I confess, I’ve struggled for it this week.

In the literally hundreds of posts, articles and comments I’ve read on social media since Tuesday, I think I’ve seen every explanation for why a person voted the way he did, and every love-infused statement of encouragement from the winning side to the losing side on how important it is to get past our differences and band together behind this president.

Well I won’t.

The best result from this election: Never, ever, ever again will we have to suffer Sanhedrinistic diatribes from arrogant, superior loudmouths about someone being morally unfit for public office.  The worst: People who claim to love me and members of my family voted for Trump, thereby voting against members of my family who are gay, members who are of Hispanic descent (like, oh, two of my grandchildren), a member who is engaged to a Hispanic woman, members who have benefited greatly from Planned Parenthood, and members who have read the science and fear for the health of our planet due to greenhouse gas, which our president-elect calls a…well, read it for yourself.

The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012

I will get past this, I suppose. I’ll have to, or the only one suffering will be me. But I don’t suffer because HRC is not president (I wanted Bernie, as many of you know). I suffer because I am overcome with disappointment and sadness that people who absolutely vilified the current president for eight years (although there was not a single scandal for all of those eight) for being a downright terrible person — not even a real US citizen — are now calling on me to support this new person.

Well I won’t.

If he approaches me personally, I will be respectful, because I respect the office. I’ve had a lot of practice at that lately. But if you voted for him, you voted against all the people I’ve listed above (including me, being a woman). Telling me otherwise will leave my opinion unchanged. There are just some things you can’t gloss over with doubletalk about how “he speaks his mind” and “he’s not a politician” and “experienced people will help him not screw it up” and “the country needed change.” I could address each of these specifically, but I am getting ready to go visit my longtime RtB pal Rae this morning. So fun! Haven’t seen her in over a year.

Anyway, I’ve refrained from saying much on social media, but this place is more private; just me and my 100 readers worldwide. Besides, my political opinions aren’t radical or anarchist. Rather, I’m a proponent of the kind of government that welcomes and takes care of all people: the kind of government that will be conspicuously and unsurprisingly absent in the White House come January. And Ben Carson as Secretary of Education? Don’t get me started…

It’s the weekend before more craziness at school (aka The Push to 20 December), and I have some fun activities planned. How about you?

OK, Billy Graham Crusade veterans: What song starts with that line, and who was famous for singing it? Ah, memories of my mother. She had a bunch of his albums.

Anyway, I was thinking of a post title that ran along the lines of, “In difficult and changing times like these,” and it reminded me of that song.

To say that this summer has been interesting would be an understatement. There have been some beautiful peaks and deep, sad, challenging valleys; I’ve experienced it all, and it ain’t over yet.

I’m staring down the throat of another school year full of uncertainty, but hopefully equally jammed with some great music and memorable experiences with my kids and the fantastic group of parents (an embarrassment of riches, hidden in two little roadside towns) who support what we do. If some other “issues” stay out of the way, or at least under control, I think we can make it happen.

And while RtB is basically a politics-free zone (this is the 20th post in the “Politics” category in Finkweb’s 8.5-year history), I will say that the most chronic, irritating question of the summer for me, personally, is “How on God’s green earth can evangelical Christians support Trump?” He’s an unrepentant bigot who basically laughed when asked why evangelicals seemed to flock to him. “I don’t know [chuckling], but they love me. You’ll have to ask them why, but they love me.”

Unbelievable. Christians: Trump’s Chumps, fueled by fear of the brown people. To those folks, I direct you here, to an op-ed written by a Republican in the The Federalist, one of the most ultra-conservative, anti-Democrat sites out there. I know it’s not the only opinion, but it’s one I share.

This is the most publicly politic I’ve been thus far this election season, as I don’t like to broadcast my opinions when I have so many students and parents who read my stuff. But there comes a time when I feel I must use this forum — not politically as much as personally — to get out the megaphone and do a little Elmer Gantry-ing. I wouldn’t presume to be able to influence who people vote for; I just hope it’s not him.

But…politics, like any other polarizing issue (religion, cars, operating systems, dog breeds and favorite colors), is not given to shifting people’s paradigms. “And no minds were changed” and all that. But I look at how evangelical leaders who support Trump are reaching for bizarre rationalizations for their support (really, Dobson? A “baby Christian?”), I have to wonder what Trump did that swayed them into overlooking almost everything else, since many Christians vote values as highly as platform.

I guess in the final analysis, it won’t matter what I think or say, or what anyone thinks or says to me. The voters will decide, although this is one time I confess I’m grateful for the electoral college. It might be the only hope for Trump to go away.

Regardless, there are other matters more pressing and important to me, like our next Odyssey, the grandsons, friends and family, and what I’m going to eat next.

Especially that last thing.

Happy weekend, fiends — it’s Saturnday! Get out there and have some fun before it rains.

A “political” post at RtB is a rare occurrence. Why? Because this isn’t usually a place for discussion of such matters (see the link above called THE LAW — item 2). I don’t even know why I created a category for it, except for instances like now, I suppose. It makes me sad that some people might feel they can’t be a contributor or reader here if I disagree with their politics. It’s too bad, because my political opinions don’t define me as a friend. But, that’s the reality.

At any rate, today I resolve: The next person on my social media stream who posts some idiotic Chicken Little I-saw-it-on-a-meme-or-on-Whatever-News-so-it-must-be-true dang fool thing — gets hidden. And it’s not that I can’t handle differences in opinion; as a matter of fact, I’ve had several good “talks” with people over the years on Twitter and Facebook about the two biggies (politics & religion), and while my mantra is and always will be and no minds were changed, at least we can meet somewhere in the middle of “respect,” and just north of “at loggerheads.”

No, the stuff I’m referring to is on the lowest rung of the common sense ladder, to wit:

1. Mention the word “socialist” or “socialism” and some Americans lose control of their minds, their bladders, their grasp on reality. Y’know…I hate to break it to you, but democratic socialism — the kind that Bernie Sanders and his ilk support on varying levels — has been functioning in America, to the delight of its citizenry, conservatives and liberals alike, for over a century. Let that sink in. Do I agree with everything democratic socialism stands for? Please. There’s a place on the moon in June for people who think it’s possible (or worse, expected) that they love every last thought and opinion of any candidate or party. But back to the common sense ladder.

How about some examples of the dreaded socialism at work? Let’s see. Fire department, police department, public library, the MILITARY, the highway system, public schools, public parks, Social Security, city-county-state-federal government, the courts, the FDA, public transit…all of those entities — many of which we deem crucial to our daily safety and health — are taxpayer-funded for the public good. The fire department will respond to a call from the projects with the same speed and concern for life as they would a call from the gated community full of McMansions. As for arguing about which programs are worthy and which ones need to go, well — you have a Constitutional right to petition government for redress of your grievances. Have at it.

2. Some people throw around the word “fascist” like they know what it means. Could you define it right now? Probably, and it likely explains why you would never brand any American presidency — now or in the past — “fascist.” Yet, I see it all the time on social media; apparently, it just sounds/feels good to call the president (and anyone who isn’t in line with the caller’s personal beliefs) a “fascist,” when really, what they should be doing is thanking their God that we don’t live in a truly fascist country, where the leader who says “Obey, or you will be exterminated” really means it.

3. Hypocrisy is terrible, unless you’re doing it yourself. The writer of this depressing article about the underhanded selling off of sacred Native American lands sums it up perfectly:

If Oak Flat were a Christian holy site, or for that matter Jewish or Muslim, no senator who wished to remain in office would dare to sneak a backdoor deal for its destruction into a spending bill — no matter what mining-company profits or jobs might result. But this is Indian religion. Clearly the Arizona congressional delegation isn’t afraid of a couple of million conquered natives.

OK listen. Politics is based on economic and social theory, about which not everyone is going to agree. And the arrows I launched above could come back to sting me sometime in the future, because I am not above learning and adjusting my paradigms as new evidence emerges or times shift. Isn’t that what we do? For example, remember that one time, when women couldn’t vote, and child abuse was swept under the carpet as a “family problem,” or when black folks had to sit in the back of the theater or the bus? Remember when it was illegal to have a glass of wine in your own home? Thank God open minds with a view of society’s future prevailed. It’s my hope that they do it once again in the coming years.

