It also doesn't help that my desk (here at home) is a mess. I'm still between two computers but I finally got iburst put on the new one tonight and I'm blogging this post from the new one :)
I need to sort Skype before my chat with Beth tomorrow and then go answer all the emails on the old computer and I think I'll be sorted. Besides photos, of course :)
I backed up the old computer again on Sunday though because it is S L O W and I'm scared all my stuff will disappear with a whoosh!
But enough about me, how are you Americans doing? Are you happy about the result?
A work friend and I were discussing today how it looks to us. Okay, this is my point of view but it seems like each side thinks the other side are idiots (I'm talking citizens not the two candidates - in fact, the two candidates gave beautiful speeches this morning) and that they're stupid for voting how they did.
So I'm not totally objective by any means BUT I do realise that we each come with filters and those filters affect our viewpoints. And mine are not the same as yours.
I've said before (I think in Mandy's blog comments) that abortion is a BIG deal for me. HUGE. I just don't believe it's right. But I know where that comes from and I also get that there are women who feel differently to me.
Anyway, so just in the office, everyone was all Obama-ing..... SOLELY because he's black. A good thing I was very busy this afternoon but I had to throw out a statement like this - "come ON, you can't be serious. You're only for Obama because of his skin colour?!"
!
Moving on.
So tell me which issues are important to you, and why? I'm really asking from a position of understanding and also know I know about 20% of the issues, so really not that much, so educate me.
And then to end off, here are some cute pics of the kids at their first dentist appointment three weeks ago. R286 each by the way for looking in their mouths. Yes :)
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| look at that beautiful open mouth :) |
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| I like this one |
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| Connor was very interested in all the proceedings |
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| our lovely Dr S - I started seeing her before she was even pregnant with baby 1. She now has 2 and baby 1 is 7! |
I like Obama as a person and I totally love Michelle BUT the abortion thing is HUGE for me - huge.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, our dentist is great with the kids but I am looking for another one for myself. I loved the one I used to go to in Mellville, but too far for me now
I am not an Obama fan and I am disapointed by the election- BUT- I pray for him because I could not imagine the position he is in and the huge responsiblity he has on his shoulders.
ReplyDeleteThe big issues to me are the state of the eccomomy and I voted on who I thought had the best ideas to fix it.
Irate. We will spend $50,000 a year to keep a murderer in prison, but we will kill a child in a blink of an eye because it is inconvenient. Let's not even factor in the people who can't have children and want to adopt, but have to go to Russia or China to find babies, because we kill ours.
ReplyDeleteHe left our people behind to die in Benghazi.
He encourages hand outs and welfare.
The "War on Women" is insulting.
"Proud to be an American" is no longer in any of my playlists.
My husband told me to go shopping to perk me up, I don't think I want to give the economy any more money. Instead, I am going to go get unemployment.
I will get my gas at the Shell gas stations because the gas from their stations primarily come from Alberta, Canada.
So in a nutshell...not happy.
HUGE relief that Romney didn't win. Did you get that 47% of us don't matter to him? I don't think a white rich big business man who seems out of touch with reality represents our diverse country.
ReplyDeleteI am pro-choice but I don't think I would ever have an abortion. I just don't want someone having control over my body, telling me that I can't. I felt that way long before infertility and IVF, and I still feel that way. And what an awful choice to have to make, but it still should be a choice.
I think if the republicans had had a candidate that was even remotely more toward the center, I might have considered voting that way.
I am disgusted with how divided our country is, and how nobody seems to be willing to compromise.
Your kids at the dentist! So exciting!
It's been really, really ugly here today. I am so very thankful that Obama won. If Romney had won, though, I would be disappointed, but I wouldn't personally insult half of the nation in a series of incendiary Facebook posts. It's really very sad to me. As I said on FB last night, I know emotions are running very high, but it really disgusts me to hear SO MANY people say things like, "Our country is ruined." "Life will never be the same." Really??? I'm still going to get up and love my kids. My husband will still go to work. And I still need to buy groceries tomorrow. It's the melodramatics that threaten to do me in! :)
ReplyDeleteThere are so many issues, but if I had to name only one, overarching one, for me it's the separation of church and state. To apply that to abortion...I am a Christian and I do not believe it is right. BUT...I respect my next door neighbor who may be an atheist (not to insinuate that you *have* to be an atheist to feel that way). If she believes abortion is OK, I feel very strongly it is her right to be able to make that decision.
