Skip to main content

The Way it Used to Be


I spotted a billboard over the weekend by a local company saying to put Christ in Christmas, and was immediately annoyed. If this is the belief of the company’s owner, and that’s how he or she choses to lead their life, then that’s perfectly fine by me, but once it gets placed on a billboard, phrased like an order, it’s not fine.
I’m sure some moderates would say I should just ignore it, as that’s how we can find some way of coexisting. But why do I have to be quiet and compromise? Why can’t this company keep their views to themselves instead of foisting it on every passerby?
Certainly if I’d put up a billboard saying to treat people equally many right-wingers would complain about liberal elites trying to change their way of life, and dream wistfully of how things used be. Of course the issue really is just because it used to be a certain way didn’t mean it was right. There are countless injustices that have been committed against women and minorities over the years because society allowed it. It wasn’t right then and it’s not now.
Granted I have a lot of baggage when it comes to religion, but if it helps someone, then I have no interest in stopping him or her from practicing. I just don’t believe I should have to take part in their beliefs as this country supposedly offers freedom of religion (that means you also don't have to practice a religion). I do hope this company gives their employees time off at the holidays (and pays them for the day off), but I’m glad I get my car washed elsewhere.

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Lack of Approval

    Perhaps the upside to a year of a pandemic is that there were less New Year’s resolution articles. Normally there would be tons of tips on how to choose and how best to keep your resolutions. There have been a few, but they are far gentler in their approach. After all, just surviving this year is accomplishment enough. Beating yourself up for not writing every day or losing more weight (or even keeping the weight off) just feels cruel right now.       Maybe these thoughts were what caused me to become so annoyed listening to a recent podcast where a writer talked about how important a particular teacher had been in her life. This is a common story – the teacher who saw in you what you couldn’t see, gave you the necessary tools, and then sent you forth to live your dream life. Mostly, I don’t think it’s true, but I am a pessimist.      For me it’s always the most negative comment or abusive teacher who stays in my mind, not the kind o...
Read more

Blind Devotion

When I was young I hit a rock in our yard, trying to reenact the bible story of getting water from the rock. My mother thought it was so cute, yet for me at that age it proved what they were telling me in church was just stories. I didn’t have faith or what I see now as blind devotion. I tried to pretend to believe to make it easier to survive in my family, but by the time I’d reached teenage status, I was done. By then I’d seen my share of hypocrisy and double standards, as well as corruption by national so-called Christian leaders. I think this inability I have to just blindly go along not only affects my choices on spirituality, but all areas of my life, including politics. When I first registered to vote as a senior in high school in Florida, it was as an Independent. I remained that when I moved to Kentucky. When I voted, I either protested by write-in (Bill the Cat and Opus in 1988) or voted Democrat. I proudly stood in line to vote for Bill Clinton in 1992, but b...
Read more

Pause

So much of what I used to do still isn’t available. That’s not a complaint. I don’t plan on protesting, as I feel Ohio, while making restrictions, has been pretty generous (maybe too generous) as far as being able to get out and about. Most of us wouldn’t have survived China, Italy, or the UK’s real lock-downs. I have found other ways to fill up my days, but not necessarily all that productively. There have been some virtual film festivals that I might not have been able to attend that I was still able to either see the films or watch interviews with the filmmakers, which has been a nice upside to this insanity. Mostly, though, I just feel stuck. That’s not anything new for me. I tend to stay stuck (in the past it was in toxic workplaces) until I just can’t stand it anymore and have to do something. I’m trying to find that something . There are two experimental sketches this time. The first illustrates my stuckness , or the pauses so many of us are enduring. The s...
Read more