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I want to talk about our current climate as a nation… I was never a fan of politics. It always felt fake to me. All those advertisements that talked poorly of the other side. It was never about what your side is doing to build a brighter future. It was always a claim to be the lesser evil. “Vote for me or else”. The powers that be have always used fear mongering to control us. Once they get into office they forget about the people. They are bought out by lobbyists and special interests. They spend money on things that don’t help us. Often times keeping us reliant on them for handouts.
I don’t care who you vote for as long as you don’t turn against your neighbors, your family, your friends. We have to understand that’s what the powers want. Divide and conquer is the oldest trick in the book. I might disagree with your views and I might drive you crazy with mine. But we live in a free nation and we need to keep it that way.
It’s election year and 2020 has been like a tv drama. I feel like before this year I was asleep, or at least living under a rock trying to live my life, mind my business and focus on my surroundings. Now I feel like someone poured cold water on me and shocked me awake. When I started asking questions on Facebook, I was met with hostility. My initial post was a simple copy/paste of questions that had been on my mind but hadn’t been able to put into words. I had a lot of friends tell me I was bad, wrong, ignorant for asking questions. But that didn’t stop me….
My posts got a lot of attention because they were controversial. I didn’t believe the official narrative and wasn’t afraid to call bullshit where I saw it. I didn’t know how to handle this at first. I tried to be diplomatic but sometimes I would be triggered and react unfavorably. I told myself I wouldn’t delete friends just because they disagreed with me. Then one day I casually disagreed on a long time friends post and she snapped at me. She told me I should delete her if I thought that way.. I responded by saying that would make me sad to lose a long term friend over a difference of opinion. Her response was “I have no problem losing people like you from my life”. Then she deleted me. I cried. It hurt my feelings to be tossed aside like that.
But that’s didn’t stop me either. That only made me want to learn more and try and have more conversations with people. My goal was to never delete anyone and never be cruel or insult others. Unfortunately my opposition had no problem with insults and I found myself being called awful names by people who once were my community, my “tribe”. So I made a new rule: I won’t delete anyone *unless* they attack or belittle me.. I always gave them one warning and tried to monitor my online posts to call out people who resorted to name calling. It happened on both sides. People who agreed with me would defend me by attacking my Opposition.. I didn’t like this and would speak up and say NO – not on my page. This helped to create an open dialogue but still, there were some people who could not stop themselves and unfortunately I had to remove them from the thread.
It makes me sad to see so many of my community divided. We used to consider ourselves tolerant and open minded, but all that changed this year. Things became so black & white.
I blame the media for this. They have relentlessly tried to destroy their opposition by any means necessary and we are falling for it. We are falling into tribalism mentality. We are no longer individuals with independent thought. We aren’t willing to hear each other out. We view the “other” is bad.
I also blame the isolation and separation. It used to be I’d have deep conversations with friends in person and we always found a middle ground. Being able to hear someone’s emotions behind what they are saying and having the time and space to try and find balance have been removed. We’ve been physically pulled a part and now our only form of connection is through devices that are controlled by the elites. You have to question what is being programmed into our brains during this time. Where do you get your information? How much time do you spend online? Are you deleting people who disagree with you, creating a “bubble” effect? Is it possible there is not right or wrong but instead there just “is”. Life is empty & meaningless and we are meaning making machines after all.
What now? Liberal cities are being boarded up in anticipation for the post election results. Are you going to protest if you don’t get your way? Do you think violence will solve anything?
I remember how I felt when I watched the George Floyd video. I was shaking.. I had an emotional reaction like any human with a heart would. I even went to the protests on the second day. Then it turned violent. That’s was when I stoped myself to reflect. Is this where we are as a country? Is destruction what we want? Is this helping or hurting us?
Later I started looking into the underlying politics.. everything has been highly politicized this year and it’s hard to avoid. What I found was that I had been so asleep and unaware of the truth. I Canceled cable about 15 years ago because I didn’t find any value in it so I got my news from social media. Memes or headlines that friends would post. That is what formed my opinion of the world. I voted for Obama his first term and then wrote in Bernie in 2016. I’ve never cared about voting but thought it was my civic duty. So I just did what my fiends wanted me to do. I was a part of the tribe. Now I have realized there is so much more to consider and this pursuit of truth has made me the minority.
I love my country. I am so blessed to live here. I don’t want to see it torn down – however, there does need to be change so I’m both bracing myself and embracing the process. If my candidate doesn’t win, I will wake up tomorrow and live my life, if they do win I will do the same.
The story of Lord Shiva: Shiva literally means “auspiciousness, welfare”. He is the third god of the Hindu Triad and he is the god of destruction. He represents darkness , and it is said to be the “angry god”.
The term destruction as it relates to Shiva’s cosmic duties can be deceiving. Often Lord Shiva destroys negative presences such as evil, ignorance, and death.
Also, it is the destruction created by Lord Shiva that allows for positive recreation. For example, an artisan may melt down (i.e., destroy) old pieces of metal during his process of creating a beautiful piece of art.
It is for this reason that Shiva holds a complementary role to Brahma, the god of creation. Shiva protects souls until they are ready for recreation at the hands of Brahma. Because of his connections with destruction, Lord Shiva is one of the most feared and heavily worshipped deities in Hinduism.
However, according to Hinduism, creation follows destruction. Therefore Shiva is also regarded as a reproductive power, which restores what has been dissolved. As one who restores, he is represented as the linga or phallus, a symbol of regeneration.
Malia 