I wrote this…oh, a
couple of years ago, when I realized that in a few areas, I’d fallen off the
fence I usually make my home. But it was 46 years ago today that Bobby Kennedy
died. I remember the day, how I felt. Because at first I felt hopeless with him
gone. There wasn’t anyone else in politics who listened, who wanted the good of
all. But the hopelessness didn’t last, because he was all about hope.
I never wanted to be a liberal. Truth be told, I never
wanted to be political at all. It’s all Bobby Kennedy’s fault, because way back
in the 1960s, he made me think all things were possible. For everybody.
It’s that “everybody” part that got me.
In case you don’t know anything about me, I am a stereotype
to end all stereotypes. I’m Christian, white, straight, married, and retired.
You know those people who say they worked their butts off for 40 years and now
it’s their turn to sit on them and draw their “entitlement?” — I’m one of them.
I love Christmas for all the “right” reasons — I love the
Lord, peace on earth, good will toward men — and the “wrong” ones — I love
presents, parties, and Christmas songs. My clothing and the stuff in my house
is traditional. I drive an SUV. I am happy to be an American and I’m proud of
it, too, though … oh, good Lord, do I think we have problems!
Most of them, I’m prone to believe, have to do with two
things: (1) Greed. And, no, I’m not going to explain that one. If you
don’t get it on your own, you’re not going to, and (2) People are always mad at
other people. For such a myriad of reasons it would be silly to make a list.
However, besides being a stereotype, I occasionally step
across the line from sane to silly in a heartbeat. Or a keystroke if you want
to get literal about it. So here’s my list of why I think people are mad at
others:
- Because
the other person is of the wrong religion. (This one includes no religion
at all.)
- Because
the other person is of the wrong color, nationality, or ethnicity. (A
really big umbrella — it probably deserves more than one number, but I’m
trying to keep this list reasonable.)
- Because
the other person is of the wrong sexual orientation.
- Wrong
gender.
- Wrong
profession.
- Wrong
neighborhood.
- Wrong
political party. (This includes, besides the official party designations,
conservative and liberal. While I’m pretty much a liberal — thanks a lot,
Bobby — I’m not really a democrat and I doubt I’m the only one who’s tired
of being told she is.)
- Wrong
tax bracket. Yes, I’m serious. I’m part of the begging-for-relief middle
class — you think I’m not mad?
- Wrong
age.
Well, I was going to go for an even ten, but I
couldn’t think of anyone else to be mad at right now. You can make your own
list.
As usual, I seem to have swerved slightly from where I
started this little soliloquy — okay, I’ve veered wildly and may get arrested
for writing while incensed — so I guess I’ll try to connect the middle to the
beginning and see if I can arrange an end.
Back to me being a liberal. And a stereotype. And mad. (I
don’t think I’m greedy, so I’m leaving that out.)
I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with being mad at
people because they are different from us. Well, actually, I do, but I’m trying
to be realistic here — are you going to be less mad because I tell you it’s
wrong? Where we run into those problems I mentioned earlier is when we try to
hurt the ones we’re mad at. I feel another list coming on, but I’m going to see
if I can avoid that.
In truth, most of us probably don’t intend to do harm. Other
than the bullies of the world, who do of course want to hurt everyone except
their own closed circle of cronies. It’s what they do.
Some conservative groups want to deny basic civil rights to
gay people. And women. And people of retirement age. And children. White
supremacists think “white is right.” Some black activists think just the
opposite. There are people in the world who think what happened on Nine-Eleven
was okay, that we “deserved” it. There are Christians who think the doors to
the house of God should be closed to ones whose beliefs don’t exactly mirror
theirs. There are atheists and agnostics who think the word God — complete with
a capital G — should be drummed out of, well, everything. There are feminists
who think if you don’t believe in late-term abortion, you’re not a real
feminist. There are … well, crap, it’s another list, isn’t it? And it’s way
too long.
Good grief, are we all bullies? The
“everybody” that Bobby Kennedy made me believe deserved All Things Are
Possible? Can that be?
Maybe we are. Maybe realizing that would be a good first
step. Maybe if each of us did our own little part to fix it — look inside
yourself, dummy, not at the “wrong” people — that would be an even better
second step. Maybe …
