welcome to my world...
Native people of this country have been dealing with political bullshit for over 500 years; men having pissing contest with souls and minds;
now we have become our conquerors sitting on our political ass's thinking that the answer is in political war paths, its a crying shame to know that in one of the most amazing countries in the world we sweep underneath a rug issues that can create amazing healing.
there is no remorse for stupidity and there is no excuse for dumb shit men wanting to represent a society of lost souls that were created by desperation and caged mental mind sets by our own founding so-called fathers.
we have become desperate for knowledge and understanding however those needs have been far fetched ideals because of stuffing politicians pockets money in return for blind useless promises, we are a starving people, but we will never admit it we are to proud and too ignorant to even know that we are what we have conquered and killed.
i love what Melanie wrote its a reminder; now its time to get off our ass's and do what needs to be done...to be the best that we can be.
ask yourself a question are you the best that you can possible be?
if no... than get going.
if yes than start sharing..
welcome to my world in which we as native people have done the best we can in a political world that has lied, stolen, raped, killed, and pillaged us and still were here.

It seems to me that one of the glaring issues with politics these days is the misconception that our experience is the only experience out there and that everyone else is experiencing the exact same thing. We follow this up with the idea that "THEY" are the ones making the poor choices/idiocy.

The truth is our experiences vary widely. What Melanie knows as her personal truth is not an exact match to Lissa's or mine or AH's. To attack each other the way that we are in this country for our reflections of that experience doesn't pull us together. It doesn't force someone to agree with you. It divides us and creates a space where no one wants to listen.

I've been blogging for OP for over 2 years now and I love that the point of this site IS the mutual respect of our individual experiences. It's obvious AH that you have some strong feelings around abortion, it's also just as obvious that Melanie has some strong feelings around male politicians dictating how she will live her life. OP is about supporting one another. It's supporting the effort each of us is making to do the best that we know how.

Do you ever get so moved and emotional and crazy-feeling that you just wind up laughing?

I'm looking back over these posts, and as inappropriate as it sounds, I'm giggling.

Thank you Midge and Rosa for your ownership of your thoughts, feeling, emotions, and beliefs. Way to go. Love that. Even if you disagree with Melanie, the ownership piece is so valuable to me (yes, it is called "Owning Pink" for a reason.)

What I love about conversations like this is that they're so not milk toast, and I value that.

So thank you all. I appreciate the dialogue, even when it gets contentious.

With love and gratitude,
Lissa

Hello, Melanie, Lissa, and OP Commentors (name-calling is not my style, although I appreciate the passion behind such antics, not to mention the entertainment value, if this discussion was fictional),

It is obvious that gone are the days of "agreeing to disagree" respectfully in politics, religion, and so many other personal yet societal discussions. This growing discord, which, in my opinion (Midge, here) does not support the ideals of a true democracy, is fueled by many causes, including the prevalence of media polarity and sesationalism, not to mention blatant and purposeful inaccuracies, seemingly limitless technological opportunities to openly and anonymously name call, rudely criticize, and politically/religiously bash others whose views/beliefs differ, and learned intolerances shrowded in the emotions of fear, anger, and even hate.

Melanie, I read through your post twice just to be sure, and you did not state your opinion of nor did you advocate for abortion. The topics of violence against women, including rape, and women's reproductive issues are hot-topic triggers for many people who are extremely passionate about their views/beliefs, and who appear quite righteous in their responses (again, in my opinion). They believe they are right and opposing views/beliefs and the people who hold them are wrong. It's that simple. There is no longer a need for open, civil discourse because it is a matter of right or wrong, open and shut.

Here's an example: I believe (again, my opinion) everyone has the right to love whomever he or she loves. Now, to me (yes, my opinion, again), that supports my beliefs in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness--those that our democracy embraces and upholds. But to someone whose views/beliefs differ, my comment may trigger a completely different response. Did I mention LGBSTGTS marriage? No. But to some people, I did.

Melanie & Lissa, I have found myself inspired by your words, provoked (in a thinking way) by them, and occasionally unmoved (I suppose my years are showing and gone with them is much of the angst). But I've never felt disrespected by them. And I certainly hope my comments and my contributions to the OP Posse blog have been respectful as well.

I wish the agreements to disagree were still the norm, the expectation. I have fond memories of growing up during those yesteryears, of observing my dad (now 93 with advanced dementia) and his colleague and sailing buddy go around and around, tumbling head over heels in politics (liberal/conservative) and religion (Catholic/Protestant) because they were passionate and informed and knew that at the end of the day they'd each share a beer with his best buddy. And they had fun doing it. Their raucous, swear-words-always-inclusive, discourse was joyous to behold. Their modeling of healthy, passionate debate helped not only to inform and shape my own views/beliefs, it taught me how to openly share them with respect--mutual respect.

I have only admiration for people who, like my dad and his buddy, can do this, who can hold the other person's ideas, opinions, and beliefs in their hearts, free from destructive tendencies, with love.

By the way (opinion alert), I have only the deepest compassion for people who discover love only to be berated (and bullied and battered) by their fellow human beings who believe that kind of love is wrong. Love, wrong? In what kind of world are we living? I choose to live in love.

Peace,
Midge

Not to be left out, I found the need to post.
First, some of the administrative stuff. I'm Rosa, and my words are my own. Disagree or agree - either way i will respect your ability to do either. Get down with your Free Will self.
Thought that was important to say - since there seems to be an emergent theme from the blog, and the subsequent comments. Words have power. With power, Uncle Ben said, comes great responsibility.
I love the fact that Melanie had the backbone to put her opinion of politics out there for everyone. I love her words, and how they are put together. Again, that is my opinion (Rosa here, remember). More than that, i love how she has taken responsibility for her words. All of them.
Both positive words and negative words carry power. Positive ones intend to build, strengthen, create, support.
Words that convey hate, blame, disrespect, discrimination, anger… intend to destroy, weaken...whether done on blog posts, media or political speeches/sound bites. Using negative words to disagree with someone, using personal attacks to try to discredit someone's opinions is more of a reflection of you, the user, than the person you are disagreeing with.
Taking responsibility for your words, being intentional about their use, putting your name next to them takes courage.
Thank you Melanie (and for angry anonymous peeps, sorry, missed your name) for reminding me of my responsibilities. Mine. I'm Rosa remember. Just want to make sure I am taking responsibility for the words I have shared.