Righteous Anger

TO:  Parents, Grandparents and those stewing in anger and frustration over the opening of school
FROM: Mary O'Brien, Career Educator, Retired School Administrator
RE:  Redirecting that well deserved sense of Righteous Anger

You might feel like this right about now:

I get it.

You get it.

We all get it.

There is nothing good bubbling within the fast approaching start of school.

Virtual?  Wonderful!  Horrible!

Hybrid model?  Wonderful!  Horrible!

In person?  Wonderful!  Horrible!

The purpose of this memo is to encourage you to blow up your well deserved sense of Righteous Anger directed at the decision your school board has made about when, where, how, etc. the return to school.

I wish to convince you to turn that Righteous Anger to where it belongs.  Not with your state or local administration.

No, fling it directly at the White House and Republican members of Congress.  Throw it like you flung mud pies when you were a child, when you had more energy per capita than you knew what to do with.  Load it into a giant slingshot ala David v Goliath and let her rip.  How about an old fashioned catapult?  

We all have been placed into multiple untenable positions by the screechingly loud lack of leadership by Republicans, beginning in the Oval Office and, like shit, rolling down the Hill and through the now COVID ravaged red states.  Be clear.  You did what the government asked you to do in March.  Are you any better off now that it's August?

An aside: is there any among you who truly believed that when our Dear Leader lost interest in protecting Americans (his sworn job) against the virus and said, ah, to hell with it, open up the country, that what has now happened wasn't going to happen?  Good, just checking.

Perhaps you're exhausted from the hamster wheel we all live on, going round and round with the accumulated frustrations of the last five months.  No end in sight, thanks to what is not the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan.  Or Abraham Lincoln, for that matter.  Or even W.

Personally I have pushed back my get out of bed time later and later in response to the pandemic.  If I don't haul my butt out of bed until 10 or so, that means I have that much less of the day to confront until it's time to park the butt in bed.  (Yes, I'm retired and I have that luxury.) I'm eating seconds and thirds and calling it COVID Belly.  As my son in law, Darin, would say, ha ha ha.  (BTW, if you're on Facebook, follow him for inside tips on base stealing.  Very fun.)  Somehow or other the wine supply dwindles faster than I anticipate, though the Spousal Unit ™ is not a big wine drinker.  (Hmm...who does that leave?)

Take your frustrations to the keyboard.  Send a message to at least one Republican per day (my friend Tom calls them the Repukes and they do nothing to indicate they have not earned that moniker).  Don't complain to your school board.  Their hands are tied.  Bypass a nasty letter to your superintendent.  S/he is wrapped in mummy cloth.  The people who have put them in this position are members of the Republican party.  Take it out--MIGHTILY--on them.

And finally, be informed and vote this November.  You might even consider taking it to another level and volunteering on a campaign, either local or national.  (Those of you with children at home, I know you're sneering at this suggestion and I completely understand.  Those of you without, you've probably had a moment or twelve where you were bored being at home.  There are plenty of things you can do for a political campaign while you're at home.)

If you are among those who disliked Hilary Clinton and couldn't vote for her and figured, what the hell, these career politicians haven't done a whole lot of good for the nation, let's try a businessman (who continues to say he could shoot someone dead in Times Square and his tribe would not desert him)...and now you look at Joe Biden and think, well, I don't much like him either...

Ask yourself.  Can you vote for someone who suggested you drink bleach to get rid of the Coronavirus?  I'm stopping there.  If you need additional data to support voting for Biden, let me know.  I can use The Google and come up with plenty of facts, not alternative truths, that indicate why the current occupant of the White House needs to go back to Trump Tower.  Pronto.

In summary:
1. Put your rants where they need to be heard.  Direct your Righteous Anger at the Republican Party.  Simply click on one of these links: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ OR https://www.gop.gov/about/members/  OR https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/senate-resources/republican-senators.  You can send the same email every day.
2.  If you have not yet already registered to vote, do so by going to your state's Secretary of State website.  You can also request a mail in ballot there.

That's it.

This is not going to help with the miasma that is returning to school.

You get it.

I get it.

We all get it.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What a Difference a Year Makes

Image
  A year ago, we had sold our Minnetonka home and were awaiting closing. We were wintering in Florida.  We were hoping to find a new home (single level living) before we returned to Minnesota. Alas, the hope was misplaced, given the lack of inventory.  During the past year, I learned that:    About 14 million mortgage borrowers refinanced their homes between 2020 and 2021. Rates were at all-time lows during the pandemic, sinking as low as 2.65%. Given that mortgage rates are now in the high 6 to high 7 percent, more owners, even those who had an interest in moving, were hesitant to give up their historically low (probably never to be seen again) rates.  To whit: lack of inventory. I've previously chronicled how emotionally difficult the move ended up being, far surpassing what I anticipated and hanging on longer than I bargained for. We moved into an apartment, and I'll admit that this past summer, it felt pretty good.  Our entire family, grandchildren...
Read more

Wrap It Up and Put A Bow On It

Image
  A few of the local trees are beginning to show the first inklings of fall, leaves fading from green to early shades of yellow.  And it smells like late summer--a distinctive smell I recall from childhood, a scent that followed me home from school on those first few weeks when you raced home in a hurry to change out of the Catholic School uniform into shorts because it was still warm and light enough to play outside until dinner.  The shadows on our deck are growing longer.  The squirrels scamper around with nuts tucked between their jaws.   Yep, it's time to wrap summer up and put a bow on it. We had such a blissful summer, leisurely hours spent with those we love, wedding celebrations for family and friends, reunions and reconnections, time spent on the road and in the air.  Primarily for myself, but also for your reading pleasure, I thought I'd recap May through August. Following our return drive from Florida April 28, we flew to Chicago for the we...
Read more

Cro-A-Ti-A Day 7

Image
                                                                             The Final Kastela Yesterday My Friend Jeanie, bonus grands Eleanor and MaggieRose, McB and John and I started at Kastel Gomilice, then headed out down what, for the other 6 Kastelas, is a seaside path to Kastel Sucurac. It was not meant to be. Turns out past Kastel Gomilice there is a large harbor area so that the path ends and it's up to the busy street to make your way to Sucurac.  A hot, not so shady, very unscenic busy street.   Proof that we found Sucurac. Bonus Grand Eleanor, me, My Friend Jeanie, Bonus Grand/Goddaughter MaggieRose We looked, in vain, for a street that would lead away from said street back to the seaside.  When we finally found what appeared t...
Read more