(no subject)
T. and I just returned from a highly enjoyable vacation where we got to see and experience many different things (some initial pictures are on facebook). T. has been my best friend for six years now (my wonderful husband for 3 and a half years) and while so much has happened during that time, it all seems remarkably short.
Over the course of this vacation there was inevitably some down time where we did not have access to various touristy things, as the result of being on a plane or a boat, and so I quite happily had time to do some reading that I had not had the time or concentration to do previously. One biography, one memoir, and two books on other topics, each very thought provoking it its own way. As a result I have had many thoughts bouncing around in my head. Some of them are coherent, most of them are not. Certainly none of them could be labeled as new or original, but I suppose I still wanted to write them down (mostly for me, in my own words).
I like to think that due to the experiences I have had during my life that I keep growing in a positive direction, but whether that is simply the product of me basking in the glow of my youthful naiveté or not I suppose only time will tell.
I am a pale white woman whose family has been in America for many generations. It’s not something that I am proud of. It’s not something that I am ashamed of. It simply is, and it certainly does not define me. Of course I find the history of my family interesting, and I love and respect my parents, grandparents etc.. They helped form the culture I grew up in, and without understanding that legacy I cannot even begin to identify the assumptions that were instilled in me from very early on and try to piece together what I agree with and what I do not. This is true for everyone.
I think we all have trigger issues. Things that we hear even the slightest mention of or allusion towards and it triggers a flood of emotion and assumptions where we fill in (the often gaping) holes with sentences that allow us to box in a situation (or a person) when if we where honest with ourselves, or took even a few minutes to actually think about the situation we would realize that we had just made a huge number of logical leaps that could not even begin to be substantiated.
In order to go through life without becoming stark raving mad, it is important to make decisions/judgments about situations (and yes about people), but it is also very important to be aware of the assumptions that you are weighing into those judgments, and allow yourself the freedom to be wrong and revise your opinion as necessary. Certainly people should have the opportunity to defend themselves against any charges made against them. Depriving them of that means you have no other aim than to attack and cause pain, and you certainly have no interest in the truth.
Over the course of this vacation there was inevitably some down time where we did not have access to various touristy things, as the result of being on a plane or a boat, and so I quite happily had time to do some reading that I had not had the time or concentration to do previously. One biography, one memoir, and two books on other topics, each very thought provoking it its own way. As a result I have had many thoughts bouncing around in my head. Some of them are coherent, most of them are not. Certainly none of them could be labeled as new or original, but I suppose I still wanted to write them down (mostly for me, in my own words).
I like to think that due to the experiences I have had during my life that I keep growing in a positive direction, but whether that is simply the product of me basking in the glow of my youthful naiveté or not I suppose only time will tell.
I am a pale white woman whose family has been in America for many generations. It’s not something that I am proud of. It’s not something that I am ashamed of. It simply is, and it certainly does not define me. Of course I find the history of my family interesting, and I love and respect my parents, grandparents etc.. They helped form the culture I grew up in, and without understanding that legacy I cannot even begin to identify the assumptions that were instilled in me from very early on and try to piece together what I agree with and what I do not. This is true for everyone.
I think we all have trigger issues. Things that we hear even the slightest mention of or allusion towards and it triggers a flood of emotion and assumptions where we fill in (the often gaping) holes with sentences that allow us to box in a situation (or a person) when if we where honest with ourselves, or took even a few minutes to actually think about the situation we would realize that we had just made a huge number of logical leaps that could not even begin to be substantiated.
In order to go through life without becoming stark raving mad, it is important to make decisions/judgments about situations (and yes about people), but it is also very important to be aware of the assumptions that you are weighing into those judgments, and allow yourself the freedom to be wrong and revise your opinion as necessary. Certainly people should have the opportunity to defend themselves against any charges made against them. Depriving them of that means you have no other aim than to attack and cause pain, and you certainly have no interest in the truth.