Thanksgiving, Family, and All Kinds of Things
We here in Oklahoma are seeing the sun for the first time in days and days. It's been rainy and we even saw a few snowflakes this morning. Our new office location is surrounded by trees and so I am able to enjoy the beautiful colors of autumn outside the windows. The colors are especially vibrant this year--red, gold, and orange mixed in with the evergreens. I am glad the weather will be nice tomorrow because it is a two-hour drive to see my brother and his family. My sister-in-law's family gathers us in for their big holiday dinners, for which I am grateful.
I have been working on a piece for my blog, but it keeps getting longer and longer! I think I may cut it into two or three parts! Or ditch it and try something else! In addition to losing control of the length, I have been unsettled by the fact that the company I work for has moved to a new location. Once I've had a little adjustment period, though, I usually enjoy changes and am refreshed by them. Meanwhile, I will post a little rambling to my blog.
It seems like the presidential election has turned my mind to politics more than usual. Even now, 3 weeks later, I notice and read political writings, whereas that is something I had paid less attention to for some years. It seems that liberal and conservative viewpoints permeate all our lives--not just the political aspects. I notice it in religion, in science, in culture. It is a good thing for people to think for themselves and to read and study and come up with all sorts of conclusions. We can pool our resources, then, and come up with some helpful ideas and solutions. There is a negative aspect to it, though. I've noticed that each side thinks itself superior in some way to the other side. The liberals think the conservatives are ignorant, uneducated, fearful, threatened. The conservatives think the liberals have lost their faith in and abandoned the old-fashioned, tried-and-true virtues and values. It is difficult to have a conversation with someone whose view is very different from your own. Still, we have to keep trying. And as a fairly intelligent, educated, and not-much-afraid-of-anything conservative, I hope we can back off the judgmental and critical conclusions we sometimes leap to. On both sides. This has really been bothering me lately (surely it has nothing to do with getting older and crankier!) as I see people implicitly and explicitly questioning the intelligence, the integrity, and everything else of those with opposing views.
That is my rant for the day. I plan to continue to read and study and think and I want everyone else to do the same. Have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving!! Don't forget to do some actual thanking (of family, of friends, and most of all, of God) during the course of the holiday!
I have been working on a piece for my blog, but it keeps getting longer and longer! I think I may cut it into two or three parts! Or ditch it and try something else! In addition to losing control of the length, I have been unsettled by the fact that the company I work for has moved to a new location. Once I've had a little adjustment period, though, I usually enjoy changes and am refreshed by them. Meanwhile, I will post a little rambling to my blog.
It seems like the presidential election has turned my mind to politics more than usual. Even now, 3 weeks later, I notice and read political writings, whereas that is something I had paid less attention to for some years. It seems that liberal and conservative viewpoints permeate all our lives--not just the political aspects. I notice it in religion, in science, in culture. It is a good thing for people to think for themselves and to read and study and come up with all sorts of conclusions. We can pool our resources, then, and come up with some helpful ideas and solutions. There is a negative aspect to it, though. I've noticed that each side thinks itself superior in some way to the other side. The liberals think the conservatives are ignorant, uneducated, fearful, threatened. The conservatives think the liberals have lost their faith in and abandoned the old-fashioned, tried-and-true virtues and values. It is difficult to have a conversation with someone whose view is very different from your own. Still, we have to keep trying. And as a fairly intelligent, educated, and not-much-afraid-of-anything conservative, I hope we can back off the judgmental and critical conclusions we sometimes leap to. On both sides. This has really been bothering me lately (surely it has nothing to do with getting older and crankier!) as I see people implicitly and explicitly questioning the intelligence, the integrity, and everything else of those with opposing views.
That is my rant for the day. I plan to continue to read and study and think and I want everyone else to do the same. Have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving!! Don't forget to do some actual thanking (of family, of friends, and most of all, of God) during the course of the holiday!
Labels: personal reflection, politics
posted by Mary A | 8:11 AM
2 Comments:
Happy Thanksgiving to you! It is wonderful to see you post. I can hardly wait to see what you are working on. If you decide to split it into parts anyway, maybe you could just give us a little bit for now?? ;) (I love your writing!)
Peggy, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comments--you're very encouraging to me. The piece I'm working on is on Early Christian history and the "Church Fathers." I am still working on it, but I may post other things meanwhile. I kinda hate to post a part of something that's not finished in case I do a lot of rewriting throughout the whole thing! Besides, I would kind of like to post about some doctrinal type stuff, too. But thanks for your comments. One of my things to do today is read other people's blogs and catch up, so I am looking forward to spending some time on yours.
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