The Political Views of a Communistic Hippie

I will likely get a backlash of anger against this cause that seems to be the spirit of the election. Let us all hate one another that we might bring about a greater good to our dear country. It has been fascinating lately to read the threads and articles about the election. Venom in the form of rhetoric is spewed upon anyone who speaks for or against our close personal friends Mitt and Barack. I feel grateful to know them so well that I feel confident in defending them both with my electronic life. Why not, right? One of them will be sitting in that high-backed, plush leather seat for the next four years. The point I find shocking is how vehemently we step behind two parties as if there are only two opinions to be had. Two parties to rule them all! It has such a mob feeling about it. I feel like America is being shuttled to either the Republican Lemming Party or the Democratic Lemming Party. Where is cute, unknowing Scout when you need her or my man Atticus?

Personally, I refuse to join either party. This stance has earned me the name of "Socialist", "Communist", and my new personal favorite of "Terrorist". Classy, no? I never and still do not pretend to be well versed in the current election. Which is completely fine with me because I, again, am not planning on taking a side either way. 

I am still baffled on how precisely my refusal to join a flawed governmental system run by individuals who believe breast milk can "cure" homosexuals or that so completely understands what it is like to get pregnant through rape via his daughter's out of wedlock pregnancy provokes such outrage. (Let's hear it for my new favorite people Tom Smith and Todd Adkin. Read this http://jezebel.com/5938313/having-a-baby-out-of-wedlock-kind-of-like-getting-pregnant-from-rape-says-senate-candidate so they too can entertain you. I pray Mitt keeps them around simply to keep the population questioning the intellectual power of our "best and brightest".) 

Besides, I am pretty much a socialist/communist by heart. In theory, communism truly is the most ideal government system. Just because a bunch of power hungry anti-semitists were the first to give it a shot doesn't destroy it's potential value to society. 

I am neither conservative nor liberal and this seems to create drastic confusion. If you consider the way our country was initially set up it was not intended to be bipartisan. Sigh, what a poor example of a human being I am for denying my "civic" duty to vote for either side ample with flawed logic and lacking in morality. The irony is in another four years those defending Romney or Obama will soon be loading whatever negative turmoil we are in solely on one of these chaps. 

I recently read a book I adore not only for it's literary brilliance and beauty, but for the reasoning so in line with my own. Here is one of my favorite quotes from "The Likeness" by Tana French. 

“Look at the old wars, centuries ago: the king led his men into battle. Always. That was what the rulerwas: both on a practical level and on a mystical one, he was the one who stepped forward to lead his tribe, put his life at stake for them, become the sacrifice for their safety. …The king was the country; how could he possibly expect it to go into battle without him? But now…Can you see any modern president or prime minister on the front line, leading his men into the war he’s started? And the physical and mystical link is broken, once the ruler is no longer willing to be the sacrifice for his people, he becomes not a leader but a leech…As soon as rulers mean nothing, war means nothing; human life means nothing.” pg 321

Amen. I know this sounds immensely harsh against American government, but I honestly believe this part of it has become a degraded institution of the power hungry leading the blind along a treacherous path. My critics (assuming anyone actually reads this) will surely defend the system by pointing out I am able to write my opinion because I am in America. Very true. However, I feel Americans too often tread in dangerous waters of claiming we are the most superior country in the world. In reality, our ranking in education has dropped from number one twenty years ago to 12th. Our economy, obviously, is in horrible shape. You know what Americans score number one in over and over again though? Confidence. We are confident that we are the best when really we need to step up our game and meet the higher standard of the past. We have WAY more work to do on our education system, our economy, and country overall than could be accomplished within four years. This is precisely why I feel so astonished at the rage invoked in people defending their "leech", the man who they will turn on soon enough because he did not bring about the things he promised (though I believe these men truly do want their promises to come true). So, go on now. Criticize me. Tell me I am uneducated. Tell me I lack even the basic foundation of intelligence. Turn my argument into something personal between you and I instead of between two people you and I will never meet and who will likely never accomplish half of what he promises.

I hope this does not come across that I am deciding to cast in my lot of hatred against all those who are voting for either one of the candidates. If you truly believe in what they are saying, you should. It is your right to vote and a noble one at that if you are upholding your beliefs. Just don't expect me to join the hate parade against the "other guys" cause I will be over here in my Hippie Corner waving my "Love Everyone" banner :)

365 Days of Sel

So technically it is 2 years of Sel...so sue me. Here is a stolen timeline my mother-in-law found on pinterest

August 2010: Sel and L Meet

September 2010: Sel and L go on their first date to Pita Pit and the Marionette Show

October 3, 2010: Sel and L get lost..in love ;) 

January 28, 2011: Sel gives the most creative, romantic and perfect proposal a girl could ask for. Our waitress said yes before I did...

