Step-Up
I?m livid. Sick to death of politically aloof, albeit well-intended, young people
throwing up their balloteless hands to say that whatever happens with this
election does not matter. Haven?t they heard of the wars on Iraq,
Afghanistan, a woman?s right to choose, immigrants, the environment, health
care, drugs, low-income children, and civil liberties??
Brattyness abounds as grown-up after grown-up defiantly proclaims, ?I won?t
vote for any of them. They?re all the same, anyway.? Every time I hear this
sentiment wrapped in differently worded but equally adamant statements, I
get hot with anger and curdled with concern. It is this self-centered and
awkwardly a-political posture of many educated folks in mine and later
generations that just might win us a Christian fundamentalist or stay-in-Iraq-
til-they?re-all-dead type of president. To say that ?they?, the democratic and
republican candidates, are the same is a dangerous cop-out that blossoms
from the seeds of political alienation. I know things are messed up, to put it
lightly, but that doesn?t excuse us from doing what we can to at least
minimize further damage.
The number of people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, will undoubtedly be
greater under a republican president. Bush?s rampage against contraception
and a woman?s right to choose will continue under another Republican as a
merciless march, bulldozing through state after state until Roe V Wade hangs
in tatters and growing numbers of poor women are left to raise unplanned
children with decreasing financial help from the government. Low-income
children will continue to live sick or languish in overfilled emergency rooms
as their once meager medical coverage becomes obsolete. More promised
tax cuts mean fewer working fire trucks, safe shelter beds, and free hot
breakfasts for low-income preschoolers. The global perception of the US as a
big white bully will swell grotesquely like some modern ideological
Hindenburg, only to explode and burn us all.
Yes, our rigidly crooked and corporate owned two-party system sucks. We
need to radically realign it with structures and principles that promote
fairness and inclusivity. But, at this critical point, it is what we have and not
voting for the lesser of two evils, if that?s how you see it, is synonymous with
voting or the greater of two evils.
Though it might not change what many do with their appropriately precious
vacation days, lustfully scribed grocery lists, growing bar tab, overpriced gym
membership, well-tended my space pages, and beloved backyards, the
outcome of this election carries high stakes and we all have a responsibility to
remember that. The rest of the world is praying for us to fix this mess.
Please, dear cohort, don?t embarrass us all by taking our hard-earned
democratic right and privilege so lightly as entire nations of people around
the world struggle for survival and an opportunity for similar entitlements.
Step-up and show the world we give a damn by voting for the least harmful
kind of change.
Crazy Talk
?What are you, crazy???!? So many of my therapy customers over the years fear this response from any and everyone who might discover their weekly extracurricular activity in my office. Which leads me to this brief but unmasked rant: getting therapy doesn?t mean you?re ?crazy?, it means you?re healthy and motivated; healthy enough to identify that you want to make positive changes in your life or learn more about some aspect of yourself and motivated to do something about it. So, if you?re in therapy, you tell the crazy-sayers that you are, in fact, fierce, not ?crazy?, for taking on the hip and hard work of endeavoring to live your ideal life.
What is crazy, anyway? Some of the dictionary-derived highlights from the historical meanings of this word are ?demented, deranged, infirm?. I prefer the reclaimed, more informal meanings which are along the lines of ?excellent or wonderful? as in the case of phrases like ?she?s got crazy talent? or ?that?s a crazy belt?. Either way, ?crazy? is not a kind word to use in reference to someone?s mental health.
Not so long ago, people who were gay, epileptic, or speech impaired used to be categorized as ?crazy?. Cultural shifts and scientific evolution make the bible of mental illness, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, a work in progress. In 1973, homosexuality was eliminated as a diagnostic category in the DSM. Similarly, new diagnostic categories have been added over the years including Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rett?s Disorder, and ADHD. Of course, there are always arguments to be made for new diagnoses. Discussions abound over a proposed new diagnostic category to capture extreme racists and there has even been a recently inspired push for ?World Domination Disorder.? I can think of few public figures in this country that might fall neatly into both categories.
