You're the only person you have to live with the rest of your life
The funny thing about Americans is that they actually think they know History. They hear a story here and there about an event and think they understand the complexities of the world. Of course, to most Americans the world is just America and everyone since the dawn of time has had the same morality. None of which is true of course.
Now, I don't believe that every millionaire worked hard and earned their money. The government in particular is filled with people who played the system and did steal other people's money. I don't care which side of the aisle they sit on. Yet somehow those same millionaire politicians who have made their money by telling you that hard working rich people are stealing your money and you need to give them more money and vote them in so they can steal even more money have convinced an entire generation that the American Dream is not real... because hard work is the invention of evil people who are stealing your money.
Gratitude goes a long way in life. It makes the difference between someone feeling as if life matters.. and feeling as if only privilege does. So I ask you to check your privilege.. and if you can volunteer at a local homeless shelter and see how they live.. and then travel to a developing country.. and see how the rest of the world lives.
Now I read this article about Sesame Street talking to millions of kids about their parents. Millions of kids whose mommies and daddies have to stay sober using nothing but will power. My son is not the only kid I know whose parent has died from the crisis.. my son is not the only kid I know that needed a monitor to make sure he was safe when his Da was using.
I am a believer in medication when needed, but I also believe that it's a band-aid to help take the edge off so that you can do the real work with thoughts and actions. We are our brains. Our emotions come from chemicals released in our brains.. our thoughts activate those chemicals being released. He had an overwhelming amount of "stress" (cortisol) hormones and low amounts of "happy" (dopamine) chemicals in his brain. He would try to fix that with drugs, and for the short term they would help, but he had no one to help him through the rest of the process when he was younger and still forming.
Right now all that we are showing is that we are just as hateful as the other side. I don't think that's the message that we want to put forward. No one wants to be told that they're stupid, that they're wrong, or that they made a crappy choice. People are going to defend their choice till their last breath to save face. Instead of pointing out all the reasons we hate Trump. Instead of pointing out all the reasons that his supporters are evil and stupid, let's concentrate on finding people who represent the things that we want. Let's show ourselves and Trump supporters another way.
ut what about all of those who are just hoping to get through the bitterly cold nights? The food pantries and soup kitchens don't just have "guests for the holiday". We all talk about the things we want to get and achieve, but what about the things that we want to give.