Working My Nerves

My beloved Sassy used to have a recurring feature called "Working Our Nerves"; I'm picking up the baton.

I avoided getting political after the election.  My guy won, and there was no need to gloat.  But damn, craziness abounds. People are floating some straight-up ridiculous stuff. I don't comment when it's posted on Facebook because I use that site to keep up with people and talk about what I'm watching on Netflix, not to get into arguments.  It's silly and pointless.  Still, it's reached the point where I have to say something.  Here's the deal: Barack Obama is a Democrat, and a centrist one at that.  He is not a Nazi, and if you think that he is, or that he's anything close to that, you are contributing nothing of worth to the discussion.  All you are doing is a fostering an environment in which disagreeing with someone means distrusting him at at best and hating him at worst.  We should strive for respectful disagreement; spewing venomous bullshit isn't helping anything. And don't accuse me of being a hypocrite for calling this stuff venomous bullshit: that's what it is.  There is not an effective synonym for bullshit in the English language; I've tried finding one to no avail.


Two things have been vexing me lately.  The first, in the wake of the horrifying shooting in Connecticut, is the notion that Obama is coming for your guns as part of a larger plot to oppress Americans (you know, like in--all together now--Nazi Germany!).  Believe what you want, I guess, but how does this make any sense?  Obama's main goal is to take away your guns so that he can (pick one): a. give control of the US to the United Nations as a means of establishing One World Government, or b. establish himself as dictator-for-life, right?  So why then did he do nothing (seriously, nothing) about gun control in his first term?  Was he just biding his time, hoping to get a second term and then unveil his nefarious intentions?  That's a pretty stupid plan.  Most people don't even get one presidential term.  To bank on a second is just poor planning.  If I were plotting an evil takeover of the country, I would get on that ASAP.  I mean, really--establishing a dictatorship is the only way to guarantee a second term!

The other thing is this thing floating around in which a woman who lived in (three guesses!) Nazi Germany warns that Obama is the second coming of Hitler.  I checked Snopes on this one, and its veracity is undetermined.  My guess is that this is spurious; if it's not, it's the rantings of a crazy person.  I have the same issues with this as with the gun-control-gone-mad scenario, but this one is particularly despicable because it vilifies two things near and dear to my heart: feminism and public education.  The writer of this diatribe believes that women working outside the home leads to the downfall of society, which...really?  If you choose to stay home because you believe it's best for your family, I salute you.  I support your choice, and I'm glad you were able to make it.  But you know what happens when you force women to stay home and vilify those who don't? This. I'll just continue to be a terrible mother and an affront to society, thanks.

The screed then goes on to bewail the lack of religion in public schools.  This comes up a lot, and I usually just roll my eyes.  People who claim that children are not allowed to practice religion in schools have no clue what they're talking about.  We have freedom of religion in America, and contrary to popular opinion, that does not mean freedom to force someone to practice your religion.  I as a teacher am not allowed to proselytize to my students, because that is only fair to those who believe as I do.  Public schools are for everyone, so why should they push one religious point of view?  If you want a religious education for your child, send her to a religious school.  You can't swing a dead cat without hitting one in my town, and I imagine that's the case in yours, too.  If you have made the choice (there's that word again) to send your child to a public school, you can't get mad because it's not a religious school.  You knew the deal.  I know that private school tuition is not within everyone's reach, but this is still not a problem: take your kid to church, practice your faith at home.  No one is trying to make you  not believe; we just can't force our beliefs on others.  Notice that when people beg for prayer in schools, they aren't specific.  So can we pray to just anyone?  If I force your kid to pray to Ahura Mazda, is that cool?  It is prayer, after all, and that's what you say you want.  Anyway, there isn't a lack of religion in public school! I teach Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and Puritan poetry. My school has a Christian after-school club. You can pray as much as you want; I just can't make you do it.  And anyway, is that really what you want?

If you've posted any of this stuff, I don't think you're a terrible person, but I do hope that you'll at least stop and to consider if it makes sense next time.