Still here. Just not sure what to say

I am still here! Still finding inspiration and wonder in the world, despite all of the many bad things: a felon President committing more felonies, an electorate that put him there, all that's happening in Gaza and Afghanistan and the DAR and Sudan and on and on. Very hard to find hope these days, no question. 

You can't fight this alone. And I'm not going to tell you how to fight it because I don't really know myself. I keep reading about "keep fighting" and "keep resisting" and I've no idea what that looks like right now. So whatever YOU find, and you believe its productive and it is within your ethical framework and you are comfortable with the risks and potential negative consequences that come with the action, I guess... go for it? Just please don't engage in violence against people. Please don't. 

What's also important is staying mentally healthy right now. It's vitally important, actually. 

I think some keys right now to staying afloat are:

• NOT disengaging, but not ALWAYS engaging. Pick a time for news reading or watching and an amount of time for doing it and then turn it off. 
• Get outside - unless you feel you may be targeted for deportation. Walk around your neighborhood. Walk in public parks. Get that winter and rain gear on and get outside even when the weather bites. Get your head clear. 
• Lean on things like getting outside, being with people that love you, listening to music and doing things you enjoy rather than alcohol or cannabis. Don't lean on those. 
• Read books. 
• Watch PBS. If you aren't already giving, give $5 a month so you can get a subscription to their on-demand channel, Passport, and watch some things good for your mind and soul. 
• Look for community events to attend that bring you together with people who are not fascists - but, of course, only if you don't fear deportation. Go to events at the library. At the community theater. At the nearest university. Hosted by a nonprofit that supports refugees or LBGTQ people. 

I hope that, if you can, that you will keep track of what federal actions are hurting people, and reach out to those people affected. There are plenty of nonprofits that can help you do this. 

Dark times. Look for the light. Go to the light. 

Lost faith in humanity

Back in August, I wrote a blog called I shall not live in fear. It was a reaction the anger and fear of Trump supporters of and regarding immigrants, Muslims, non-White people, crime, loss of the English language, a Black Lives Matter member marrying their daughter, Satanists praying at their next city council meeting, and on and on and on. The level of fear, anger and righteousness was absurd to me then.

It's not only absurd to me now. It's terrifying.

Facts mean nothing to these people. They spew the most vile racist and sexist things while denying whole-heartedly that they are racist or sexist. They are not nearly as economically disadvantaged as they claim, and they've regained economic ground lost under the Bush administration (thanks, Obama, for real!), but their perception is otherwise. They feel under siege, even though they aren't. They feel they are having their quality of life taken away, even though they aren't. They see greater opportunity for people not like them as meaning they themselves are losing out.

How to reach them? Pardon me if I am not feeling a desire to "reach out" or "meet them half way." I hereby confess that I think the term deplorables as quite apt, and I don't like deplorables.

I'm a reason-based gal. I like in-depth statistics and facts and data, even when what such reveals is an inconvenient, even painful truth, even when I have to change my mind as a result. Righteousness repulses me. I, therefore, have a great deal of trouble relating to people who don't do this, who will seek out data from a not-at-all credible source just so they can double down on their beliefs.

How to show empathy for the un-empathetic? How to reason with unreasonable people? How to show kindness to unkind, even hateful people?

And how to restore my long-held faith in humanity, a belief in the idea that, ultimately, after a lot of mess and failure, we are capable of getting it right and living together and embracing the idea that all humans have the right to equal opportunity?

Even being a humanist requires faith. Humanism stresses the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasizes common human needs, and seeks rational ways of solving human problems. I'm just not so sure about that whole potential value and goodness part anymore.

What now? I will continue to learn Spanish, have coffee with Muslim friends, dance at gay weddings, watch science shows, read books, visit Mexico, sing Louvin Brothers songs ironically, say and believe #BlackLivesMatter, call myself a feminist, listen to international news radio stations, not say the "Pledge of Allegiance", applaud smart, intellectual, professional women, delight in diversity, have the utmost respect for public servants and do lots of other things that, apparently, are woefully un-American in the new USA. I will continue to travel - and hope I'm safe doing so, that Trump hasn't created a far more dangerous world for me and put a target on my back, as someone from the USA.

And in doing all that, even if my faith and hope aren't restored, I'll be having a nice time.

An atheist's thoughts on Donald Trump

I could write a scathing critique of Islam, based on my reading of the Koran, my reading of Hadith, my studies of the history of Islam, my readings of articles and speeches by Muslims, my experiences in countries with large populations of Muslims and the activities of people that say they are Muslims - and not just extremists, like members of Daesh or Al-Queda or the Taliban. Scathing. In all sincerity.

I could write a scathing critique of Christianity, based on my own experiences in various churches and with thousands of Christians whilst growing up in the Bible Belt of the USA, my reading of different translations of the Bible, the history of how the Bible was compiled and edited and mistranslated over the centuries, my readings of articles and speeches by Christians, and the activities of people that say they are Christians - and not just extremists, like members of the Ku Klux Klan or the Westboro Baptist Church or Jerry Falwell or Franklin Graham or Rick Warren. Scathing. In all sincerity.

I could write a scathing critique of other religions, based on similar criteria.

I'm an atheist. I see all of the ways religion creates misunderstanding, fuels fears, discourages thought, divides people, inspires people to hate and to act on that hate and to feel justified in acts of hate. It's my hope that humans eventually reject religion, all religion, in favor of universal moralities based on humanism, value of our environment, value of knowledge, and love of the arts and sports.

So please know where I am coming from when I say that Donald Trump is disgusting. His call for a ban on all Muslims coming to the USA is fascist, it's Hitleresque, it's un-American, and it must be condemned by anyone with any shred of sensibility - particularly Republicans and Christians in the USA - with no qualifications whatsoever.