Slice of Pie Anyone?

I saw this MEME today…and it got me thinking, actually it got me writing.  I wrote this on a group page I am party to….Politics Vs. Reality, but thought it belonged here as much as there.  This is my mind on white space after all.

These are just my thoughts, opinions, ramblings, whatever. Nothing here is meant to inflame or insult, but I do welcome commentary, which I feel is sadly lacking in our country today, what with all the bashing and name calling, etc. going on.

For me, this is NOT politics, it’s life.

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It has been pointed out…that the facts laid out in this MEME are not true.
That could well be…Ben Stein is a comedian…and I take him with a grain.
However, this MEME only got me thinking…not speaking on the merits of what is stated on it.
Just wanted to make that clear.
🙂

I have thought about it, as many have, and voiced my opinion to those that supposedly represent me (Eric Cantor), to no avail.  It matters not what We The People want…and hasn’t for a very long time.  Left, right, or in the middle…it all comes down to the same ol’ shit…money, power, and politics.
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There are some who believe what we have is better than anywhere else in the world.  If so, then why are we trying so hard to be like everyone else? Why is it so important NOT to stand up and stand out? The freedoms we have as Americans have always been the most identifiable part of BEING an American.  The whole reason those coming here, COME HERE!
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I am not ready, nor willing, to hand my freedom card in just yet…I find I still want a say in what happens to, and in, my country.  Folks who believe conservatives, Republicans, right-wingers, tea-baggers as they are so lovingly dubbed, are racist, poor hating, money-grubbing, anti-this, and anti-that…couldn’t be more wrong.  Why the name calling and hating of everyday folks, whose goal is to live by the Constitution?  People who would like to see laws of the land enforced and not circumvented for some and ignored for others?  People who would willingly give everything we have to those that need it, as long as it can be PAID FOR?
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I know that when a conservative talks about money, the hackles rise on some…but that doesn’t change the facts.  The government needs it, so it takes it.  As we are in the middle of tax season…how many of you that have done yours, have seen in black and white, on one page, just how much more of your money is gone?  It would be fine if we could see the benefits being rained down, but do you?  I don’t.  We are so far down the rabbit hole and falling farther and farther every second, we’ll never see daylight at this rate.
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To say the government has the right to take it, without asking for it, is wrong!  The fact that they do it, even more so.  We used to have a say, through our House of Representatives, how and how much.  When did we vote to give up that right? Ummm, never.
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We continually throw good money after bad.  Good intentioned?  Sure…no one deserves to be left in the dark hole of poverty, scrounging for the very basic needs of life…NO ONE…and it’s the best part of our country and its citizens to want to do something about that…and we can…but currently we are dancing around the real issues…one step forward, two steps back…we need some tough love here.  And yes, I’m talking about immigration, as it’s where we started and if we are not careful, it’s where we will end!
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I am well versed in the laws of immigration.  I am 32 years into a marriage to one.  And along with his family and the multitudes I’ve met through them, and several of my own immediate family members who work directly with/for immigrants, we DO have a good system in place.  So where did it go so wrong?  I’ll leave that to you to answer because I don’t know, can only speculate, that money, power, and politics have something to do with it.
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We are a nation of immigrants.  To think we could, or should, survive without the influence and diversity these folks bring to our culture is ignorant and very short-sighted.  BUT, we must do something about HOW they come in…not why, not who, but HOW.  We have the law, let’s use it. If we need more staff, let’s hire them to get the log jam of those waiting undammed.
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We cannot fix this overnight.  We’ve wasted too much time and too much money already, doing things behind the guise of humanitarianism, while at the same time, adding more and more blocks of concrete on the heads of those in that hole.  The hole is getting deeper and filling faster and throwing money we do not have at this is not going to empty it out.
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It is not racist, or hate mongering, or elitist, to want our immigration laws enforced.  It is not any of those things to want our country solvent enough to care for our own AS WELL as those who chose to make lives for themselves here.  It IS wrong to condemn people who believe we should follow the law, live within our means, and/or live by the Constitution.  Just as it is also wrong, to conversely, label those that feel we must change those laws or amend that same Constitution…it works both ways.
But anyway you look at it, any way you lean, any way you slice this good, old-fashioned, American Apple Pie…we are out of pie.
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Before we can invite/welcome/help anyone looking for their slice…we must first, bake a better, more sustaining, pie.  And we can’t do that robbing our future bakers nor by forgetting the most important ingredients…American ingenuity and common sense.  Let’s find a way, or better use what’s in our larder, to do this before we invite the rest of the world over for coffee and dessert.  Can we do that?
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(the opinions expressed here are just that, opinions, and they happen to be mine)

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If you want it, the link below offers some food thought, and it IS worth thinking about:

http://youtu.be/LPjzfGChGlE

Survivors

Of the many reasons I blog, this is at the top of the list: Meeting, befriending, supporting, and being supported by a woman like Susan. Thank you for this amazing piece my friend…I love your voice and am honored to stand beside you…

 

Susan Daniels Poetry

There is choice.  We can die
from the shame of what is done
to us.  We can wear the names
like letters branded into our skin
and quietly disappear,
become the nothings
they say we are, banished and vanished,
or we can wear our own words.

