The Political is Personal…

“The political is personal!”…

I’m sure you’ve all heard that phrase thrown around a lot! The strident activist for whatever issue says it to urge others to join their cause. It’s thrown out there when others decide not to be politically active or join causes. To be honest, I think the phrase is too often overused and turns more people off than motivates them to take action. I myself have never really been interested in politics and was ever politically active until I started this blog. I also think that not everyone has to be or is obligated to be politically active! Many do have a tendency to over politicize every little issue and make it into a derisive thing that divides, not unities us in our society.

However, there is more than a grain of truth in that statement. Many issues I write about on A Lady of Reason are social issues. Racial tensions, culture clashes, hypocrisy and inequalities, gender relations, morality, and the like. Politics does impact our lives in various ways. The policies made in Washington do trickle down to the average citizen at some point! Our tax dollars fund their agendas. Attitudes about race “color” (pun intended 😉 ) how people may interact and view each other.  Gender issues affect the dynamic between how men and women relate to one another. Our foreign policies and defense determine who’s our friends and enemies. Immigration policies determine who will be your neighbor, your classmates, your coworkers, what sort of society you will live in. Special interest groups’ agendas do have ramifications for others that affect far beyond just themselves. Who you become friends with, who you trust, how safe you feel, how financially secure you are, what your neighborhood becomes, your children’s schools, all of it is affected by political and social policies and agendas. And that’s the thing: Much of the Left who are young and brainwashed by public school, will get a wake up call that their idealism doesn’t work in the real world once they grow up and take on more responsibilities, jobs, homes, families to raise etc…

My dad, who never wanted to vote and was never political became so after 2016, because of what he saw, and what he’s been through. A man who never voted, voted for the first time in over half his life in our last election. Why? Because the policies over there, affected him and his family and community. Many on both sides of the political spectrum have had similar stories. See, I became outspoken on these issues here once I grew older and saw more of the issues I bring up regularly, and why I argue for the Conservative viewpoint socially and politically. I’ve seen the Left’s policies at work, and have the evidence that they simply aren’t working! So what’s “personal” about politics?

It’s personal when your children’s school is being filled with 3rd world children who have only ever known dog eat dog brutality, or the neglected children from broken, unstable, and even criminal homes who disrupt the learning environment in more ways than one!

It’s personal when your wife, mother, daughter, sister etc… has to share a bathroom with a biological man who masquerades as a “woman”…

It’s personal when the shooting happens in your high school or college and no one was allowed to fight back or even take precautions such as security beforehand…

It’s personal when you have to look your children in the eye and say “Daddy lost his job” because of illegals being hired.

It’s personal when your husband, son, brother, father, etc… is on the receiving end of a baseless allegation from some woman…

It’s personal when you’ve worked with a generation affected by the devastation and insecurity of a broken home, glossed over in “any family is a real family” politically correct propaganda…

It’s personal when you’re told that your skin color or gender confers guilt for deeds you never did and supremacy you never upheld through any actions of your own, or why you didn’t get that job or into that school…

It’s personal when your neighborhood is turning into an unsafe ghetto and you fear for your safety every time you step outside your home..

It’s personal when you worry about the messages your daughter is absorbing about sex being a handshake to give away to anyone who asks guilt free…

Or the message your son receives encouraging him to revile his manhood and his masculinity…

It’s personal when the fear becomes real, that a foreign enemy is knocking on your door due to a weak military, and some who have come here know that exact fear…

It was and still is, personal for the countless lives lost and their families to terrorism due to denial and political correctness avoiding the REAL reasons for terrorism. And for all of us, as it can happen anywhere, to anyone at any time…

It’s personal when your own children are taught in school to see you and other family members as misguided, wrong, and even, immoral for the politics you hold…

It’s personal when your pay check is stretched thinner and thinner due to incompetent economic policies…

It’s personal when you realize countries just like ours have degraded into chaos, terrorism and crime! Countries you may have enjoyed on a trip not so long ago that are no longer safe, and realize that they could be us. They were just like us…

It’s personal when you are defined as a “victim” because you’re a woman, or your skin is darker when you know you are far more empowered than they say you are but are shut down and labeled a “traitor” when you dare to speak the truth by your own kind!  

And last but certainly not the last point in existence on the subject:

It’s personal when you can’t voice your views without ostracism, censorship, demonization, ad hominem attacks, lost jobs, friendships and family!

So yes, the political is personal in many cases, which is why we must not be silent on what is affecting our lives! The silent majority can’t stay silent forever…. 🙂

So, what made politics personal to you?…

“Baby, It’s Triggering Outside”…

A new holiday tradition around the Christmas season is the Left getting triggered over the most benign things! From “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” being offensive for sending messages of people only accepting differences for what they can get out of you, to even getting in a huff over making fun winter holiday themed activities in school, even candy canes, the Left has become the Christmas, or more broadly, the Holiday Grinch!

