Saturday, January 12, 2013

Six Word Saturday



What are we willing to overlook?



For more Six Word Saturday participants, click here.

I am going to write some things here that are going to annoy some people that I care about. And that isn't my intent.

I am going to stomp on some toes. That isn't my intent either.

For the length of this posting, please put your beliefs (your strongly held beliefs) aside for a minute and read what I am saying.

Then we can argue some more.

I have dear dear friends who hold very different views from me - but we have common beliefs and tend to not discuss the ones where we have disagreements. Gun control, abortion, religion. war and the military, welfare, teaching. It seems there is not a topic these days where you can't piss someone off by just bringing it up.

A quote has been rattling around in my head this week - and I want to discuss it (calmly) then we can argue some more.

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes (German Lutheran Pastor and Theologian. His involvement in a plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler led to his imprisonment and execution. 1906-1945)]


I feel that Washington (Congress and the President) are chipping away at the Bill of Rights and no one is saying "Stop."

It is always for a good reason. "We will force you to buy insurance because everyone should have health insurance." Okay, no one wants anyone to suffer whan we as a society have the means to help. But the government should not be allowed to force me to buy something I do not want. And where is my responsibility to take care of myself and my own?

Then the government added that the insurance has to cover contraception because everyone has a right to sex without conception. (Okay, don't remember that Amendment). So Evangelicals and Catholics and probably others are being forced to pay for insurance that covers this. Oh, and abortion too.

What if the Government decides we all need to have Brussel sprouts for dinner? Or decides that we ALL need to eat pork? You say it won't happen. Who would have thought a President would be forcing contraception on the Catholics?

The government for years has been limiting free speech by labeling it hate speech.

Now the Government is talking about gun control. (I feel blood pressures going up) The second amendment was put in place in part to allow the citizenry to defend itself against the government. Newtown was a horrible tragedy. Aurora was a horrible tragedy. Columbine was a horrible tragedy. But then so is Chicago, which has some of the strictest gun control in the country.

A mother down here in Georgia was home with her children when a man she didn't know broke into her house using a crowbar. She hid with the kids and called her husband, who called 911 while talking to her on another phone. The intruder found her - and she shot him 6 times. He is still alive and in critical condition - but she is alive and the kids are alive as well.

I saw a bumper sticker years ago. "If you don't want abortion - don't have one."

I agree. Goes for guns too. (There is one community that requires - by law - that every citizen own a gun. Yep, that's down here too - Kennesaw.)

Okay, I am stepping down.The arguing may commence. Please keep it civil and have a nice weekend.

{I may not respond to you personally. Wordpress has done something where it keeps wanting to change my login if I try to post a comment and doesn't want me to be Ricochet but wants me to be the name I use for a completely separate blog. Since I haven't figured out how to fix that, I either send emails from ricochet04 at gmail dot com or post here.)

8 comments:

retired not tired said...

You have certainly brought a different perspective to the challenges we face every day. There are always many sides to a discussion and yours are interesting.

Kate said...

Thanks very much, Ricochet, for talking about your views. I disagree with you. But for me, an issue that I find truly disturbing is that people in this country are losing their abilities to disagree and stay friends; to disagree and listen respectfully; to disagree and acknowledge that the other opinion has merit; to disagree and use that disagreement as a springboard for teaching and learning.
I will therefore share with you that I understand the language and intent of the Second Amendment. However, I think there need to be limits to the types of weapons we should be able to have as part of a well-ordered militia. After all, we all agree that surface-to-air missiles are not appropriate for private ownership. I wonder if we could agree in the same way about semi-automatic weapons or high-capacity magazines. In response to your anecdote about the woman who repelled a dangerous intruder, I would celebrate an outcome in which no one (not even the bad guy) was killed. I am guessing that she did not have a semi-automatic. Thanks again for being willing to talk about sticky stuff. Your blog is a favorite of mine - I'll come back again soon.

Ricochet said...

Kate - exactly!!

But, in reference to the woman who shot the intruder - she used all 6 bullets on one man. Had there been more - it would have had a different outcome. A high capacity magazine would have allowed her to protect herself in her own home from multiple invaders.

I believe we all love our country and that we see different solutions to the same problems. I am not even sure we agree on what the problems are.

If we are willing to listen (even if we are grinding our teeth) I think we would do a better job than if we sit and talk about the evil Republicans or evil Democrats - I don't consider myself to be in either camp.

So, let's just keep onkeepin' on.

tonyamaries said...

Thank you for writing this. I agree with what you say. I also agree with Kate and wish we could get back to having actual discussions about differing view without hatred and violence. I think that if both sides shut up long enough to actually listen to the other side we could find common ground.

Pissedoffteacher said...

We disagree but I still love you.

Ricochet said...

PO - I know (and I knew it before I wrote this) but I still love you too. My best friend in the whole world and I disagree a lot so there are places we let the other talk - and then we move on because an argument is meaningless and will not change either side - but we still have great affection for each other.

Have a great weekend!!

Linda said...

The pilgrims came to America to escape the governmental control. They wanted freedom to choose. And so do I! (:>)

Anonymous said...

I agree with Linda. Our country has always been about freedom to choose.