Thursday, January 10, 2008

Tears of Our People....

(First posted 1.9.08)

It is true that I have written a bit about the Hillary Moment, and that people wrote me that maybe I was not being very sensitive, or kind. It was pointed out that as a Passionate Woman Blogger I was not fair enough. It is true that I blog with feeling, that I do tell about pieces of my life. And that sometimes I do tell my story with emotion. When I blog , I try to weave Life Events with political consequences, I think that it keeps us in touch with Our Humanity. And yes, I have also been telling some of my story of life with my son, but as a single mom and a nurse , I am just one person's story....I tell it because I know there are so many others struggling like me. If that makes me self indulgent, then I apologize. But I also blog about what I see and the sounds I hear everyday, whether it be the Bus Stop , or my neighbors, or VETS that I meet. I am trying to blog Our Americana and still serve some Soulfood, and yes I tell it with great spirit and it is heartfelt.

If she had cried answering a question about Katrina ? Or talking about healthcare and all of the people that are Dying Uninsured ? Or the Homeless VETS and National Guard ? About the VET suicide rate ?Or the number of families and Children living in Homeless Shelters ? Or about the Families burying young sons? Or the Numbers of Iraqis that have died ?Would I still be so hard on her ? The Answer is No.

She did not cry for you or me, she cried answering a Question about HERSELF, about Her life and yes, her hair. She choked up talking about HER OPPORTUNITIES, and how much she wants to be president. That is not the same as embracing the pain and challenges you and I have every day. When she did it, I remembered how Bill said "I feel your pain", and I thought "oh,no, not again". But not because I don't think Leaders should not be able to share Our Pain...and one would hope they would.

Do I think Presidents cry ? Yes, if they care about THE PEOPLE. There is a big difference between Empathy and Sympathy, and self absorbed emotion.

So you can still write me, because I am all about us talking this out. But I have worked long and hard to try to help all of us understand and embrace Our Humanity, mainly because even though these are Our Darkest Times in Our History, if we keep talking ,we can Heal....and we can also have Hope. But it also means people like you and me are allowed to Dream of A Better America and that some of this Damage can be healed. But the Reality is there is indeed Damage, and yes, I have tears about that....But I for one am also ready to embrace Hope.

{{ Click the Title : John Lennon +" Working Class Hero" , and my email is enigma4ever AT earthlink Dot Net}}

{{{ Photo: The Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange from the Great Depression}}}

19 comments:

Phil said...

Not to be insensitive, because I'm not, this is your blog.
You can do whatever you want.
Writing about what you are feeling can be healing all by itself.
Myself?
I tend to rant to get the rage back down to a dull roar.
Somebody wants to tell me what to do on my blog?
I will give you one guess.
There is a huge amount of pain to go around for everyone because of the criminals in power have gone out of their way to inflict it.
Don't be sorry for how you feel.
Get it out there in the daylight and go from there.

enigma4ever said...

Busted Knuckles;
Thanks....I am just trying to calm some troubled waters....because I am all about Finding the Peace ....finding what BINDS us as People...not what dvides us...and some people thought that as a woman....well, that I was being heartless.....

Cartledge said...

There is a problem trying to be all things to all people, I expect it ends in tears one way or another.
I don't object to tears, and I've seen some tough Aussie leaders break down. But like you suggest, it is generally pure sympathy. I'm sure John Howard kept his tears for behind closed doors.
This issues deserve to be aired and discussed.

enigma4ever said...

Cartledge:
THAT is what I want REAL issues talked about...I don't want softball questions from the Audience ( we have seen enough Gannon Questions of Bush...urgh...)

I like seeing ALL of them asked about things that matter- Iraq ( which has gotten pretty shortthrift) and HOW to GET OUT of Iraq, and WHEN....and Healthcare..and the Economy...etc etc..

I want Reality.....and Solutions and Problem Solving discussed...and how we as Americans are not going to Invisible but part of the solution...

sigh.....

Fran said...

Damn! I wrote a loooong response to this post & then it disappeared.
Highlights were (if my tired brain can remember them) :
• You can say what ya want on your blog
• you are open minded
• you allow disagreement & other views
• lots of people don;t like Hillary because they are sick of war & she's a hawk.
• what hill says & does don't match up

You never claimed to favor hill, and you can say why you don't like her.
Lots of different blog friends have supported other candidates I am not in favor of, and well my biggest frustration is in hearing so many people say Kucinich makes the most sense, therefore he can't get elected.
So frustration runs high.
If a candidate has that spark or flame for you, and you are moved-- well hell-- how long has it been since THAT has happened???

Nobody has all the answers & the country is in it;s worst shape ever coming out of the Bush regime. Wars, Debt, Economic depression, Housing/mortgage crisis, and a general neglect & abuse of the middle & lower classes. disappearing pensions, vanishing Social security.... education neglected, environmentally behind & offensive to the planet, torture, etc. I'm sure I could go on & on
listing serious problems & we can't just have any bozo @ the helm (this country has been there & done that.) **That line even just cracked me up**

If feelings are hurt and passions runing high, than good! Finally people are waking the hell up & shaking off the apathy, and the status quo, and breaking out of the corporatized media bullshit.

Say whatever the hell you want... it is still a free country, kinda. more or less.


end of rant

enigma4ever said...

thank you Fran...

You can rant here anytime...and you know that I welcome all discourse, here and emails...because one of my goals is that WE JUST KEEP TALKING, DO NOT SHUT DOWN...I never want apathy to take over or claim our sould...because it does damage ....

I think most people know how and WHY I write the way I do..but I think emotions are running high...that happens when people are tired...of 7 years of crap...and we all want and need Change....and yes, we have to be inspired, motivated and feel that Change is Coming...

billie said...

i think that the corporate media hyped this as a distraction. hillary clinton is not my candidate- but she is a human being. my own thought is- it's irrelevant why she teared up- romney teared up talking about his religion. i might too if i was romney- but that's neither here nor there. we as people on this planet need to stand together- women and men- against racism and mysogeny and abuse. what was directed towards hillary clinton was mysogeny. we don't have to vote for her but as women and humanists- we need to defend her right to run without the abuse. let her run on her voting record and her husband's policies- not on her gender. namaste.

azgoddess said...

you go girlfriend - this IS your blog...and you talk about what you want in it...HUGS!

enigma4ever said...

Az:
Thanks...I do my best , but I think that we as people can talk and look at all of this clearly....

Betmo:

Please read the answer I left above for NO in the post above, it applies here as well, and I think you missed my point in this post, in this post I explained WHY I am dissappointed in her, it is not just about her voting record.

It is the combined effect of her own behavior and actions. She as a person must have humanity to be our president, so yes, the "choked up" situation is very important. I just explained above in this post- have we ever seen her cry or show empathy for OUR people ? If she had I would not be so concerned.

I do also disagree, about she has experienced "mysogeny" and "abuse", I have not seen that, if anything all of these monthes she has been pre-corronated by the media.....she was ALL we heard about, and yet her policies and ACTUAL record were not even questioned. And her Policies are sorely lacking, read her website and carefully read her policies on Healthcare, and on Iraq, she did not even identify Iraq as ONE of the TOP NINE problems we face, and that needs resolution.

But mostly shame on her and Bill for attacking Us as Americans for wanting Hope and Change....and for attacking MLK and JFK. She basically said that MLK was nothing without Lynden Johnson. She should know better than to attack the work of a beloved Civil Rights Legend. And then for the most viscious attack, the "Fairytale" attack she had Bill do it. I have been shocked by their actions last week, none of it was Presidential.

We need a person that is of High Character and Behaves with dignity, male or female.

Gryphen said...

You know she didn't even really cry.

She only choked up.

Hell I cry harder then that when I get my gas bill!

You should read Maureen Dowd's take on the "Hillary tears". It is pretty good.

enigma4ever said...

Thanks G-man...
well I definently cry when I get my gas bill....it is more than Food now!!!!...okay enough about me...

I will be sure to find Maureen Dowd's Latest- thank you...

( and in the meantime I stand by what I have written here...and I guess that makes ME heartless...ce la vie).

Gryphen said...

Heartless? You?

Sorry that is not the Enigma I know.

enigma4ever said...

hmmmm, well I hope that I am not heartless...but I Guess that I am looking for empathy is a problem for some folks....

I read the Maureen Dowd 's piece...wow...Excellent- highly reccomend.....( I have seen seen a cold hard turkey sliced with more tenderness.....)

Anonymous said...

You are not heartless-- your blog oozes with heart & soul.

Breathe & speak your truth.

People voted for candidates in NH who had already officially withdrawn from the race.
Crazy times we live in!

One more seed for thought-- better we have this big discussion now & address how many people who feel they could and would not vote for Hillary. We need to have a viable candidate, because if mass media tells us who the front runner is & lots of independent & progressive people disagree, we sure as hell don;t want to wind up with a really fractionalized candidate who wind up voting for someone else in a 3rd party & we get 4 more war/hawk republican regime years.

It's time for that pendulum to swing back, waay back the other way. IMHO

enigma4ever said...

The whole thing was so strange- a month ago...we were being told to love Hill...then a week ago..it was about how she was not doing well...the Media should not be telling any of us HOW or WHO to vote for..they should be covering issues- so the for the next few weeks during the debates..I am covering ISSUES..I started tonight..

but thanks for what you said..

( Blogger is not forwarding comments to my emails- so excuse me if I am late replying..)

enigma4ever said...

this is yet another test...

D.K. Raed said...

Gryphen's right, she did NOT cry. I know what crying looks like. She choked up like she COULD cry, you know, like an overly tired kid gets when you tell them it's time to go to bed. I get the same look when I'm trying to stifle a sneeze. But really, that's MOOT now. I would've already forgotten it, if I could get it out of my head that THAT moment will become the favorite GoP ad if she wins the nomination. Such an ad would appeal to all those true misogynists, those right-wing men (and sadly, some r-w women) who think women don't belong in politics anyway.

Enigma, I don't know why you would second-guess yourself about being fair or any of the other criticisms you mentioned. Nothing you said was untrue and it was all heartfelt. ps, the Migrant Mother photo is one of the all-time BEST faces of despair, that is a person who has truly seen the worst & worried about the very survival of her family & their future, and had to face that she alone cannot solve the problem, but that she & 1000's of others working together, can. That is the kind of HOPE I always get reading your blog thoughts.

enigma4ever said...

DK:
thanks...I guess what has saddened me is some of the emails I got from women I respect...it was like what? but I guess it will be an awkward tense issue for a while- I love your description ( esp about a tired kid- that is so true)....I guess also I was one of those people that I hold everything in...and it is very very rare for anyone to see me cry or fill up...and in a crowd or a group ..NEVER...won't happen..ever...so I think for me it had a shock value that she did that....

Anyways...

We will see what happens next...

But I do wish that she had shown some emotions about things that matter...

and I do hope that I give some Hope...

Suzette said...

Great post. Good point. You have a great little blog here! You can't please all the people all the time...and why would you want to, anyway. :-)

I happen to agree with you about the choking up episode. The fact that when she finally DOES show some emotion it is all about HER is very telling.