TIS THE SEASON TO BE CRAZY

It's Christmas Eve Eve, right?

And everybody is in a rush - they are going someplace to visit family or in-laws, they've bought into the American media fantasy of having the perfect meal, with the perfect presents while wearing the perfect clothing and trimming the perfect tree.

They need to get to the mall - to the grocery store - to the pharmacy - someplace.

And it is absolutely CRITICAL that they get there FASTER than you do.

So if that entails that you go through a red light, when it's only just turned red - it's actually sort of a light orange, really - well, yeah, that's okay, because you have to get there right now.

And it absolutely means that YOU get that parking space before I do. It doesn't matter if it's an elderly lady trying to pull in there - you may be a young man with an elevated red pick-up with NASCAR stickers all down the sides, but damn it, he has to get into that mall before you do.

Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Yes, 'tis the season for sharing, giving, and caring -- as long as it doesn't have to be on the roadway.

PROUD TO BE RED WHITE AND BLUE

A friend of mine sent me an email entitled "Proud to be White", supposedly a defense speech made by actor Michael Richard (Kramer on "Seinfeld:) when he was on trial for making racial comments in his comedy act.

Please see "Proud To Be White" if you actually want to read it; the gist of it is why can everyone else can ave Black/Red/Brown/Etc Pride, but when whites do it, it's considered racist, etc. etc. etc.

I am a child of the 60's - I remember the riots in Watts especially since my brother-in-law was a firefighter in Los Angeles and was there. I remember Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches - I particularly remember his death.

Even in my lily-white high school, our two black students wore black arm bands and spoke passionately about black power. And most of us white kids thought that was great.

But it wasn't until 1983 that I actually understood racial discrimination.

That was when I first experienced it.

Living in Hawaii was incredible, and I loved everything about the islands... until I tried to get a job. And then, for the first time, I understood what Blacks/Hispanics/Asians/etc. were talking about.

I'd walk in with my resume, briefcase and power suit, take one look around and try very hard not to focus on the fact that my face was the only haole one there.

And then not get even a little bit of encouragement during the interview.

And would not get the job.

I could even understand the resentment; well-educated haoles came from the mainland, took the higher paying jobs over the locals for a couple of years while they 'vacationed', and then went right back to Minnesota or Vermont or Texas, and the money would then go to another Mainlander haoles.

But again, I don't think you can honestly understand racial prejudice until you have experienced it.

I know progress is being made. When my kids were in school, they never mentioned any color of the rainbow when talking about their friends, who did turn out sometimes to be Black, Hispanic or Asian..

And I LOVE the fact that my grandchildren are going to ask when they grow up a little bit more, "Hey, why was the election of President Obama such a big deal?"

But we still got a ways to go, a lot of ignorance to overcome, and until whites become a minority of the population here in the U.S.A., I think we better hold on any "White Pride" marches.

ABOVE AVERAGE

Americans rate themselves as better-than-average in just about everything.

We are taller, stronger, smarter and more intelligent than the average Joe. We own nicer cars, build better houses, have better fashion sense than most people. Our children are certainly brighter, quicker and healthier than the majority of the universe.

Also our grandchildren - except in in MY case, it is soo TRUE.

Do any of us think we are actually below average?

Have you ever thought, when the other driver on the freeway cuts you off changing lanes, "Wow, that guy is a such wonderful driver.! He seems to be in a hurry; I hope he gets there in time!"

Do we, when interrupted in the middle of a conversation with a friend, immediately say "Oh, please, go ahead and share your thoughts on this; you obviously have something important to add."

Well, can we say that withOUT dripping sarcasm?

Do we feel happy and light-hearted when the person ahead of us in the "Ten Items Or Less" line begins to unload 45 cases of Bud Lite? And when we finally get to the cashier, do we cheerfully comment, "That guy must be throwing a good party tonight!"

The answer, in care you are wondering, to all these questions is NO.

Why? Because our time/line position/speech/etc. is MORE IMPORTANT than the other person. Regardless! What we are saying is has greater value, where we are going is THE place, our time is incredibly valuable and we don't have an INSTANT to spare.

So letting you in ahead of me, slowing down so you can get to that traffic light first, allowing you to run off with the conversation... well, we just don't do it very often.

Because that would mean... well, maybe it is admitting that what WE are doing is... geeze... not the most important thing in the universe.

And isn't that called, er, humility?

I'm going to try to remember this next time I'm driving into town, or standing in line at the pharmacy, or talking to someone in the hallway at church.

Hope it helps.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Inspiration from a neat blog, http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/, prompts my daily 'writing assignment' on my other blog. But my response to yesterday's "What is your greatest source of pride?" is a little bit more complicated, so I am going to expand on it here.

Pride, according to Encarta dictionary, is 1) satisfaction with self, 2) proper sense of own value, and 3) feeling of superiority.

And the number of the day today is . . . . number three!


I'm amazed how many times I find myself bragging. When I am pointing out how stupid/ uneducated/ boring someone else is, I am boasting indirectly about how I am not as stupid/ uneducated/ boring as they are since I obviously can see it in them.

An old adage is what bothers us most in other people's behavior is what, consciously or unconsciously, we also hate in ourselves. For example, if someone is talking about you behind your back, you may begin talking about them behind their back - if you feel someone has snubbed you, you will snub them - etc. etc. etc.

So we don't prove we are better, we just stoop to their level to get back at them.

I used to brag insistently about my horse. And I do adore him, and take a great deal of joy in his simple existence and the companionship we share.

But suddenly I realized that when I am talking about Najale to people outside of my family they are hearing and feeling "Wow, I have a horse, and you don't."

I am fond of pointing out that you cannot control anyone else's reactions or emotions, only your own. And I definitely do NOT want other people to feel any sort of "na na na na" (is there any way to write this out musically so you know what tune I am referring to?).

But people do feel this. And while I cannot control or change this, I do not have to keep dropping Najale's name and/or his species into casual conversation with the grocery store cashier and people at church. I do not have to refer to him when I am with anyone who MIGHT be offended or feel I am bragging or just a little tiny person with no emotional control at ALL.

At least for this morning.