Tested
Last night on the way home from work I called my brother as it was his 52nd birthday. (man that sounds weird) I hadn’t talked to Todd in awhile so we caught up on the latest and greatest in his world, which always seems very, very busy. Of course when I think about it, whose life does not seem busy when it is spoken out loud? I told him I was going to NY next week which he did not know about. Because of his busy schedule, among other things, my dad already knew that Todd’s family would not be down going to the middle of nowhere in upstate NY with very limited connectivity to the outside world. During that conversation Todd also shared some information that sent a wave of anger through me.
As I have talked about here a number of times, I have had a lot of struggles over the last year, both physically and mentally. For a long time my reaction to these things was to just swim around in them, being angry, sad, seeking to blame, or justify. The end result of which was walking around most days feeling shitty. Through efforts by both myself and conversations with others I have been making real efforts to break that chain of useless negative thinking. Dwelling on things that have happened in the past that are unchangeable serves no tangible purpose in the present.
Although the anger will always be there, allowing it to pass through like water under a bridge instead of taking a bath in it is always the better choice if quality of life and happiness are your ultimate goals. All I can hope for is a happy outcome for both myself and others, whatever that definition is for the individual.
I have neglected to say anything about the SCOTUS ruling on Roe vs Wade a few days ago, reversing the federal stance on abortion after something like 50 years. As most that know me would assume, I do not think it is ok to dissolve a woman’s right to chose what decisions she makes with her body. If somehow men were able to get pregnant there would have never ever been the need for such a ruling as men would never entertain government directing their medical choices.
Let’s be clear, supporting someone’s right to have an abortion is not the same as supporting abortion as a personal choice for oneself. The vast majority of pro-choice individuals likely would not chose to have an abortion in their own lives yet do not feel justified applying their personal morals onto others. The hypocrisy I really dislike is religious individuals using the Bible as their core reason for this stance. The cherry picking of certain aspects of the Bible while completely ignoring other tenants in there that are not convenient to these same individuals is frustrating. For example here are 7 things the Bible clearly directs you to do, that no sane individual would entertain.
The other hypocritical reality is many of the people that are pro-life zealots care very little about what happens to children that are born into situations where they are basically unwanted or uncared for, needing assistance from government agencies. Many of these same individuals will complain about or outright oppose any sort of government funded assistance programs. Make sure all babies are born, regardless of circumstance, just don’t ask us for any help after it happens. It’s dumb.
It’s ironic to me that news media was acting like they didn’t know this was coming, it was already leaked close to a month ago. I guess acting like it came out of left field is better for the ratings. To me it’s just another example of the acidic nature of modern society. Instead of moving society forward as a whole we have a segment that is dead set on throwing down an anchor and then pulling backwards, regardless of the cost.
Today I have my surgical consult regarding my potential hernia. I am hoping for some direction on whether the bump is minor enough that I can just let it ride for now or if doing so has a significant impact going forward.