Take Care of Each Other

There is a lot going on in the news these days with our new President and his Administration. "Alternative facts" is now a thing. Okay. Federal agencies are being restricted on news releases and social media updates to the public. That is not good. Not good at all.

I believe strongly that regardless of the political party that holds the majority we should take care of each other. I don't think government should do everything for its people,but that it should at least encourage its citizens to look out for one another and cheer on non profits that want to help. I also believe that many of the social issues that are dominating the air waves and the recent Womens' March are linked together.

I started a list with one thing as the initial item, but I am changing it. I am going where man wants to control, but doesn't really want to do his part in taking responsibility. Contraception.

• There are many forms of birth control and there are many reasons why women take it.
• Personally, I have been taking oral contraceptives (The Pill) since 1997. I went off it for a while when my husband and I were trying to have a baby. We were told that having a biological child was next to impossible. With my doctor's suggestion, I stayed on The Pill to help alleviate extremely painful menstrual cramps and mood swings due to my period. It worked like a charm. And the best part is I haven't had to buy feminine hygiene products in fourteen years.
• I am on my husband's employer provided health insurance. We are blessed to have top notch coverage. Before the Affordable Care Act was passed I was paying $70 a month for my birth control pills. When I started taking the pills in 1997 I was paying about $20 a month. We always had excellent health coverage and the cost of the pills kept going up and up. At one point I considered stop taking them because the cost was getting too high. I wonder how much a woman with less than ideal health coverage or none at all, pays for the pills?

This is a scenario I imagine if contraception is no longer covered by the government's replacement health care plan or if it is no longer covered at all by insurance.

• Women who do not want to have children or who are not ready to have children could get pregnant. And if anyone suggests abstinence as an answer to that, you need to survey the men of this country. Because remember, it takes sperm from a man and an egg from a woman to make a baby.
• If those women do get pregnant, what are they to do? If Trump has his way and gets a new Supreme Court justice appointed there is a good chance Roe v. Wade will be re-tried and it could be overturned. I'm not crazy about the idea of abortion, but there are so many factors involved.
• Who will help women with these unplanned pregnancies? Who will make sure they get to their pre-natal appointments? Who will be there the day they deliver? If they decide they are not ready to parent who will help them research adoption agencies?
• If they decide to parent, who will help them tell family? Who will help them find adequate and affordable child care? If they do not have supportive family and friends, who will help them get the items needed for a baby? You know, throw them a baby shower - to get a crib, car seat, bottles, diapers, wipes, etc.
• If finances are a concern, who will help them fill out the paperwork to get assistance? Did you know that diapers, wipes and feminine hygiene products are not covered under government assistance? If parents cannot provide enough diapers and wipes to the day care then the baby cannot stay. Which means then the parent cannot go to back. Which means lost pay. You see a pattern here?
• It is time for delivery. Who will be there holding their hand? Who will help them settle into home with a newborn? Who will go over when mom calls and the baby hasn't slept in two days and cries all the time? Who will go over and just hold the baby or sit in the room while baby sleeps so mom can take a shower longer than two minutes?

These are just some of the questions that pop into my mind whenever the conversation about contraception becomes public fodder. And some other thoughts pop into my mind...

• Why is the responsibility for birth control largely fall on the woman's shoulder? Yes, she carries the baby, but she didn't create that baby alone. Men don't want to do their part and wear condoms during sex, but they certainly have plenty of opinions about the character of women who use birth control and what a woman should do if she becomes pregnant.
• Over the years I have heard "pundits" suggest that women who want coverage of birth control are sluts, promiscuous, irresponsible. I wonder, who do these pundits think these women are sleeping with? Men are involved too. But there is never any comment on their personal character.
• Men have their little blue pills covered. You know the one. So, if birth control loses coverage, those little buggers need to be removed too. I mean it, kind of works with the whole abstinence solution, right?

And for those that say a child is not a choice, I disagree. The context I am using is sex between two consenting adults. If both parties agree to it, then both parties are equally responsible. You choose to have sex, you are choosing to do something that may result in the creation of another human life. Both parties better be ready to accept that responsibility. 

We need to look out for each other. We need to listen to each other. We need to listen to hear each other, to understand each other. Just because we disagree doesn't mean we don't care about each other. Remember that. No matter what, we need to look out for each other. Reach out a hand and pull someone along.

I have reason to be thankful

Well, this past week has been quite a .......not really sure what to call it. Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States a week ago. That is still sinking in for me.  I catch my breath every time I see video of him on television now and the news reporter says, "President Trump..." How in the world did this happen? Sigh.

Anyway, as I wrote before, THANKFUL is my word for 2017. My goal is to post on this blog twice a week. One of the posts will be about something I am THANKFUL for. After the past 8 days we need to reminded of what we have to be THANKFUL for.

I am thankful for the right to freedom of speech. I can speak my mind freely without the fear of repercussion of the government. We need to remember we have that freedom and to fight to hold onto it.

I am thankful for my husband who encourages me to get involved in politics and speak my mind. He has even suggested I look more into local politics and thinks I would enjoy doing it. Maybe even running for a local office....not sure about that, but I am interested in learning more about local politics.

I am thankful for the brave and energized women who organized the Womens' March in DC and all the other organizers around the country and the world who planned marches last weekend. They have a passion and energy that cannot be dismissed or diminished.

