I doubt Sierra County has been affected by folks illegally crossing the border. I would also wager not many in our county have had to suffer being racially profiled or discriminated against, placed in cuffs quicker than others- yet it happens. Just because we aren’t personally affected by a problem doesn’t mean it’s not an issue that needs a solution. I am continually reminded of why I left the Republican party and changed my voter registration to Independent. The Republican and Democrat parties have turned into a circus, which I am weary of attending. Both sides have double standards and are stepped high in dysfunction and hypocrisy.
Are Harris and Trump the best we have to represent our country? Is Trump going to abandon Ukraine? Is Harris going to support Israel? Can either one bring our divided nation together?
The division is seen in our tiny mountain town. I’m all for freedom of expression, but driving a vehicle through town blasting music to be seen and heard, parading Trump signs and the American flag accomplishes what exactly?
Demonizing Harris left and right is getting us nowhere. Latching on to Harris’ remarks to pro-life Wisconsin students is typical Republican hoopla. How about we raise our kids with respect for others when attending a function, not to interrupt a speaker? Her voice is as equally important as the next. Folks attending the rally deserved to hear what she had to say in a peaceful environment.
The young lads have been patted on the back for shouting out “Jesus is King” as “courageous and bold.” I found it rude. Boldness for Jesus is needed when you are placed on your knees, blindfolded, and about to have a knife dragged across your throat because you won’t recant your faith. Boldness for Jesus is admitting to a school shooter who has a gun to your head that “Yes, I’m a Christian,” before your brains are blown to bits. But often, boldness for Jesus is reflected in the quieter moments without a spotlight or a platform: choosing to wake up in a good mood, committing to working through resentments and forgiveness for those who wrong you, when others would say “F*ck those people” - because you decide you want to be better, not bitter. Boldness for Jesus is loving those who don’t look, act, or vote like you.
Trump isn’t a savior any more than Harris is the antichrist. Recognizing that Democrats have input I could learn from is another reason I left the Republican party. For example, both sides of the abortion issue are so extreme - is there not a place we can meet in the middle?
Since we seem to be about extremes, I don’t see a reason for a third-trimester abortion. However, asking a woman who has been raped to carry a child to term is a hard ask. Can you not pause and think how having it mandated shows little to no mercy?
Can a woman be for LIFE and CHOICE at the same time? I believe so. Thirty years ago, in the military, I survived a botched abortion by Planned Parenthood. A surgeon on base saved my life as I was hemorrhaging on her exam table. Now, Angela, that’s too much information! Well, maybe reading something that leaves you uncomfortable should be required, as so many are highly comfortable telling women what we can and can’t do with our bodies. Wouldn’t you know that despite the complications, I am glad I had the right to choose! I would make the same choice if I had to do it all over again.
Now here is where this Independant gets irritated—the lack of truth. The truth also seems to make folks uncomfortable. Can’t we acknowledge it is true that a life is being taken? Many don’t want to recognize that. But it is also true that a pregnant woman’s life is equally important. And it is very much true that if you genuinely want to save the lives of the unborn- instead of protesting at a clinic, how about asking a woman what she needs in the areas of support to carry the child to term? Housing? Medical care? How do you judge someone when you don’t know the choices they had to choose from? How are we letting the government dictate these decisions?
Christian Nationalism fueled in many churches is also a big turn-off. It’s as if the Republican people are the only folks with God on their side. Should I go to church, I don’t want to hear about politics. Jesus preached with a brutal Roman Empire all around Him, yet the national government was not His subject matter as He spoke to the masses. If He can deliver a sermon keeping political crap out-why, can’t Preacher Bob at the church of “We Claim to Know Jesus” follow suit? Talk about politics behind the pulpit if you want to alienate half a congregation.
On a more local level, am I to understand that unless you are Republican, you cannot speak at the Gold Nugget Federated meetings? Please tell me I am wrong. Is this how it is with the local Democrats? I hope not. We can learn something from each other. If you aren’t willing to cross party lines to hear different opinions, ideas, and solutions, please don’t say you are for the American people because we are diverse. We need more candidates who are free thinkers, not party loyalists. I love Audrey Denny’s campaign slogan, “People. Not Politics,” Wow, that is a breath of fresh air! We had better start figuring out how to cross party lines, hearing and trying to understand other points of view, or we are doomed. I believe Rae Bell is on to something in her poem “A Finer Brush.”