SOME
people say, the only way to awaken people up from the stupor of
supporting a demagogue politician is to educate them. True. But first
we have to look deeper why do these “illiterate” people gravitate
to whoever their favored candidate is. People are upset or
disappointed with the system. They believe only a privilege few are
benefitting from a government's effort/s. Hence, before we bat for a
good educational system, governments (as well as nonprofit
organizations) should find a way how feed people first or give them
jobs to feed and house themselves. It is impossible to educate hungry
people whose priority is food to mouth. Their brains will find it
hard to respond to such a system of learning.
Who
are voting for Trump? Small town folks who lost their jobs in mining
towns and paper companies, sent their kids to war, couldn't get
health insurance especially after these soldiers lost a limb and/or
their mind. And then when they get their food stamps (if ever), all
they see are Chinese products in retail stores. We can't educate
people who don't have time to sit and listen to a 10-page rhetoric
that they have grown skeptical with anyway. Gather them to a
community hall and educate them what is racism, political
correctness, gender sensitivity and environmental awareness? Those
are good and noble. But once you knock on people's doors, expect this
query: “Is this a job market seminar? Are you giving us jobs? If
not, we don't have time for all this educational bullshit." You
see, the word "education" to a poor person these days is
sometimes called "elitism."
ABUSE
and SUPPORT. I notice these days that whenever a friend (partner,
parent, teacher etc) reminds another friend of repeated wrongdoings
or simply neglect or errors that tend to cloud the latter's
potentials and promises, the former is automatically labelled
“abusive.” So what is the opposite of “abuse”? Maybe
“support”? So if a friend ignores another friend's failures and
instead joins in the latter's drinking, weed-smoking, and
partying—then that is “support”? So we can do whatever we want
because that is called “independence to be one's self,” right?
Let them be themselves, don't restrict them—it's their right to be
themselves. Okay.
Meanwhile,
how do you remind a person to clean up his/her act? With a soft voice
of love? Or an irritated tone of frustration? I don't know. Voice of
love, tone of frustration—if these are coming from someone who took
time to excise such energy, then that is concern if not love. Because
who cares... Who cares but those who actually care. Yet when someone
is doing fine, do we expect a sound of annoyance from the person
reacting? Of course not. Everything's fine anyway.
As
for me, I got my own set of faults and flaws and it's okay to be
reminded of all these by close friends, ex'es, mom and dad, older
sis, editors, teachers, and superiors. It was hard hearing them, of
course. Yet I don't think they were abusive. I never thought my dad's
prolonged sermons on my face many years ago were abusive. They were
not. And he wasn't an Abusive Rightwing Bigot either, LOL! My dad and
those around me (who knew what was going on) were concerned but they
were also frustrated. But although I was called lazy and stubborn and
disrespectful and arrogant, I've never been called dumb, idiot,
stupid or douchebag by any of those people. Namecalling people those
words is what I call abusive.
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