Forgive me, fellow bloggers, for I have sinned. It's been 10 days since my last post. I've eaten ice cream quite a few times (have you TRIED those Starbucks mud pies you can buy at the grocery store?), had a lustful thought about Brad Pitt, didn't recycle a glass jar I couldn't stand the thought of washing out, and let my mail pile get so high it's precariously balanced and just daring me to add one more piece of paper. What is my penance?
One fellow blogger recently asked the question, "Is anyone talking about the real issues?" I've been thinking about that a lot for the last few weeks. Asking myself if I'm guilty of not talking about things that matter to me because I don't want to appear rabid or overemotional. Do I not take risks because I'm afraid I'll offend someone? I've gotten a lot of gender training, intentional and unintentional, from media, family, and well-meaning friends alike, that points to silence as the answer to conflict.
But I attended a small discussion group last week that consisted of intelligent, caring, outspoken women, and I remembered who I was again. The topic was conserving our earth, women's purchasing power, and how our voices can make a difference. I don't think it was the subject or even the open George-bashing that inspired me. It was seeing these women, who were all total strangers to me and mostly to each other, bond over a glass of wine and a common interest.
They talked without fear of reprisal or judgment. They talked like they knew they would be heard. They talked about the difficult decisions we have to make that have to do with how we spend our time and our money. They talked about choosing between corporate values and the good those corporations do for the economy. So yes, there are people talking about real issues. And I'm one of them.
2 comments:
Good post, Erin!
Nothing gives me quite the same warm fuzzy feeling as getting together with a group of like-minded people and talking about real issues. (like a good round of Shrub-bashing!)
Interesting thought. Silence as the answer to conflict. I think that so many of us ARE taught that---- let it roll off you, walk away, just ignore it, etc.-- that we tend to take that approach. Plus, we don't want to look like big buttheads, right? But then, I think about how that approach lets the loudmouths or the people who will yammer and scream (i.e., fundamental;ist evangelicals) set the agenda and get all the attention. Remember, dissent is the highest form of patriotism. Love.
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