Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Things that make you go "hmmmm..."

Every morning after I wake up, the first thing I reach for (besides my Burt's Bees) is my Mac, Dharma. (Yes, I named it. I also have a gps named Lilleth, and an ipod named fire leopard, but I digress...)
I check my email, respond to any that need responding, then check facebook. Then I go to parentalrights.org to see if there are any more co-sponsors for the amendment. THEN, I visit foxnews.com and see what has been going on politically.
I realized the other day that this habit needs to change a little bit. I have become entirely too dependent on my computer and it's ability to give me my information "fix". Being away in Yellowstone last week with no wi-fi, though painful, was actually quite nice. Until I realized I could still check facebook on my phone with pockets of cell reception...
But I have this driving compulsion these days to know what's going on.
This is such a departure from who I used to be. I used to be the kind of person that asked my husband to forbid me from watching the news because it was too upsetting. As I stated in my first post, I lived happily in la-la land, pretending that there were only bad people on the other side of the world, not in my backyard.
I learned though, that action is empowering. Instead of wringing my hands in despair, I write and call my senators, and the president on occasion. Though I hold more hope that the chances of the senators getting the message are far better.
I also blog, which is therapeutic.
And then, there's facebook....
To say that we are a match made in heaven is an exaggeration. I have to monitor how much time I "spend" (insert "waste") on it. But I discovered that I have a voice where I didn't before. I take that very seriously. I scour the internet for sources that are reliable when I have a point to make. And I try not to use blogs, because that's just someone else's ranting, and I am trying not to rant in my own.
Every once in a while, I lose a friend. Who knows why? I wish there was an option where they said why there were "cyber-breaking" up with you. But there isn't, and I am left to wonder and worry that someone doesn't like me anymore. Which, if you know me at all, I can't handle it when I think someone doesn't like me.
I know that I offend sometimes, and that is never my intention. But I cannot be silent. I have too much on my heart and too much in my head for that. And I am compelled to speak, because, quite frankly, I think God wants me to. Not to be misunderstood, I am not on some "mission" (don't you love how "" happy I am??) from God to right every wrong. Simply, I feel that when we know something is wrong and that others are perpetuating it, it is our responsibility to speak out against it. I don't expect I will change the world. Alone.
But I know that at the end of the day, I don't regret my silence. Anymore.
So when you read something that gives you cause for pause, and you don't like it, SHARE IT!! Do something about it!!! But for heaven's sake, don't keep silent!

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke