Sadness For My Country

I feel true sadness today. I’ve been reading a lot of comments about all that has gone on over the past couple of days. There is a lot of hate, a lot of anger, but fortunately, still a lot of love. 

Interestingly, the comment that struck me the most was one from a woman on Twitter. She was arguing back and forth with a man who was trying to be rational about the recent shooting of Philando Castile (“we don’t have all the facts yet,” etc). Her response included referring to him as “you people” because the man was black, which must mean he is part of some separate group, right? 

First of all, it’s sad to me that so many people jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. You can blame the media for this, but I can’t leave it at that. Sure, the media is irresponsible and sometimes it’s obvious they just want to fan the flames in order to get some juicy coverage, but there has to be some personal accountability. Maybe your first instinct is to want to trust people. I get that. It’s a lovely notion. The fact is, though, there are people that can’t be trusted. People who have agendas and want to intentionally mislead. And maybe most of the time, there are people who just plain get it wrong and their misinformation can’t be taken back because 100,000 people have grasped onto some piece of that straw and run with it. Don’t be one of those people!

But really, the biggest problem is this: if you consider someone separate from you, a fellow American, a fellow Human, all due to the color of their skin, there is no way we will ever be united. How about you stand up to violence period. How about we unite over the fact that we want to live in one of the best countries in the world, peacefully, and we don’t want the few bad apples to ruin that. If you’re going to hold onto the us vs. them mentality, why do you have to use it to divide? Instead, try looking for the things that can bridge the gap. 

This country is so divisive right now. And why? So you can live in your tight little box with 1,000 other people who are exactly like you and will agree with everything thing you believe? Or is it so you can be right?

Everyone knows the United States has some major issues that need to be addressed. Every country, state, and city in the world does. One thing you can be sure of, however, is they aren’t going to be solved by refusing to see things from another perspective once in a while or by fighting violence with violence.

Starting Over Again

When I was a kid, we didn’t have the money to take vacations. We weren’t considered poor by certain standards, but let’s just say there were quite a few times where we had to have garage sales in order to afford groceries for the week. As a young adult, I probably had enough money to travel domestically, but I didn’t really have anyone to go with, and I worked serving tables, so taking off work meant missing out on daily cold, hard cash and not getting even more of an already minuscule paycheck. Eventually, debt became a problem, and going out became rather limited. Presently, I am slowly working on digging myself out of that hole (that at one point in time, honestly felt insurmountable).

As for doing things alone, it’s not really that I have a problem with that. I do enjoy going to the movies alone or taking myself out for the occasional lunch. I also moved back and forth between California and Ohio 3 times alone, before finally settling in Cincinnati for good. And looking back, I’ve actually been to quite a few cities here and there. I’ve taken spur of the moment road trips to attend hockey or baseball games in cities, like Denver, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. I’ve even managed a couple of weekend visits to Chicago, St. Louis, and Nashville. When it comes to taking a true vacation, though, I’ve always wanted to have someone to share it with. Not necessarily a romantic someone, but some sort of companion(s) in which I can share my adventures.

Last year, I finally went on my first mini vacation (Thursday-Sunday) to a city in Michigan called Port Austin. About 13 of us shared the rental of a big house right on the lake. It was during a weekend with a super moon, and it was so peaceful to just sit out on a chair with the water right out in front of you, beer or bourbon in hand. Last week, I finally went on my first “real” vacation; a week-long stay in Ohio’s favorite vacation spot, Hilton Head Island, SC.

I’ve written on this blog on and off. Most off, especially lately. I’ve actually deleted the majority of my posts as I tried to start over each time. Being a perfectionist, I’m nearly always unhappy with how my words turn out, and completely starting over nearly always seems appealing. So here I am starting again. My plan this time is to just share my experiences, whether it be in travelling or life. There will be pictures, of course, and possibly opinions, but mostly my own perceptions, as that's all we can really offer, isn't it? Feel free to join me and add a comment if you wish.