Seek First to Understand

I've not written much lately, for a few reasons. For one, I've just been really busy. For another, I've been at a loss for words, which doesn't happen all that often. 

I have not intended this blog to be "political" per se, though, all of life is related to politics, one could argue. I have found, though, as I've watched people I love and care about have their rights stripped away in less than a month, I find I need to speak up. 

Now, I will preface this by saying too often, we allow critiques of one leader to be met with, "So, are you saying that the previous leader was better? Look at what they did . . ." Maybe you've heard the phrase "Two wrongs don't make a right." Criticizing one leader's actions is not an automatic endorsement of the opposite-party's leader. I find myself truly trying to seek understanding. 

To begin, I am truly struggling to understand how we as a nation can accept the fact that our president can scrub government websites, erasing information about HIV, birth control, and transexuality. Employees in the State Department were told to remove their pronouns from their email signature, which is a fairly common practice that signals how to respectfully refer to people. Transgender people can no longer mark an "X" on their passport, as an effort for the federal government to recognize only 2 genders. This is even being presented as a way to "protect women" from so-called "gender extremism," echoing our president's assertion on the campaign trail that he will "protect women, whether they like it or not." 

Elon Musk, now a "special government employee," spoke disparagingly about his own transgender daughter, saying that she had the "woke mind virus" of being transgender. It's absolutely heartbreaking for me to witness a father deny his own child in this way (though I've seen it firsthand). I cannot understand turning away your own child at the gate. 

Chances are, you know -- and care about -- at least one transgender person. You might not even know it -- just like not everyone needs to learn the details of your personal life. I will not presume to speak for any transgender person, and I think that's really the whole point, isn't it? I don't know what it's like to go through life knowing that my outsides don't match my insides, but I trust those who tell me about their experiences. Undergoing gender-affirming surgery is no small decision (in fact, a whole host of physical and psychological assessments have to happen before surgery). In 2025, with medical advancements where they are, I believe that people should have the right to whatever procedures and treatments they and their medical professionals deem appropriate. 

I don't see the difference between someone electing cosmetic surgery for breast augmentation or freezing eggs and embryos for possible implantation in the future, and gender-reassignment surgery. It doesn't impact me, and I don't see any harm to anyone else. I don't understand why our government would become involved private medical decisions. 

At the same time, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are under attack in our country, glibly called "illegal DEI practices" by the White House Press secretary. Supposedly, we are moving "back to a merit-based society." This sounds "great," in theory, but the Horatio-Alger mythology ignores the reality that no amount of hard work can make up for an uneven playing field. If I'm born in extreme poverty with abusive/neglectful parents, and you are born in a wealthy home with attentive, caring parents, you are much more likely to have your natural talents identified and cultivated. Your education is more likely to be valued. Your future will matter to the people who care about you and help you shape your life. If you and I work hard, the exact amount, you will get farther in life, no matter how hard I try. 

We are supposed to be impressed by a president signing 300 executive orders in his first 100 hours in office, but the adage "Haste Makes Waste" comes to mind. Now, I am not advocating for how slowly things typically move in government, but a more moderate pace would be more ideal.  And really, a more moderate approach to all things would be more ideal, in my opinion. We have a president who won 49.8% of the popular vote, as opposed to his opponent with 48.3% of the popular vote. When he claims to be doing what the entire country wants, it's just not true. A wise leader would pay attention to those numbers and would strive to bring those sides of the country together as one truly United States of America. 

It falls on us, then, as citizens to speak up, to hold our leaders accountable. It's up to us to stand in solidarity with those who are being persecuted, even if we don't personally identify with whatever label they are being given. Otherwise, we don't really mean, as schoolchildren all over our country recite each morning, that we believe in "liberty and justice for all."