To prove that I am not totally narcissistic - well, not completely, here are some other thoughts that I have had throughout the last week. OK, they are all in relation to me. I can't help it.:
Guns in Public:
You may know that I have the irrational fear of being shot in public - I am sure I have mentioned it at sometime. It all stems from the first "random shooting" when I was a kid at a McDonald's in San Diego. I just couldn't imagine someone getting mad about their fry order and shooting someone. Anyway, I am often on edge in public places: the DMV, hospitals, the bank - anywhere that someone can get angry. Well, the shooting lastyear at a UU church in Tennessee was enough to be an issue for me returning to church. I just don't want to be in a place that could be seen as the object of someones hate. Now with the man in Arizona bringing a semiautomatic gun to a town hall meeting I am not sure how I feel about stepping out and speaking my mind in public. Doesn't anyone else see that by allowing people to have guns everywhere there are more chances of people getting shot - sigh.
Fighting Friends:
I know two people in my community who are currently using public forums to discuss what is essentially a neighbor problem. One friend feeds the deer and the other is trying to grow a garden. So, instead of talking to one another they are using our local government, forums, and paper to state their case. I know both of these women. I respect both of them. They both work very hard for the "right" thing for the community. I wish though that they would work together to find a solution as neighbors - rather then making it a public debate. The question is do I intervene or do I just watch it happen? Sigh.
Writing on the Wall
Our family lived at EastWind 10 years ago - an intentional community in Missouri and they had a "system" for airing opinions, grievances, talking, sharing called the Back Wall. This was a place that people posted constructive ideas as well as slander. At the time I felt it was probably the worst form of communication I had ever seen or experienced. It is so easy to write something rather than talk with someone. So, when we left I was so happy to have that out of my life. Well, 7 years ago we moved to a small town that has the equivalent of the Back Wall, an online forum where people rant and rave and share poor information. Sometimes it is useful, but for the most part I don't think that it moves the conversation forward. Sigh.