The Republican party has long stood against abortion...no question there. But they recently have seemed to speak out against contraception, too, and I find that unthinkable.
I also feel that, as human beings, we should help each other. I feel very blessed to have the education and the acculturation to do well for myself and my family. I understand that not everyone is in that situation. Living in this country, I understand part of my tax dollars go to help those less fortunate. Certainly there need to be controls on such programs, but fundamentally I think that's the right thing to do. The Republican party seems to be associated with the sentiment that you're on your own...if you don't have a job, it's your problem. If you don't have insurance, you're not working hard enough. That's not always the case. Heaven knows if I were ever in a situation, I pray that I would be received with grace, and not looked at in disgrace.
And along those lines, I am very supportive of the ideals behind the President's health care system. A family should never have to make a decision between buying food and buying medicine or seeking medical care. There again, of course that can be a slippery slope, but I think it's so important to take care of each other (as virtually every other civilized nation does for its citizens). The Republicans want to repeal the healthcare system...each man for his own.
Whew. ;)
Reading back through my comments, which I typed very quickly, I can't say I'm helping you bridge the two sides. Honestly it's hard for me to understand how people can argue at least some of the points I listed (granted I presented them in a very one-sided way). I do understand that other issues are bigger to other people...the economy, the military, counter-terrorism, for example. I guess that's where I focus my thinking about "the other side"...different priorities.
And on a much lighter note...love that pic of C looking at K in the dentist chair! :) :)
One more thing... :)
ReplyDeleteI think the Democratic party is much more inclusive of all demographic groups. I heard commentary yesterday that there is not one elected Republican who will speak out in support of gay marriage rights, for example. That boils down to the separation of church and state again for me...but I find that so disrespectful. It may be a leap to some...but I married outside my culture...who knows how many of those people would judge me???
I love how natural your dentist is in the last photo with your 2 darlings :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that the dentist visit went so well :)
I'm not that into USA politics because it's not our country. So educated I'm not.
I like Obama - he seems more in line with things I believe in. I may not agree with abortion BUT I want to have the choice - you can't start taking away peoples right to choose!!
ReplyDeleteI also love the way he has made the presidency less formal and he appears to be "real"
Argh dentists!!! Kiara is scared for life I am afraid :( She had a root canal last year - we had 2 appointments for it all to be done last year. She complained of the same tooth being sore last week - took her to the dentist and it was snot and trane :( he couldnt work - gave us some abs and said it should hopefully clear up the infection :-/
Your two little ones are so brave...you must be one proud mommy. I also followed the US election, it isn't as depressing as watching SA news.
ReplyDeletewill always vote for the party that is the most inclusive – I suppose this is based on my context within my South African background. And I will always vote for the party who respects me as an individual who is highly capable of making decisions about what will work FOR ME. Even if I don’t agree with someone’s choices (re: whether they want to terminate a pregnancy or anything like that), they are still entitled to that choice.
ReplyDeleteI won’t judge that choice because really, that is God’s job and not mine and I think that it’s very easy to be all yay or nay or black and white if you actually haven’t been in a particular situation.
I don’t vote for someone based on their morals or their belief system because as far as I’m concerned, THAT is personal and I also think that it’s rather short-sighted to force someone to believe EXACTLY what you believe. Quite honestly, I still can’t believe that in 2012 in America, a first world country, the issue of abortion is used to try to win votes – I would expect this in a country like Angola where you can get executed for being gay. We don’t even do this in South Africa and I think that it speaks volumes about how how much we have matured in our democracy.
Infrastructure, Health, Education, Economics – this is what determines my vote. Not someone’s skin colour or belief system.
Ps...did I ever mention that Lance doesn’t vote for the ANC because apparently they infringe on his right to smoke? LOL...I think that he’s taking the “it’s my body” argument too far.
ps...LOVE the dentist pics. Am a VERY bad Mama and haven't taken Joel yet. The mere thought of it makes me VERY anxious. I tend to take Joshua only when it's really necessary because he just can't relax. Am going to try to find a dentist who understands kids like mine.
