Settle Down, Mister

Settle Down, Mister

I do not understand why it is so simple to find topics, about which it is easy to write.  Stuff gets lodged in my head, and I ponder it; I ruminate over the different directions an idea may lead me, and I write the words on the ever-present whiteboard in my mind.  For obvious reasons, it is a white board, and not a chalk board.  Chalk boards went out of style, when technology burst on the scene, because of the dust factor.

I often reminisce about my military service and the writing that emerged last spring.  I say quite matter-of-factly, “Oh, I have been writing that piece in my mind since 1973,” and it’s true.  It poured out of me in such a torrent, that I still wonder why it took so long.  I imagine that I can attribute it to the loosening of the grip that anxiety had over me for 80% of my life, which would encompass 100% of my adult life.

Now I write with utter abandon, preferring to take that same unapologetic attitude that I have been reading about from my fellow writers.  I can’t refer to you as bloggers, because that categorizes you, and seems to lump you into a convenient one-size-fits-all bin, for easy identification.  

Writers, on the other hand, are light and breezy one moment, and serious as a heart attack, the next.  You constantly amaze me, first of all by your acceptance of me (my cumbersome vocabulary, notwithstanding), and secondly, by the daily reminder that it’s fine and dandy that some writers get paid for doing the same thing we do, only they are called “authors,” whereas we plug along and maybe we are bloggers.  And you knock my socks off every day of my life.

So here is the notion that has been trampolining around in my brain for about-let’s see, how long have I been “blogging?”-about a month now.  With all of the warmth and support that emanates from all angles, I never stop to worry about differences of opinion, or diverse ideologies, because the premise would appear to be that all are welcome, no matter what sort of background or views a person might possess.

Is that accurate?  Am I pretty much on target?  I learned a little about your political views when a certain President, with a predilection for tomfoolery, came up in an illuminating piece of writing, accompanied by comments which also revealed various general observations. 

I have learned about religious views, with comments again shedding light on individual perspectives, with everyone appearing to either accept, or at least be respectful of, divergent approaches.  We share daily trials and tribulations, we offer advice, and we consider all factors.

If one of “us” was, for instance, a recovering Catholic, that wouldn’t matter to anyone, would it?  If a person was raised in the culture of the Catholic Church, and decided as an adult to not be a practicing Catholic, that would not brand that person as a reprehensible slime-ball, would it?

What if that person felt even stronger about such basic concepts as the Golden Rule, and and instilled such convictions as responsibility, integrity, and a reverence for all things living into the minds of his children and his students, would that then make him an OK guy with whom to communicate and share ideas?  

He is far more accepting of others’ religious convictions than the average dude, even reverential, but chooses to attend services that are conducted in the great outdoors, communicating with the burgeoning life that surrounds him, aware of all things alive and inanimate.

This is purely hypothetical, you understand, and nothing need be made of it.  I was just wondering, for no apparent reason, and with nothing really on my mind.  It’s not on my mind because it is trampolining around in my brain.  It will not desist.  I don’t know why.

As me father used to say, “Settle down, Mister.”