August 12, 2011: Sel and L become Mr. and Mrs. 

August 12, 2012: They announce to the blogging world they will be parents in 6 short months. (Joke. It's a joke mom, chill out ;)

I recently re-read a bit of one of my favorite books, Wuthering Heights and was struck by how much I related Catherine's love for Heathcliff to my love of Sel (minus the dramatic ties of revenge, betrayal, cruelty and darkness, which let's be honest, make Wuthering Heights so undeniably wonderful)

Here is her quote to Nelly about her love for Heathcliff

"...because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and [Edgar’s] is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire."

There are parts of Sel and I that are as different as a moonbeam from lightening or frost from fire. Sel perfectly fills in the aspects of my personality that are lacking. Yet, so much more than such a cliche of "completing me", Sel is more of myself than I am.  

For the past two years that I have been blessed to call him my own, I have struggled with inaccurate memories. Times where I will turn to him and say "Remember when we did this together?" or
"Remember that one time we were here and saw this thing?". Sel will look at me blankly and point out that my memory was five years before we ever met. 

Memories like these where I logically know there was no way Sel was present flood my mind day after day. How could Sel have been at my 10th birthday party? Or at that one cross-country meet in high school? Or played with me when I was grounded as a child? Yet, he is there. Somehow Sel is woven into those memories I treasure most, those memories that define me. The beautiful, unique undertones of his personality shine brilliantly in my memory. He was there, not as a faded, ghostly figure, but as the dazzling thread of emphasis. True to our wedding song, I knew I loved this boy long before I met him. 

I guess I cannot accurately use the timeline above because I will never be able to pinpoint the time in my life where I looked around and went, "Ah, there is a new presence in my life, a new meaning. A new someone to look forward to meeting". When I first met Sel, my soul didn't resound excitedly with " There you! Where have you been hiding?" My soul felt like it always had, it was my mind that changed. It was my mind that realized my long time playmate, friend, and companion had a physical form I was unaware of until that point. My body now had another body to call home, to call self. I became a bit more anchored to Earth because I knew once I met Sel why having a body even mattered. 

I know I am treading dangerously into poetic waters of which I am certainly no captain, but I can never seem to simply express in the common tongue what Sel is to me. I cannot seem to capture the way I feel when he smiles, or holds me, or laughs, or furrows his perfect Scottish brow, or does something so achingly sweet for me that I can merely utter "thank you" and "I love you" over and over until the most sincere words of the English language sound grossly inadequate. 

I am so grateful to have had Sel fully with me for these past two years and I am so grateful that I know he and I will be an "us" forever. 

Happy One Year Husband :)

Welcoming Felix the Butler

So. I got a new phone. His name is Felix because it sounds mildly like the name of a Butler. Reasons why he is named after an imaginary technology butler will hereto be explained. Before said explanation, it is necessary to honor him who hath departed. Much to the contrary of his believed fate, Beaner 2.0 was forced into early retirement by the increasing demands of the technology workforce. I changed his background before he went to sleep of a sandy beach with a lone palm tree so he can pretend he bought a nice home in Florida with a beachfront view. Now on to Felix... We are still warming up to one another. I pretend he is my butler because he has to do anything I want him too, but I still insist on doing things old school cause I am pretty sure he and all other high tech phones are plotting a robotic take over the universe or a real life episode of Stephen King's Cell. I am torn between feeling immensely grateful that my family has the required wealth to have a butler, but Felix is a bit of a snob from his British upbringing and false sense of superiority to Beaner. I also dislike the idea that by having Felix I appear mildly snobby. First, Beaner and I had/have a simplistic, joyous relationship. He never tried to complicate our relationship by playing any silly games or allowing me to either. He had a photographic memory. Sure, he could only remember fifteen memories at a time, but those were some dang good memories. Memories of the time my whole family went blind, Sel eating a flower, the cupboard under the astronomy staircase, my nephew trying to eat Odin. Beaner was upfront about what he had to offer and I have always been into inanimate objects who are no nonsense. Beaner was humble, never too dressy and not anxious to demand attention or awe. I will deeply miss this simple minded, kind friend of mine. Felix is growing on me though....kind of. I am sure we are going to at least tolerate one another even if we never reach the coveted relationship of Bruce and Alfred.