Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Dear Family and Friends...

Dear family and friends who support Donald Trump,

I'm hopping on the bandwagon and sending a message your way. I'm sure I'm not the first person who has discussed this with you, and I'm sure I won't be the last.

My parents and I had a great political discussion via Skype the other day, and the subject of family and friends who support Trump came up. Admittedly, I shouldn't be surprised, but nonetheless, I am. My mother was more than a little bit concerned about the way I might treat you all because of your inclination towards Trump. "Family and friends are important. You can't just write them off because of their political views." My mother is a saint of a woman, and it is for her that I am writing this to you. I'm going to explain myself very clearly.

The famous reporter and blogger behind Humans of New York recently said that supporting Trump is no longer a political issue. It is a moral one. In fact, I would be hard pressed to find an issue that Trump brings up that doesn't carry some sort of moral bearing. Things you see as political, like removing all Muslims from the United States or building a wall on the border of Mexico, might be political ideas to you, but they are also highly moral, and they come not from a background of advancing a political agenda. They come from a background of scapegoating, hatred, and misinformation.

So, here I come in, and I see that you support this kind of rhetoric. In my mind, that reflects on you that you support racism, xenophobia, hatred, bigotry, and violence. When Trump says, "You should punch them in the face," do you cheer along with the crowd? Do you feel any pangs of fear or guilt in your stomach, or are you so bought in that you don't see what he's saying? You teach your kids not to hit one another, and a grown man gets on stage every night and tells people to do just that, and it doesn't bother you? I don't understand.

I understand times are tough in the States, and you want something new. If you're willing to overlook Trump's gross immoralities and hatred because you think he's a straight shooter, I can't help but think you've undergone some sort of moral transformation. Your struggles with the economy, with housing, with jobs, whatever it may be, have gotten you so angry that you've lost who you are in favor of hatred and bigotry. That's the only conclusion I can draw. That, or you've been hateful all along, and it just took someone coming out and saying it for you to show your true colors. You fooled me. You don't see the hateful rhetoric from any of the other Republican front runners. I assure you, my qualms aren't partisan.

I'm not here to tell you I don't love you anymore, or that I absolutely cannot have you in my life. That said, if we're being honest, I do think less of you. I suppose I just expected better. If Trump comes up at the dinner table, don't expect me to stick around. If I know I won't change your mind, what's the point in speaking up? I'll just leave the room. My parents and upbringing always taught me to surround yourself with people who build you up and who make you a better person. If you believe what Trump is pitching and you advocate for it, you do neither of those things. You promote hatred, ignorance, and anarchy. I don't care how bad the political situation has gotten or if you feel that your status as an American has lowered. If you have food on your table, you're doing better than a lot of folks. What Trump is doing is taking those who feel disenfranchised and giving them someone to disenfranchise further. If you can knock someone to the rung below you, maybe you'll really feel like things are going well for you. If you can alienate Muslims, Mexicans, Democrats, or anyone else you don't like, maybe your life will feel like it has more meaning. Is that really the schoolyard mentality that you've devolved to? My disappointment can't be conveyed in a few words on the Internet.

So, moving forward, know that I still love you, but things won't be the same for us. In every conversation and every glance, there will be disappointment. They say blood is thicker than water, and were you not already a fixture in my life who I really value, I may not have afforded you the courtesy. I have defriended others on Facebook, been scathing, been angry. Know that your support of Donald Trump says more about you than who you want to be president. It says what you want America to become, and I can assure that Donald's America will not be great again. It will be the worst it has ever been.

I'm sorry if this seems unfair, but I've said my piece, and I mean it.

I wish you a change of heart to love, peace, and understanding. I'll always be here when you need me.

Love,
Ryan

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Shower Thoughts

Lately, I've had some heavy stuff on my mind. The fact that the Beazley family is leaving is a not-so-pleasant thought at least a few times a day. I'm going to Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia this week, and I've done a bit too much reading about genocide for my brain this week. Reapplying for the SLA job and eventual grad school looms large on the horizon. Trump is looking like he could become the next president (I threw up in my mouth a bit as I wrote that). I'm still as happy as ever, but the weight of some of these things on my mind has caused me to pause and take time to lighten the mood a bit and remember how great life is. So, that's what I'm doing.

Every week I write a satirical newsletter for our campus's soccer league. It's usually ridiculous and very stream-of-consciousness writing, leading one of my bosses to say at one point, "It's a glimpse into whatever is going on inside your head sometimes." Admittedly, I have some scatter-brained thoughts. I've titled them shower thoughts because I suppose that's the genre of thinking it is, but these are the random thoughts that occurred to me throughout the day today that I wrote down for the sake of this post. Some are horribly bizarre. All are without explanation.

1. Why are Christmas songs so creepy? Santa Claus Is Coming To Town sounds like it's an anthem in 1984.

2. Ciao means hello and goodbye. That's just lazy.

3. If you wear high enough shoes, you can always wear mismatched socks.

4. Do you think other species are aware that what they eat affects how they poop?

5. What if I didn't wake up today? Death by ribs would be a weird way to go.

6. The only two Bible stories I ever think about are the good Samaritan and the woman at the well. The far right has casually forgotten these.

7. What does English sound like to Italian dogs?

8. If an alien landed on earth, what would be the most bizarre thing they found? Raisins or ripped jeans get my votes.

9. Babies are basically tiny stoned adults.

10. If I practiced enough, could I be the best mime there ever was?

11. The first time someone wore shoes they probably weren't comfortable, so why do we wear shoes today? What idiot invented wooden shoes? Did the shoe or the sock come first?

12. Do you think the first rat-tail haircut came from someone with a really weird balding pattern?

That's the average things in my brain for the course of a day. When I'm trying to get my mind off of whatever is shitty in the world, this is what my brain wanders to. Have a great week, everyone!