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh, pretty much exactly what Mandy said. I can't really find a thing in her eloquent statement that I disagree with. I too have a big problem with people who want to legislate Christian values. Not everyone in this country is a Christian and we shouldn't make legislation that pretends they are. It also bugs me to no end that the Republican party thinks they have a mandate to speak for all Christians. I am a Christian; Jeremy and I make most of our family decisions based on our faith, but that doesn't mean I think everyone should do as we do.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as Mandy said, the fight against birth control really frightens me. You want to make abortions illegal (for the record, I am pro-choice... it saddens me to hear of people who have abortions just because they "don't want a kid right now" or whatever...but I think it's very hard to say that it's okay in A, B, or C situations, but not in D or E. Does that make any sense?), but also restrict access to contraceptives and steadfastly hold the position that "abstinence education" (NOT "s*x ed" or "safe s*x") is the best way to handle unwanted/unintended/teen pregnancies? Come on, let's get real.
So yeah, for me it had a lot to do with social issues, as these things usually do. Also for what it's worth, I am a proud supporter of the healthcare reform bill and I'm happy that it has a fighting chance to remain in effect. (Even though my state passed a meaningless and unenforceable amendment opposing it!)
Obama's got four more years, and I'm quite happy about it. : )
I actually follow US politics with a passion and if I was eligible to vote let's just say I'll vote blue and be a very happy camper right now. And I definitely would not vote for someone who has an elevator for his cars in his house and who was happy to let the auto industry go into ruins. Any wonder he lost in MI (where his dad was once a gov) and even in WI the state of his running mate. A party whose elected officials cannot believe a man with a middle name like Hussein can do any good and who vowed to make the country ungovernable just because the person in power doesn't look like them and has diff beliefs. I sometimes cringe when I think about these things and as much as people like to be idealistic and believe race has nothing to do with it, I'm sorry to say I think it has a lot if not everything to do with it. And this is meant to be a first world country. Very scary.
ReplyDeleteI followed the commentaries on NBC news yesterday and I can tell you I'm glad about the person in charge
That said I respect other people's opinion even if we don't agree
Back to more important things ;) if anyone ever doubted your kids are siblings they need to see the first picture - same lips and nose (at least from the side)
Kendra looks so grown up in these pictures and your Connor is definitely a curious little one. Your dentist looks very good. Hope you also got checked while you were there?
Love going back through all the comments here! It's particularly interesting (and embarrassing, in some respects!) to see the SA views.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mrs FF was so right...that first pic of K&C shows an incredible resemblance from that angle. Wow!!!
Wow! Big milestone for your babies - they look like they had no issues and the whole expeience was a good one. I do hope we have the same sort of thing when I take Nicola for her first one next year!
ReplyDeleteAs for the American politics, I can't really say that I'm on top of it. I hardly stay on top of the local politics. I did catch the occasional headline here and there and I think the other guy probably shot himself in the foot with that "Women can't get pregnant from being raped" comment. Personally I can't even imagine ever considering an abortion, I just don't think I could live with myself after something like that - but I have a few friends who have had it, and I do understand why they did. It's HARD work being a parent even for people who really want to be parents.
Anyhoo, is it just me - or did this whole election kind of swing on this abortion issue? It's almost like the local politics which very often revolve around toilets when it gets close to election time.
Love reading over the comments thus far!
ReplyDeleteReally loved Mandy's sentiments. :) See, it's not such a big world afterall.
I am pro-choice. I don't want someone else telling me what I can do with my body. I was induced with Raime, because my platelets were so low I might not have made it through surgery- but she was technically an abortion from a medical standpoint. I think about how if there was a law preventing me from having her to save my own life- my three big boys would grow up with no mom. My other kids obviously wouldn't be here. It's a thin line to cross, and I don't think anyone but the person in the situation can make that sort of decision- definitely not some random law maker.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't agree with the whole anti-gay thing, and the way it's like they want to force everyone to have the same religious views.
I don't understand why we can't just all get along :)