Someone hold my tongue, because I’m tired of doing it

I was initially planning on writing about Sarah Palin and her assertion to Baba Wawa that she could beat President Obama in a Presidential election. It is sounding increasingly like she will be running in 2012, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to write about her in the near future; in the meantime, I'm just kind of sick of thinking about the silly bunt and the classy Palin family. I'll take a break while I can, and bide my time until the election gears up for real (should be any day now...actually, I think it's already started). You all know how I feel about Palin, so you know I'll have plenty to say when the time comes. Heh heh.

Instead, I'll write about a status update I saw from someone that I stand a high probability of seeing around the holidays:

"Kenya called. They want their idiot back."

As my Dad would say, "Oh, for pete's sake." I had to laugh. Is this really still an issue for this person? Really? There are several real and substantive issues that you could go after the President on...instead, you're still harping on the Kenya thing? I find that incredibly petty, and quite pathetic.

I do not like discord; I like to promote harmony and generally do my best to avoid confrontation. However, I am getting a little tired of sitting quietly while the conservatives around me feel free to toss out ridiculous remarks, and spew outright lies (I'll be waiting for a remark about the $200 million per day Asia trip...feel free to lob that one my way, and sit back and hear my response.) I'm in Indiana. I'm surrounded by conservatives (except for a few bastions of liberalism, including in the county where I reside, thank goodness). I am constantly subjected to hearing comments that I find abhorrent and false statements put forth as the truth. I think most of these people think that if they make remarks like that, everyone around them will agree and nod happily as they join in the liberal-bashing.

Guess what? There's a new sheriff in town. I don't know why they think they can get away with such comments without any opposition. Hell, everyone already knows that I'm a mouthy broad, and that I often speak up about things. Why should I hold back? They certainly don't. Maybe it's time they got a big pushback and realized that theirs isn't the only opinion. Sometimes, I think an opposing opinion is welcome. A while back at a Thanksgiving get-together, a relative by marriage (a distant one...very distant) said that he thought Hurricane Katrina happened to New Orleans because of all that "stuff" that goes on there. In retrospect, I wish I'd asked, "Gee, just what kind of 'stuff' do you mean? Please elaborate, and do so in detail." Ha! But I just said that I'd been to New Orleans, and that there are a lot of good people there. Both my sister and my Dad told me later that they really appreciated that I spoke up and said what I did. (My Dad actually told me that he admired me for speaking up, and that remains one of my happiest memories and proudest moments.) I suppose it's easy to condemn people when you never take the time to know them; that doesn't make it right.

I don't usually go in search of confrontation, but I'm done with shying away from it in the interest of peace and harmony. It's time that people understand that when they make such outrageous statements, or even a false statement presented as fact, there might be someone there who has another opinion and who will challenge them on their smug certainty. They seem to have no qualms about whether or not I might be offended, or anyone else might be offended. Why am I so concerned about pushing back? I won't bring anything up, but I will no longer be afraid of responding.

No more going along to get along. And if I hear that tired bullshit about wondering where the President's birth certificate is, I'm not going to hold back. It's ludicrous, and anyone who continues to bitch about it is a dumbass.

I'm loaded and ready for bear. Even a mama grizzly that happens to wander by.