This is probably the hardest page to write.  It’s the first page and requires me to pick a place to begin.  I think before I share my story I will try to articulate some things that are really bothering me right now.  I’ve been thinking about sharing them on Facebook but this might be more up my alley.  Facebook is so crazy and such a time suck.  Honestly, you can get lost in it for hours at a time and it really gets you nowhere.

I have always said that I hate politics.  It is such a game – a popularity contest that requires wealth and not much dignity.  So, normally I don’t engage in political discussions. However, this year is unlike no other in my life.  Like so many other people these days I have become obsessed with politics.  I am officially a news junkie.  I really never thought I’d EVER say that.  But the truth is I feel like our Country is really at a crossroads.   Our new President and, almost more importantly, his Cabinet are upsetting the fragile balance required to successfully govern.  This balance requires weighing many things before acting or speaking.  Things like listening to all citizens, listening to experts – i.e. smart people, maintaining perspective between differing views, restraining ego (what a big one for this President to do), remembering that you are not a dictator and actually do not rule the world — to name a few.

I simply can’t believe the arrogance of this Administration.  I know that all politicians are arrogant – I think it’s a prerequisite for the profession.  But the extent to which this administration speaks with such pomposity, leaving no room for negotiation or alternative views that might just be important is astonishing to me.   The speed with which the “Executive Orders” have been scrambled together and signed is also astonishing.  As if this is the word of God shitting out of his pen.   Sorry …

I was frightened by this President since it became clear that he had won.  People have said – don’t worry.  Our government is set up with a detail of checks and balances. Nothing horrible will happen.  But the extent to which this man doesn’t seem to care about compromise and conciliation makes me crazy.  Obviously, the fact that he has the majority in Congress makes it much easier for him to do as he pleases.  With respect to that, it seems to me that politicians who have disagreed with him and who have sworn to fight back where they disagree have folded under their party label.  It makes me believe that it’s really all about winning and power.  I know.  Duh right?  Of course it is.  Is there no integrity?  Do these people no have a backbone?  Am I the only one who feels this way?  Where are the people who have claimed that the President doesn’t really ever act alone.  Really?  Is that so.

I’d like to call a spade a spade.  First, immigration.  So, suddenly it’s ok to restrict people from coming into the US because of their religion.  Let’s not mince words.  No matter what language is used in this most recent Order, this is exactly what it means.  Yes, it doesn’t include all Muslim countries.  Yes, it appears to be a temporary stay.  Maybe it’s just a pain in the ass for people for a bit.  But it’s meaning is clear.  People are targeted for their religious beliefs.  This is called blacklisting.  Remember when that happened?   And to top it off this is a FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF OUR COUNTRY.  We do NOT (legally) discriminate based on religion.  It’s unconstitutional.  Remember that document?  Is this really how we want to roll?

I see this as a small(ish) move to see if we can pull off full blown discrimination and begin the making of a nationalist state.  I am just disgusted.  I want to take away his pen.

I also feel the need to express my feelings on choice.  I find it amazing that we are actually still talking about this in 2017.  Moreso, I find it amazing that our Vice President spoke out this weekend at the Right to Life March – supporting them and making it arrogantly clear that his view is that abortion is wrong and should be a crime.   What?  Am I hearing this correctly?  People, many of them women, believe this as well.  What?  I just cannot wrap my head around the opinion that it is within someone’s right to tell me that I must have a baby.  Do we tell people that they legally must have a transplant, operation, certain medication?  No, of course not.  Why?  Because we – adults of sound mind – have the right to make those choices ourselves.  Why is pregnancy any different.  Moreover, think about this.  I believe in choice.  The word is choice – not abortion, not termination – but choice. Roe vs. Wade and all other similar laws really do one thing.  And that is to support a woman’s right to decide to have a child or not.  It does not mandate anything but that.  I had an abortion when I was 25.  It was not easy.  It was not fun.  I didn’t feel great about it.  But to this day I know that I did the right thing.  Do I think about it often?  Yes, I still do.  Am I happy about it?  No, I’m not.  Do I regret it?  No, I don’t.  Do I wish it hadn’t happened?  Of course.  But I know with absolute certainty that I did the right thing at the time.  Would I do it now?  Probably not.  But I know that it was right for me then and I do not regret it and never will.  Actually, that’s really it isn’t it – “free will” to make choices.  Isn’t that what makes us human?

This is not something that women and their partners take lightly.  This is the most difficult, heart wrenching decision a woman has to make.  It sucks.  But boy am I grateful that I could actually make a decision and had a choice.  Pro choice does NOT mean pro abortion.  It is just choice – exactly that.  And who the hell thinks that they have the right to take that decision away from me and punish me if I choose what they would not.