My View From Here

Last night I started reading a new collection of essays by Barry Lopez called Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World. In the introduction, Rebecca Solnit describes Lopez as having a priest-like quality, someone who “might bring a congregation to something transcendent or immanent.” I like people like that, but it was her next sentence that woke me up: “He (Lopez) was unafraid of taking moral positions…and he wasted no time on that chimera of neutrality that has bedeviled so many white American writers”. Yep, I thought, that’s me.

We’re still on east coast time after a 12-day visit with family, so I woke up early. It was 5 a.m. on the west coast when I started writing. Dark and quiet with only a ticking clock beside me. Brent was up before me, so I lay in bed half asleep thinking about that sentence Solnit wrote. In my early morning daydreams, I wondered if I could articulate my point of view if asked. I went so far as to wonder what my platform would be if I were to, say, run for U.S. Senate. It was a telling exercise. As I lay there, I realized I could, that I’m not neutral on many issues.

It's blog day, so I thought I’d take a shot at writing down some of what I clarified for myself.

*

If I Were Running:

I’d start by saying that kindness is at the core of everything I believe. A little unusual for a political platform, but it’s true.

That being said,

I’m a Feminist

I believe compromise is essential in all relationships, especially politics.

I support Capitalism with regulations that protect our environment, workers, and management. I admire companies whose owners share the profits (or ownership) with their employees, and I admire wealthy individuals who choose philanthropy as a way of sharing their good fortune and honoring those who helped to create it.

I recognize a person’s 2^nd Amendment right to own a firearm, but don’t see a need for rapid fire anything. I support strict and meaningful gun regulations, but the truth is I don’t like guns. I’m a pacifist. I imagine a world where we can be rid of guns altogether. I realize I’m not going to win this argument.  

I do not think corporations are people.

Education should be one of our priorities, especially in under-served neighborhoods. Learning to read and write in a safe and inspiring environment allows dreams and aspirations to thrive. Everyone deserves that. Music and Art are essential for all children. Math and science are good too. Teachers should be paid well.

I am pro-choice. I’ve always agreed with the bumper sticker If you’re against abortion, don’t have one. It strikes me as the most reasonable answer to a complex, private, and emotional choice a woman might have to make. We talk about pregnancy as if no man was involved. That needs to change too.

I support criminal justice reform. I believe no one is above the law, and that no one is perfect either, especially teenagers. Too often people of color are given punishments for choices white kids get a pass on. Let’s be more understanding with all young people.  

Shelter, food, and basic Health Care are a right. We are a wealthy country and should provide for those in need. When people say that others less fortunate should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, I wonder if they’ve ever known life without a bootstrap. Better, I say, to offer a hand.

Consume less, re-use and repair more. The earth needs our attention.

Support small and local businesses. They make our communities hum.

Our history includes the enslavement of others and the dislocation and deaths of thousands of indigenous people. We need to teach this history for the sake of understanding who we are.

I believe in the separation of church and state. I’m not sure how one can believe in freedom of religion without supporting this separation.

This country was built by immigrants. Let’s treat the people who want to live and work here as the human beings they are. Dreamers are Americans.

I support human rights for all including the LGBTQ+ community.

I’m an agnostic who understands other peoples’ longing for religious direction and faith.

I’m a registered Democrat. I love the hope that is central to our democracy.

I’m grateful for diversity, I support the phrase “We the People”, and I’m serious about my right to vote.

*

I know it’s risky to put my beliefs in writing these days, and in general, I don’t want to write about politics here, but I’m glad to have done this. I feel better about myself, and hope it inspires you to jot down your own beliefs as we move into this most important election year.

Have a good week, Bar