It's Not Political

I used to be political.  Especially when I watched the news.  But after the layoff, I stopped watching.  I stopped listening.  What I found was I didn't lose sight on what was happening in the world at all.  What I found was, people were people again.  I didn't lose touch with the world, I just lost the reductionist glasses that separated me from it.  At the end of the day, people are people, just trying to do what they believe will work best for their situation in life to make their lives, and the lives of the people they love, better.

Once I was able to shed the political armor and cliches I'd been hiding behind, I discovered... or maybe re-discovered, a few fundamental basics.  Basic #1:  I have 1 life and in that life there are an unknown number of days.  Basic#2:  I want to live that life as I see fit.  That's it.  Everything I think or believe now, comes from those 2 very basic realities.  That isn't political.

My family is split with politics, and they all have their 'sacred cows' whether it's gun rights or Planned Parenthood or whatever.  I don't really let myself get drawn in to the fake arguments like Trump vs Hillary.  They were both criminals, I'm not voting for a criminal because: Basic #1: I want to live that life as I see fit.  Criminals are considered criminals because they did something, or multiple somethings, that took advantage and/or preyed upon people, which took from them, hours of their life in either money, property, time or worse.  I wasn't going to reward that behavior.  That isn't a political stance, it's just a basic moral.

For things like Gun Control, I don't have any issues unless it impedes with Basic #2: I want to live that life as I see fit.  For the people who own guns, if they aren't violating Basic #1, I don't care what they own, how much or how many.  If they violate that in any way, then we deal with them on an individual basis.  It's the scalpel approach instead of the hammer as I've heard people fond of saying.  Ironically, the ones that say that seem to be fine with the hammer approach for gun control, but nothing else.

For things like Planned Parenthood, I don't have any moral qualms with what they do.  I don't have a stance on abortion or the death penalty, and I know they do more than just abortions before anyone's parrot talk reflexes kick in (parrot talk - pre-generated responses).  Some people would say I should because of Basic #1, but I haven't given enough consideration to the unborn or the predators of the world to care one way or the other.  I acknowledge that science believes life starts at the moment of conception, which categorizes a fetus as a living being.  I can't decide for others when murder is ok and when it isn't.  If someone breaks into my home, I have no idea if they are there to kill, so... Basic #1 and #2.  I don't want to kill someone, but if it's between them or me... I'm not ready to go.  Stranger Things has a Season 3 coming out.  I'm in the gray on a life that has literally done nothing good or bad for the world but wouldn't know that it's being murdered.  Ultimately, that one is above my pay grade.

What I do have a problem with is their violation of Basic #1 in the funding of Planned Parenthood.  If I only have 1 life and an unknown number of hours in it, taking my time from that one and only life from me in the form of money that I spent my time being productive to convert into a tangible asset or currency to improve my life for Basic #2.  As a result, I end up on the side against them, not for political reasons, not even necessarily for moral reasons exactly, although that's a bit hazy.  I end up against them because I get no say in the fact they can take money from my wallet, which is in essence taking those hours of my life against my will.  I never get them back.  They are gone forever.  There's no reset button, I didn't pick up a 1-up somewhere along the way.

And it would be fairly easy to move me to the 'no opinion' category instead of the 'against' category if Planned Parenthood just stopped receiving tax funding and set up as a 501C3.  Then, only the people that believed in what they did would support them.  The people who were morally or religiously against it would stay the same, and the rest of us wouldn't care anymore.  They'd remove a bunch of opposition by doing that, but I also understand it's harder.  It's easier to keep the indentured servants to use as a personal ATM for the cause than it is to release them and put the work in yourself to earn commitment.  But, again, I don't see that outlook as political.  If they didn't use my tax money, I would have no stance on Planned Parenthood at all.

I think the one people are talking about now is walls.  Putting up walls.  Again, I don't have much of an opinion here beyond my Basics.  If people coming here aren't violating Basic #1, I don't care.  If someone wants to take my money and build a wall or provide health care or other services for illegal immigrants, I'm against that because... see Basic #1 and #2.   I don't care if someone uses their own money to build a wall or sets up a 501C3 for people to donate to, to provide services or health care to illegal immigrants.  Just don't use the hours of my life to support either side. 

I guess when it comes down to it, 99% of the things I agree with side with the concept of more freedom, not less. Life, however, doesn't get easier or less complicated as it moves forward.  It's Bak's Sand Pile Theory.  Everything continues to become more complicated until it collapses.  If you drop a grain of sand in the exactly same place continually, it will grow into a mountain. But, because the sand lacks the ability or intellect to restructure itself to a more cohesive arrangement to sustain the continual growth and weight, it will inevitably collapse.  This is true for basically everything in life.  We have the capacity to turn all of these government funded things to something run by supporters to create a stronger, longer lasting, more cohesive structure that will stand longer before collapse, but like unthinking grains of sand, people refuse to restructure or reorganize because of their sacred cows.

In conversations, if I suggest it, I've actually heard on multiple occasions, the reason it should be federally funded is because without, the (insert-sacred-cow-here) would collapse.  Well, if it can't stand on it's own merits, it's should go away to preserve the strength of the structure.  Wolves remove the weak from heards of Caribou.  Failing businesses cut cut jobs (sand pile slides) or collapse, successful businesses flourish and create more jobs and opportunities.  Dead cells are discarded and stronger cells replace them.

So, to me, it's not political. I think politics are... well, they're like fire.  If used sparingly, it can be a benefit in a lot of different ways, but if given the fuel and opportunity, it will burn everything and everyone to the ground and choke itself out of existence. And right now, we are burning.  But instead of being smart, evaluating the situation, we are obstinately putting our emotions before common... no, good sense.