Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I'm No Regular Ol' Moron, I'm an Oxymoron

I listen to music that would make your mother and mine shudder. (Shout out to my little brothers for always keeping me in the know when it comes to music.) At the risk of sounding melodramatic, music speaks to my soul. I love all kinds. My iPod has everything from Gospel to...well, things I can only listen to when the kids aren't around. And oh yeah baby, I blast it. I blast it loud. I'm no prude, do you hear me?

Yet, tonight when I saw a bumper sticker that read, "Save the TaTas", this happened: I furrowed my brow, shook my head and thought, "Wow, that is tacky, so not classy." It just seemed inappropriate to me. I'm starting to rethink that whole "I'm no prude, do you hear me?" bit. I am a sincere supporter of breast cancer awareness. I don't know. Maybe, if it were put to a really cool beat and sung, I could handle it better. Maybe if I didn't have to explain to my 7 year old son what TaTas are, I could handle it better.

My point is that I sometimes feel like an oxymoron. You know something like "Edgy-Music-Loving Prude". Or, as I have been called at work, the "Velvet Harpoon". My inclination towards oxymoronism (I'm pretty sure I just made that word up!) has never been more clear to me than tonight. As I drove home from the grocery store, I heard one of my favorite songs...yep, I love Pat Benatar.

These words almost, just almost, brought a tear to my snarky, cynical eye:
"We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under.
Whatever we deny or embrace, For worse or for better,
We Belong, We Belong, We Belong together."


Over the course of this election, we have all fallen under the sound of certain messages and words. We all have chosen to deny some things and embrace others. But, at the end of the day, for worse or for better, we are stuck here. Together. I don't plan on leaving any time soon, and I am guessing most of you aren't leaving either. And lucky us, since Obama won, it looks like we will continue to have Susan Sarandon and Barbra Striesand gracing us with their lovely presence. But the truth is, Pat Benatar was right, we do belong together. Just one giant screwed up family. And I pray we can make it work.

As I listened to that song, all of the disappointment I feel over this election vanished. (Whoa, hold on now. Before you start thinking that I went completely soft, you should know the disappointment returned just about 3.5 minutes later, and I will get to that next.) But, for a brief time I felt relief. I recall mentioning a few weeks ago that I do not believe we are a nation of racists. And yesterday, America proved that to the world. So, I don't want to hear it anymore. No more whining and fussing. We are moving upward and onward. Really. I mean it.

So, on one hand I felt relief. I was touched as I reflected on peaceful leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. I believe they are probably rejoicing as they look down on us today. Not because of this one man, Barack Obama. It is less about him and more about this country. The people of this nation are overwhelmingly color blind. The people of this nation are not the people of 50, 60, and 100 years ago.

I had thoughts of Carrie, Savannah, and Roosevelt today. I have loved each of them for as long as I can remember. As a child, I never payed attention to the color of their skin. They were family, and I was unaware that people were treated differently because of skin color. Today I wondered if those three people ever imagined this world could be color blind.

I thought of my mother today. As an innocent child, thrown into the very adult battles of desegregation and busing, did my mother ever imagine this world could be color blind? Upward and onward brings relief on one hand.

But, there is the other hand. I feel no relief, and it is because of this one man, Barack Obama. Not because of his skin color, but because he is the single most liberal, and far left Senator in existence. Because he has repeatedly displayed poor judgement in his associations. I feel no relief. Because he values neither the lives of the unborn, nor the lives of those born as they miraculously survive the brutality of late term abortion.


I feel no relief for another reason. Despite the vehement denials of his supporters, yes, he does lean toward socialist ideology. I have had to laugh today at the countless blog posts and emails from people who have "not wanted to offend" or "just weren't comfortable" speaking up about this issue. Now that their guy has won, they have plenty to say. I have to wonder about people who find the courage to stand for what they believe after they know they've won. And here is what they are saying:
"He is not a socialist."
"Even Mitt Romney said Obama isn't a socialist."
"If Obama is one, then so is McCain."...that one is very reminiscent of the childhood saying, "I know you are, but what am I?"....it actually makes me laugh. I honestly feel like I am listening to five year olds.

First-I am not sure who flat out called Obama a socialist. There is no doubt he most definitely has a record of supporting some socialist views. That doesn't mean I am calling him the Antichrist or Karl Marx. I believe wholeheartedly he leans so far left he can barely stand up straight. And that left lean will slowly, very subtly, very gently pull you toward socialist ideologies. I don't really care for far right or far left leaners. It's why I would never vote for Pat Robertson or Barack Obama. I want a leader who stands centered.