I am thankful for my faith. I am a Christian. I make no apologies for that. I am thankful for Jesus Christ for many things among them the lessons He taught us. He taught us to care for the weak, the outcast, the hungry, the poor, the least among us. I love this scripture that illustrates this lesson perfectly. This version is from the Common English Bible (CEB), book of Matthew, Chapter 25 starting at the 34th verse.

34“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. 35I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’37“Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’40“Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who will receive terrible things. Go into the unending fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels. 42I was hungry and you didn’t give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me anything to drink. 43I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked and you didn’t give me clothes to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’44"Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help you?’ 45 Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.’ 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous ones will go into eternal life."

For those that claim to be Christian, remember this lesson. When we help the least of our brothers and sisters, we are helping Him. The One who died for us. I am incredibly thankful for this lesson and will do my best to carry it forward.

All talk no action

Friday, Jan 20, 2017 - I wrote this post earlier in the week and scheduled it to post and apparently it did not. So here it is.

This past weekend we celebrated the birth of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. One way many people commemorate  his birthday is by performing community service projects. Ideally, we all do some sort of community service during the full year, but MLK Day is a great way to get the habit started.

Instead of focusing on communities pitching in to make improvements, the media focused on Donald Trump's Twitter blast of Representative John Lewis. Mr.Lewis is a civil rights icon who marched alongside Dr. King and has continued fighting for civil rights throughout his personal and professional career. Mr.Lewis stated in an interview that he was not going to attend Mr. Trump's inauguration and said one of his reasons was that Mr. Trump is not a legitimate president.

I understand why Mr. Lewis feels that way, but Mr. Trump's presidency is legitimate. He meets all the constitutional requirements to be president and he garnered enough electoral votes. Mr. Lewis has every right to not attend the inauguration, but I question what message that sends. Mr. Trump does not handle criticism well. His reactions on Twitter are akin to a teenager. And I say that as a parent of a teenager.

Mr. Trump retaliated to Mr. Lewis' criticism by saying that he has not done enough for his home district in Georgia and that he is all talk and no action. Slap against the forehead! What??? Mr. Lewis I think personifies what it means to walk the walk and talk the talk. Mr. Trump's response should have been something like this,"I am sorry Mr. Lewis feels this way. I look forward to meeting with him and finding ways we can work together to make America great for everyone. I appreciate his service to this country by being an elected official and his passion and tireless work in the field of civil rights."

So far I see Mr. Trump as someone with all talk and no action. He is quite blustery and impulsive. He says one thing one day and contradicts himself the next (or even just a few hours later). He really needs to either self-regulate what he tweets or allow his staff to correct or soften his words. I'm glad he has embraced social media and appreciates what it can do in a positive way, but he also needs to understand the negative impact not-well-thought-out tweets can have.

Words can motivate. Words can inspire. But it is action that actually makes change. Action is what makes a difference. Mr. Trump, choose your words carefully and take action.

What is legitimate?

This week our country transfers power from one President to another. Regardless of who you voted for, the way our country transitions power is pretty incredible. People may not be thrilled with the incoming President, but the transition is peaceful.

There has been a lot of talk since the Election Day that President-elect Trump is not a "legitimate" president. Yesterday hubby and I had a really good conversation about this and what it means to be "legitimate."

First of all, legitimate is an adjective that means according to law; lawful; in accordance with established rules, principles or standards. I used the definitions from dictionary.com. 

The United States Constitution has three (3), only three rules for a person to be President. First, they must be at least 35 years old. Second, they must be a natural born US citizen. A person may be born abroad, but only if both parents were citizens of the United States. The only exception to this was for those around at the time the Constitution was adopted. Their requirement was that they had to be a citizen when the Constitution was adopted. The third requirement is the person has to have lived in the United States for at least 14 years to be president. This does not have to be consecutive or even the 14 years leading up to becoming president. (source:americanhistory.about.com)

That's it. Those are the basic minimum requirements to be the President of the United States of America. President-elect Trump meets all of those requirements. Now, he has not followed the norm of previous presidential candidates by not having a legal or political background, releasing his tax returns or completely separate himself from his business ventures. Now recently he has said he has started the process to remove himself from his businesses, but I believe he is planning on having his sons involved in running his business. With Trump's track record of being vague with plans and speaking double speak, I have reservations about his sons being in charge of his business ventures.

Now, is it wrong for a president to make money while in office? No, because all former presidents earn a nice income once they leave office by writing books, going on speaking tours and being consultants in other fields. However, I want the decisions Trump makes in office to be first and foremost beneficial for the country and the American people. What happens if ISIS threatens to blow up a Trump owned building anywhere in the world? Is his response going to be because ISIS is threatening American lives or because it is his property?

So, President-elect Donald Trump is a legitimate president. Is he traditional? Does he follow the norm? No, but it doesn't mean he is not legitimate.  The next four years are unknown. Of course, they would still be unknown of the other candidate had won. So this week we need to take a deep breath, say a prayer for the Trump family and our nation as a whole and take a step out in faith.

There is a lot more to discuss and that will happen. One thing to remember, get involved. Find a cause, use your voice, your time, and yes your money to make a difference. Get involved.