Look, I’ve written before that I take a more moderate, reserved view about the whole “war on Christmas” business, even from a conservative view. As a secular person, I honestly don’t mind “Happy Holidays” over “Merry Christmas” and understand why businesses and employers want to use the broader term to not alienate potential customers or employees, or why government and municipal buildings/public spaces would not allude specifically to one holiday, or one religion in a country of religious freedom. In the grand scheme of culture wars, this particular one is one that takes a backseat in my opinion to far more negatively impactful issues, such as 3rd world values creeping in for instance. Saying “Happy holidays” is not the gateway to Sharia law or the persecution of those who do celebrate Christmas, including myself! That being said upfront, there IS a middle ground between “Christian theocracy”and PC “no-mention of any holiday allowed” dictatorship in its own right!

Having candy canes, red and green decorations, a Christmas tree generically decorated (which I’ll note is NOT a Christian symbol but comes from older Pagan traditions), wreaths, and non-religious songs playing do not cross the line into “Christians only” territory! It is possible to have generic winter themes stuff, and holiday things that don’t exclude anyone, even if they are traditionally associated with Christmas. Having an allergic, knee jerk reaction to an innocent wreath, candy canes, or even the colors red and green in the name of religious pluralism is outlandish, as you’re really stretching the scope of  “religious symbolism” into imaginary extremes! A “holiday party” at work is not the same as a church service! “Jingle Bells” is not the same as “Silent Night” in terms of specific religious content in a school holiday program for instance!

I also want to make it very clear, private businesses, property, citizens and such have just as much right to choose a specific holiday, and openly display overtly religious symbols of their choosing! I will fight for anyone’s right to say “Merry Christmas”, display nativity scenes, choose to openly celebrate Christmas as a religious holy day as these rights come with being a country that has freedom of religion. I support a private business emphasizing Christmas over a generic holiday season if they so choose to. Everyone has the right to display all the nativity scenes they want on their own property! Every citizen has the right to worship in the way they choose, just the government can’t favor or impose one on everyone which is why this opinion does not extend into the government/municipal sphere… Unfortunately, the Left can’t understand this nuance, and out of a knee jerk fear of offending or excluding, seek to ban anything even remotely related to the holidays for everyone…

To the Left nothing is safe, not even fun holiday/winter themed songs! “Baby it’s Cold Outside” is now anathema to the #MeToo hysterics who say it supports rape culture and the woman is being unethically coerced. “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, a classic since 1964 is now told to have detrimental messages such as people only accepting differences if they can use you! A principal banished any Christmas or holiday activities whatsoever, even going so far as to ban candy canes on an urban legend it stands for “J” for Jesus and the red is Christ’s blood that would be proven false with a bit of research on her part! Even winter/holiday themed Starbucks cups that have winter/holiday designs and red and green, but no religious symbols whatsoever are making triggered snowflakes get in a tizzy over them excluding people!

If you follow and read my blog closely, many of these instances of utter hysteria are reminiscent of my earlier Halloween post where the Left also makes the innocent and innocuous into something perverted or offensive! I mean, come on! “Baby it’s cold outside” is nothing more than a fun song about a man and woman flirting playfully together. Its clear she is in no distress whatsoever nor is upset to be with the guy! She wants to stay and is coyly telling him to persuade her to over practical reasons why she should go home. Its more of “I really should go back, but I’m enjoying it so much, I need an excuse to stay”, NOT “I feel coerced and he’s trying to exert power over me to force me to stay with him”… Not to mention the glaringly obvious: What about all the vulgar rap songs and pop music our youth listens to that objectify and degrade women, and have lyrics that if #MeToo were applied fairly, would counts as rape and sexual assault/harassment! Women are called vile names, Sl—t, B—Ch, H—es, etc… etc.. and lyrics speak of smacking their booties, oogling their breasts, speaking of strippers and having unbridled sex and overall treating women as nothing more than a “score” for a player, yet a song like “Baby it’s Cold Outside” with zero of the above is labeled as promoting rape culture??? The hypocrisy is maddening!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is just what it was always interpreted as: Someone who is different who was discriminated against, proves everyone wrong by having his special talent, and being an asset to everyone else, not a detriment! That should be a very Left leaning SJW message, as they argue that many groups who are discriminated against do have that “special talent” to add to the country, or community. Rudolph’s red nose saved the day and proved his worth to everyone who thought he was useless. To argue that it’s a bad message in that it means people only care abut what they can get out of you in a selfish manner is highly pessimistic and the worst possible interpretation! That was not the case in the story, they genuinely accepted him for who he was in the end, his nose became secondary after they were all proven wrong! Our special talents make us assets to our communities, our friends and families. To be able to give something great to the people we care about is a blessing not a curse that can be taken advantage of and leeched off of by others! Rudolph had his special talent, the message to the viewer is then, what is your gift to the world? Telling isn’t it, how the Left just loves to make everyone into an oppressed victim!