And that’s all for my little rant today. I’m fine now. What’s truly troubling me at this moment is the decision I have to make regarding which of these two new books to dive into this afternoon. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

Fink of the first-world problems

Hey, remember that one time, back in 1920…?

Of course we don’t. But it’s all there, plain as day, in writing. Call it selective amnesia, willlfull blindness, cherry-picking “sins.” I don’t value my powers of persuasion so highly as to think that I might change any minds here, but today I shall endeavor to remind some folks of the painfully obvious. As it is not my intent to turn this blog post into a documented research paper (though if only I had the time, I would have loved to), the following statements are fully vetted.

In comparatively recent history, people have used scripture to:

1. defend slavery. “[Slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God. It is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation. It has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts.” –Jefferson Davis, president, the Confederate States of America
2. deny women the right to vote. (The “psychological” reasoning used at the time is so consummately daft, you really should check it out, just for the laughs.)
3. condemn interracial marriage.

As you know, numbers 1 and 2 resulted in Constitutional amendments, in effect reversing what some hailed as unimpeachable Biblical law. Now think about the people you know (maybe you are included on the list) who have ranted about the blasphemous nature of the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality, and ask them this: Would you also subscribe as vehemently to the concepts of disallowing women and blacks to vote, and of owning another person?

Yes, it’s a melodramatic and overused line of reasoning. The truth is that these issues caused a flap in their time, but were soon ingrained in the American system to the degree that eventually, everyone saw them as business as usual — Christians and non-Christians alike. So there; you’re guilty, too, no matter who you are or whom you worship.

Again with the cherry-picking. It’s the Bible, luv. You’re either all in, or you recognize that maybe, just maybe, there are differences in cultural specifics, translation problems over the centuries, and other sinewy details that can actually prevent people from gleaning the spirit of the Word of God because they’re too focused on the letter of it. But back to the three points.

Over the years, I bet I’ve heard a hundred thousand sermons from various pulpits. As a child and young teenager, I was basically told that the Bible is the inerrant, absolute word of God. You either take every letter as gospel, or take none and be damned. If you try to change even one word, or twist its meaning, you will be thrown into the lake of fire. Even as a 13-year-old, I saw the holes in that credo. (Although I won’t go into it this morning, believe me, there are many.)

So if you’re diametrically opposed to homosexuals having the same rights as straight people in marriage as a civil state of being (sorry, Franklin, but God didn’t “create” marriage; He may “define” it for many Christians around the world, but marriage itself predates the Bible), why not, in addition to threatening to move to Canada (haha), threaten also to move to Mauritania, or to Saudi Arabia, where at least your views on women in society are more succinctly aligned? Heck, wanna put a snarky face on this issue? Let the LGBT citizens find out how difficult marriage is, and how easy it is to fail at it, and how in a divorce, there is absolutely no winning, but rather just different levels of losing? At least then, your sniping about them will make you look less like a jackass when it’s revealed that your self-righteous secret closet holds more than a few bones.

OK, I’m snarking now. I apologize. This landmark decision is too big to minimize with sarcastic remarks and tee-heeism. But know this from my shriveled, blackened heart: Those who interpret the love of God to be all-encompassing to those who love and serve Him are no more condemned to hell than those who spend far too much time and energy trying to remove that enormous tree trunk from another’s eye.

It’s the law. Move along, just as people did in 1865 and 1920. You’ll be fine, just as you are when that interracial couple shows up at your Sunday school class’s progressive dinner and you have a great time with them, or when you vote for Carly Fiorina, or slap your knee in total agreement with something Ben Carson said.

…and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then Fink will write a post about politics. I know, it’s not the norm, as my disdain for both parties is as voluminous as that new diamond. But you have to admit, when something like this happens, someone has to aggregate the data and shock the world.

Actually, this isn’t as much about politics as it is the political journalism machine. Namely, FOX News.

When Shepard Smith takes Ann Coulter to task, and when both Glenn Beck AND Neil Cavuto put the Stone Cold Stunner on Michele Bachmann, all on the same day, well…

You know, this:

The Thriller and I are out to the school house today (he wants to expose Remy to yet another new environment), then back for some arranging work, followed by a slumber party with the Js. Hope your weekend plans are shaping up nicely.