burying my own pain… because I didn’t want to make others uncomfortable… (Perhaps, too, I didn’t want to make myself uncomfortable)… If nothing else… this election has awakened me to the fact… that I’m not willing to do this anymore… I’m not able to do this anymore… I won’t do this anymore…

It occurs to me, now… that I’m not here to make another – or myself - comfortable… I’m here to be who I am… how God made me… no matter how others may judge… that’s between God and me… I’m not here to be like everyone else… and I really doubt… any of us are here… to be… like anyone else… It seems assured… we have that much in common…

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [human beings] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I’m also getting a deeper understanding… that it is our discomfort with difference… which challenges us to grow… to wake up… to share and listen… to move beyond judgment and falsities… delusions ages old… It is our own uniqueness… which challenges the status quo… if only we have the courage to live it… eventually moving beyond fear… coming from a place of empowerment… and authenticity… living from freedom… becoming a more truthful contribution to our world…

This election has already catalyzed a huge shift… a shift which has forced me into empowerment… the willingness to stand for my own diversity… the Right to be who I am… the Right to live my life as I was individually destined… my Rights to Life and Liberty…

We hold these truths to be self-evident… Yes… I, for one, do…

Much love,

Karrie

As I continue to process the election...

Sunday, November 13, 2016

I really do acknowledge there were many reasons Americans voted for President-elect Trump… It wasn’t just about hatred… I really do understand this… The status quo is no longer relevant to the vast majority of Americans… The Clintons represented a very large shadow in regard to the establishment… The Democrats cheated… they rigged the primary… I could see what was coming way back in June… We make our choices… and there is a time… when we’re going to “pay the piper”… Donald Trump’s statements, comments, tweets during the campaigning were incredibly outrageous to many… He, too, is, in many ways, paying the piper via protests and more… For me, the Republican Party is perhaps even more outrageous… If you haven’t done so… take a look at the 2016 Republican Platform – the party agenda for the next 4 years… If you want to understand the protests… the fear… the anger of many people… you will find many answers in this document. That’s not to say there aren’t some reasonable elements in it… but if you really want to understand what’s happening… then you will read this document through the eyes of another… and perhaps get a glimpse of the reason behind the protests…   

For me, the expression of the pain… anger… fear… I felt, and expressed, after the election… was the release of the pain… anger… fear… I have buried for years… I make no apologies for that expression… It has cleared the way for my own empowerment… as I will no longer play “invisible” to any degree for those who find the expression of who I am… uncomfortable… As I stated before, I will stand at my boundary… I will march… I will put my life on the line when my soul demands – as so many patriots have done before me - because I truly believe in the essence of America… I always have…

Life and Liberty are the core essence of my belief system… They are my foundation… And, they are unalienable… they cannot be taken away… To be held hostage by the more narrow-minded beliefs of another (which they have the right to)… is something that might be allowed out of fear… but it is an illusion… These Rights cannot be taken away because, essentially, they are of the Creator… that’s what makes them unalienable.

This being said… I do not have the right to infringe upon another’s life… just as another does not have the right to infringe upon my life… This is a two-way call to action… First, I must stand at my boundary… empowered… safeguarding my right to my own life… I must be my own best representative… and second, I must do my best to not infringe upon another’s life… understanding that when I choose to step into another’s life, uninvited… there are consequences…

This most likely speaks to many – and on many levels – who, for instance, believe the government has far overstepped its bounds in many cases… I don’t disagree… What has come before us is a tangled, complicated, enormous ball of issues and challenges… that can no longer go unaddressed… There is much work ahead... many a heated discussion… and each is called to share their perspective and, just as importantly, listen… We can no longer afford to fight for an “either/or” society… We must find a way to make it a “both/and” if we are to have any hope of peace…

Finally, as far as an individual’s Rights to Life and Liberty are concerned, I really appreciated a comment from a Christian woman… who said, “We all have things we will be judged for. Those things are between us and God. He will judge each one according to His Word.”… She may or may not agree with my expression of life… but she leaves it between me and God.  And as my mother – whom I cherish, respect and admire - said to a minister, who suggested that anyone friends with a gay or lesbian person will also go to hell… “I’ll take my chances with God.” Thanks, Mom… your inherent “goodness”… is a continued light, inspiration, and aspiration in my life…

Desiring the best for all of us… as we make our way through these challenging times… learning to be our own best representative… as well as learning to respect the Rights of another… sharing and listening… creating a new world that works for All of Us…

Much love,

Karrie