People, candy canes are just candy canes. Red and green does not scream “Christian theocracy”. Holiday music is not setting the tune of “If you’re not a Christian, you’re not included”. “Baby it’s Cold Outside” is NOT about coercing a woman to rape her, nor does “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” have anything to do with race! Generic (historically pagan) Christmas trees, wreathes, and mistletoe are not shoving Jesus down everyone’s throat. Coffee cups that have holly, green, red, and snowy scenes on them are not denominational whatsoever. A school holiday musical is cute, not discriminatory. Making ornaments, wreathes, snowmen in school are fun memories to look back on, not painful ones to retell in therapy. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is about acceptance, not exploitation. The holiday season is a magical time that everyone can make fun and lasting memories of, no matter what you celebrate! The “reason for the season” is yours to decide what is most meaningful to you, religious or otherwise! For me, it’s about the warmth of family and friends, and making more great memories with the ones I love and cherish! Whatever your personal reasons are though, being triggered by every innocent and innocuous thing is NOT a good reason for the season! 😉

(Oh, wait, I said “family”, I hope you’re not too triggered as this is the era of the broken home and divorce 😉 Oh well, Happy whatever-you-celebrate!…)

Even Santa Can’t Escape PC Tyranny: A Guest Post by Time Foolery

The PC tyranny has reached its zenith with all out outlandish fancies! Of course, this extends to the holidays season, where anything remotely “Christmas” is banned and stifled! Even Santa can’t escape these grinches, as Time Foolery writes in to A Lady of Reason:

Recently a New Jersey substitute teacher took it upon herself to inform the children in her classroom that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and other fancies such as the Tooth Fairy, weren’t real. Now, take yourself back in time to when you were seven years old, in the First Grade. It’s almost Christmas, and the decorations are going up and the stockings are hung. Naturally, your first thoughts are, “What is Santa going to bring me!?” I know this because I usually had dog-eared the heck out of our Sears catalog and written my Santa letter well before Halloween! Most kids I knew did. It was the highlight of our year!! Now, think to being a parent, coming up with other fun things like Advent Calendars and Elf on a Shelf to get your young’uns excited about the holiday.

Now think about someone swooping in and deciding for you that your child, or even you at that age, needed to know that something you’re so excited about, is all a BIG, FAT LIE perpetrated by you and your parents before you! If you are like me, you’d be incredibly upset from both vantage points!! To have your childhood so unceremoniously, and without cause or reason, crushed by someone barely qualified to teach!! And to have the right of when you let your children in on the secret so rudely ripped out of your hands – well, it’s no wonder this sub has lost their job. But I don’t want to harp on all the obvious issues that abound with this happening. I don’t think the majority from any party affiliation would disagree that this person seriously overstepped their bounds or crushed the dreams of little children. That’s an obvious.

No, it is the spirit of this season I wish to look at instead. This year I turned the ripe, old age of 52 and I proudly proclaim, I still believe in Santa Claus! St. Nicholas of Myra was an early Christian bishop who became the Patron Saint of Children. It is through his legendary habit of secret gift-giving that we find the traditional model for Santa Claus aka Good Saint Nick. It is this tradition that parents like to emulate and carry on traditionally with their children, and hopefully their children will grow up to do the same for theirs. But there’s many more reasons I still believe in Santa Claus.

Whenever I, or someone else, help someone out of sheer humanity, there is Santa Claus. Anytime someone donates their time to a charity, there is Santa Claus. Even just holding a door open for someone for no reason except to help, that is Santa Claus. But right now, I think Santa Claus is actor James Woods, who just recently played unofficial Twitter coordinator for helping fire victims find their families in California. A week later, he helped police find a homeless vet who was going to end it all because he thought no one cared. He got so many people involved with both situations who shared their love, concern and help for all. That is truly, truly Santa Claus. Indeed, we need look no further than our fellow man to see that the spirit of giving is what St. Nicholas stood for, and doing things like he would makes us all Santa Claus, and I certainly hope we all believe in ourselves!!!

I agree Time Foolery! While as I am non-religious but still celebrate Christmas, I too have experienced the magic of Santa Claus and I guess he’s been generous, as he still leaves a special gift from time to time under my tree 😉 You make the excellent point that when we stop believing in Santa, we become Santa for others!!! The magic doesn’t stop once childhood ends, it only continues through acts of kindness during the holiday season and all year round! Why ruin the magic though while it lasts??? The world is bleak as it is, and childhood is one of the only times we will ever see the world as mainly good and warm and fuzzy… I always advocate for forewarning and forearming our children of the dangers of the world frankly and openly, not shielding them in naivete to its many dangers, but that doesn’t mean some harmless fun and a little magic shouldn’t be experienced, and no longer believing a milestone in growing up… The magic of Santa Claus is something everyone can cherish even when all grown up!