We can show them
women are not sheep.
Girls are not fruit.
There is no shearing of hair
or reaping a harvest from us.

We learn through breath
the difference between being a victim
and becoming a survivor
is subtle, delicate
before it grows strength:

That shift across the line
of being versus agency
is a thing danced, not learned;
sidestepping guilt and spinning it
back where it belongs
with something simple as a lifted head,
a turn around to shout back
at what is muttered under breath,
or the woman who did not stand in shame, wordless,
but blocked a door 
shouting for police,

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Number 3 – RAPE: Rise Against Punishable Eccentricity

The third and final post in the RAPE:  Rise Against Punishable Eccentricity challenge to join the movement to raise our voices in the fight again Rape and Sexual Assault, as well as lift our voices in unison toward helping women feel empowered to take charge and take action.

I particularly love this one because it’s quintessential Susan (the Green Thumb Goddess).  She can always pack a wallop in her poetry but I think she especially nailed this one.  The seed planted here is powerful, visual, and easy to relate to.

I would also like to thank my daughter-in-law Lindsay for allowing me to use her beautiful face in this image.  While she’s not a victim of sexual abuse…she absolutely ‘gets’ it!

A side note:

Women do not have to be victims of abuse to feel like and see that ‘stranger’ in the mirror…sometimes lost, sometimes less than, too often unrecognizable.  Because I know that feeling all too well, not just as a survivor, but as a woman in general, there’s an added incentive to lead by example; to show that we must not be silent; we must not become part of the backdrop of someone else’s life; we must not lose sight of who and what we are…special, unique, and empowered to change the world by virtue of our voices, our minds, and not the least, raising our children.

We must step up and out of the supporting role and take the lead when we need to; show our sons and daughters that just because we plant and tend the garden, it does NOT make us gardeners.

And our choice to be housewives, does NOT mean we are ignorant of the world outside our four walls.

If our choice is to be stay-at-home mothers, it is just that – a choice.  NOT an open door to disrespect, condescension, or a sign that we feel ourselves unworthy.  If anything…it’s the complete opposite. 

Here then, for her, you, me, us….WE 

Stranger by Susan Daniels and Rhonda

Stranger

Number 1 – Rape Hurts     Number 2 – She

Thank you Susan, it was an absolute pleasure to be part of this with you.

And, thank you all for reading.

Number 2 – RAPE: Rise Against Punishable Eccentricity

The second in this 3 part series by Susan Daniels and myself for RAPE: Rise Against Punishable Eccentricity.

If you missed the first one – Rape Hurts – I hope you view it now.  As well as taking a few moments to read the other powerful messages through the links on the KnowYourStar.com‘s page.

Thank you KnowYourStar.com for giving us a safe place to shout…for some, it’s all we have.

SHE by Susan Daniels, Image by RhondaShe

RAPE: Rise Against Punishable Eccentricity

RAPE: Rise Against Punishable Eccentricity

The link above will take you to their page…but here is what they ask:

  • 1. Write an article/poem related to Women & Women Empowerment and post in your blog.
  • 2. Link back to this article of KnowYourStar.com with a hyperlink so your readers and friends can join us if they are interested.
  • 3. Enter your name and link into the Linky widget. (It should be the post link, and not your blog link in general. In your blog, click on the post title. The URL in the address bar would be the post link.).
  • 4. Read and enjoy as many of the other writers as well. When you read more, most of them return to read yours.
  • 5. Don’t miss this golden chance to impact the society! Let’s change it for better!

In collaboration with my dear friend and fellow blogger, Susan Daniels and her amazing ability to put what we feel into poetry…the following is our response to the challenge!

We did a series of three poems/images.  The poetry is classic Daniels and the images are composites of photos of my own that I’ve manipulated to show what her words mean to me.

Please join the challenge is you feel you can, but if not, Join in the Conversation, visit KnowYourStar.com and read some of the other powerful entries in the effort to get RAPE out of the closet.

Thank you, and thank you Susan.

Number 1 – RAPE HURTS by Susan and Rhonda

Women need simple things
for safety.
To walk alone at night
I want fishhooks and barbed wire
for clothing; vaginal teeth
and a smile that neutralizes acid.

Number 2 – She will post Wednesday August 7th

Number 3 – Stranger will post Thursday August 8th