Without Contempt

Congratulations to all of you who are $10,000 (or $20,000) closer to being out of student loan debt! I'm here to tell you why you have been a part of one of the biggest scams of our lifetime.  I'm not here to talk about how its not right that people who didn't choose to go to college will be forced to pay for people who chose to go,  even though its not.  I'm not here to talk about how some people think this is a great idea because we need to help people in need, even though this isn't the way to help the people who need it most.  I'm here to talk about how no one should be praising the government for rescuing us or solving a problem they single handedly created.  We were duped, folks.  A lot of us fell for the lie that the only way to be successful was to go to college, even if we couldn't afford to pay for it. Some people went into it with eyes wide open, and a plan for a career that would make student loans a good investment. Knowing that they had signed...

The day after another tragic shooting in a school in Texas, I decided to take a break from Instagram.  Why didn’t I rush to make it known where I stood? Why didn’t I exude all the anger I could muster into one tiny square?  Why didn’t I stay in the “fight” arguing with people on either side of the aisle about gun control and the 2nd amendment?  Why didn’t I post memes or retweets of other peoples rage multiple times a day to show my solidarity? Why didn’t I demand change and lament, again, that thoughts and prayers just won’t cut it? But what if they will? What if thoughts and prayers were more than words? What if those two things, alone actually were action? How many people can scream while thinking clearly? Come up with an answer amid noise and hate? To have thoughts, we need stillness. Quiet. To sit in the uncomfortable. To reflect.  “Be still” shows up multiple times in scripture.  Could this be counsel for now? If there was a time for “thoughts” or to be st...

 I saw a facebook post yesterday where a friend was "feeling irritated" because the new mask honor system guidelines weren't really working out how she would like.  One of her friends posted in response, "people need to learn to do the right thing."  It got me thinking about what the "right thing" means. Is there a right and a wrong anymore or is the "right thing" only right if you're following what the masses think you should do?  The right thing, in this person's mind, is that everyone who is not vaccinated must wear a mask.  Let's talk about the right thing when it comes to this pandemic.  Was it right for China to lie about the infection that started in Wuhan? Was it right for the WHO to ignore Taiwans reports about human to human spread because China tells them Taiwan has no right to speak up? Was it right to call the president racist for the travel ban and then continue to blame him for "not doing enough"? Was it r...

With so much going on in the world, I wanted a place where I could write down my feelings. Social media is tricky because its short and sweet and seems to invite contention.  Through the last year, I've felt the need to speak up for the things I believe in, the things that feel   wrong, and the things that feel right.  I've struggled to find a way to make my voice heard without people feeling like I'm purposely trying to offend them.  Yesterday, after an exchange with a friend on facebook, which left me feeling lectured, I laid in bed thinking about what was said.  I felt the push again to write.  I'm not a writer.  I'm not great with words.  I'm even relatively uneducated when it comes to degrees. But I feel like speaking up is important. I feel like my voice matters.  I titled this blog "Without Contempt" I was talking to a friend and asking about this exact thing.  I asked "How do I speak up?" He is a soccer coach and said he alw...