The cat knows how I feel

Blogging recently has been tough. Work has been especially busy and, many days, feels entirely overwhelming. Maybe someday I'll blog about that, but today isn't that day. I'm facing another knee surgery in the not too distant future and, despite knowing that the surgery and recovery will be a lot easier than the last one, it's not a fun or happy prospect. I actually did write a blog about that but decided not to post it for any number of reasons. If you want to read it and don't feel like it will make you squeamish, let me know and I'll email it to you. The election is looming and, while there are so many things I'd like to say about that, I've started and stopped those blogs more times than I can count.

So, what's this not-very-cheerful sounding blog about?

Maybe it's the value of life. Maybe it's me wondering where all this rage is coming from.

It seems like I can't log on to facebook anymore without encountering angry posts and articles. With the exception of my friend's who post pictures of their children and (or) cute animals, it feels like wherever I look there is someone angry about something. Usually I roll my eyes, find a cute kid picture, and try to put whatever unnecessarily mean thing I read out of my mind. As the election draws nearer though, it's getting harder to ignore. I genuinely like reading posts from different political, cultural, and economic views. I seek them out. I have friends with whom I deeply disagree on a broad spectrum of issues but we still love each other, respect each other, and frequently get to have good debates with each other. And then.

And then I read an article from an author who hopes that every member of the opposing political party will die.

I'm not even kidding. My heart rate sped up and I did a double take and then a triple take. How has it come to this?

I can't separate my belief that all life should be respected from my faith but I'd like to believe that, whether a person holds a faith or not, they can respect that life is a precious and wonderful thing. It's fragile and too easily destroyed. There's a lot to be angry about this election season and I know how angry I am personally about things that I feel shouldn't be happening. I still can't imagine ever wishing someone dead over it though because your life is precious whether we agree or not.

When I was in the second grade, a boy in my class started shouting that he hated me. I can't remember what triggered his reaction but my teacher's response has been indelibly ingrained in me ever since. She pulled us both up to her desk and said, very gravely, you do not hate, you do not know what hate is, you never say that to another person again. It was, by far, not the worst experience I can remember from that school but it has defined nearly every bad experience I've had since then. You do not hate.

I think I wish my second grade teacher was here now. I'd like to think she'd be telling people on both sides to stop name calling, to stop saying awful things, to sit down and talk.

Maybe consider doing something nice for someone on November 9th. Donate to a food pantry or a charity. Buy a meal for someone who needs it. Adopt a pet. Send someone flowers. No matter what happens, it seems like there are going to be a lot of upset people next Wednesday morning but it would be awfully nice if everyone could take a deep breath and try to make someone else smile.

PS. If you're not sure what the picture has to do with anything, I chose it because (a) cute animal and (b) the title of this post.