Second-Thank you to all of the people out there who are still in their Halloween costumes. Who knew the "Captain Obvious" costume was going to be this year's biggest hit. What would we do without your wisdom? Oh good grief! The attempts to school those of us who did not vote for Obama on wealth redistribution and social programs is so lame. You just make yourselves sound silly. It goes without saying that we have to take care of those in our society who truly need help.
We get that, we are so far past that blatantly obvious point! Clearly every president who has ever lived believed in some form of wealth redistribution. As did Christ....duh, millions of people pay tithes and fast offerings. Fast offerings redistribute wealth. We are not ignorant. We understand the need for social programs. We just expect for each member of this society to do their part, to the best of their ability. We do not believe everything is an entitlement. Each person should be expected to do their very best, and we will be happy to help those who truly can not help themselves.

"Whatever we deny or embrace...."
I will continue to embrace what I believe (am I a cynical conspiracy theorist?) and you continue to deny what is right in front of you (or are you naive?).

To those of you who voted for Obama, let's make a deal. We are in this together, "for worse or for better". I will not be a sore loser, and you don't be an arrogant winner.
I will be respectful of our new President, that's just the kind of girl I am.... I had excellent home training. I believe in this nation. We can make this work.

So there you have it. In a matter of 3.5 minutes, I am both thrilled with the progress we have made and utterly disappointed. I am an oxymoron. Is that better than being a regular ol' moron?

9 comments:

Rachel Mohat said...

I wish more than anything that I had the way with words that you do. You can make a pencil seem like the most interesting thing in the world! Once again, this was an excellent post. I love how you don't just come right out and say things, you make a story with them and how it leads you to think of certain ideas. Its amazing! An oxymoron is a good thing to be at this place in time, it could be worse. We are in for a long and bumpy ride over these next 4 years. So buckle up for safety!

Anonymous said...

You expressed my thoughts exactly. I did not have words for the way I was feeling until now. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in.

Kiera said...

I am right there with you Miss Snarky! For years our church leaders have been gearing us up to stand for what is right and good. I feel we are all doing just that! It is not time to abandon ship. Lets keep both feet in the boat and weather this storm together!
But... if in 2012 we have to have another dose of "obama-aid" I am moving to Sweden... they have already mastered socialism.

Unknown said...

Well, I'm glad you can say it so well for us. I'm still a little sore over the whole thing and I'm still not ready to jump in the Obama boat. I will sit back and pay my taxes like every good patriot girl does, but the jaded part of me will never be the same. I'm on my guard for dishonestly. Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me. I have only ears for the prophet and any other messenger from our Father. I think this was a relatively easy test for standing up for what we believe in. It will be harder next time and I will be prepared. I too feel like an oxymoron...just a real snarky one. :)

Emily said...

Have I told you we're political soulmates? ;)

I especially appreciate the part of this post where you say (paraphrasing), "I'll be a gracious loser if you'll stop being an arrogant winner." Too true! This morning the news was still ripping on Palin and singing Obama's praises. I felt like shaking the TV and screaming, "We get it! You won! It's over; now stop already!" And someone at work had the nerve to say "We need to be respectful of Obama; he's our new president." and continue by saying something horribly negative about Bush. It was almost more than I could bear.

Anonymous said...

What a great post Nat...you truly speak the language of the hearts of so many people. Can't believe you are just now realizing what an "oxymoron" you have always been. After all you are the little girl who was scared to ride a bike or "climb" into a van (yep, a van),or ride in an elevator, but would jump a gymnasium railing and pounce a kid three times your size defending your little brother....Wonder if that guy's head still hurts where you pulled most of his hair out! j.k. There was actually quite a bit left after you got through.

O.K. for the record....Natalie was not prone to violence, the guy punched her little brother in the throat (don't you love church ball!)
But, that is why we all love you so much. You know when to stand strong against the current, but you can also recognize when it is best to ride the wave until you are safely on shore. Knowing how to distinguish the two determines the difference between a "know it all" and someone who is "all knowing."
You, my precious daughter, as you become even older and yet, even wiser are most definitely the latter of the two. That is why we ALL love you.....

I can't stand it any longer. When are they going to put your chair on "The View." We have got to get you "out there." The public is being robbed and they don't even know it!

Lori said...

I agree with your mother! When, oh when, are they going to put a chair on "The View" for you. Your blog was wonderful and thank you for expressing it in words as to how we all feel. You are awesome!

Anonymous said...

CAlling all "Snarky" fans....I think that EVERYDAY we should email the Viewmaster the link to snarkybelle...
If southerners are not anything, we are very persistent! Sooner or later somebody is going to get curious...

Forester Family said...

I third the motion on the chair!!! I love reading your blog. You are an amazing writer. Something I didn't know about you until your blog. Hope you are doing great. I miss you.
Patsy