The Saturday Morning Post: A Piece of My Mind

I was going back through the draft post folder, and found one post, I put up, then decided I didn't want to deal with the comments on, and reverted to draft, and didn't delete.  It was about running into a controversial political operative in the grocery store, someone who should be in prison, rather than living in a million dollar apartment with a view of the Potomac River.  One of only two posts that I ever removed, the other one I put back up after due consideration. It was a piece of my mind that needed airing. 

There are also a couple of posts in the draft folder, that either need work, or will never see the light of day. One of them is on guns in the United States - a complicated subject for me, I think our gun laws are ridiculous, but I am also a gun owner. I have strong views on some complicated issues, but sometimes I don't want to cope with the comments, or the trolls.  I keep some of those pieces of my mind off the blog.  

The organizations that I worked for, had political influence, as staff we were trained to keep personal opinions personal. Maybe over time that will fade. 

I am a believer in second chances, in redemption, and recovery. There are few people who are not capable of changing, given the support  that they need. Many of the cast aside people in our society simply need help, support, counseling, training. There is a program in Appalachian Kentucky that trains adults in job and employment skills.  The first couple of months of the program are devoted to teaching people to show up on time, sober, clean, well rested and ready to work.  If you grew up in a household where no one did that, you might need help learning how to do so and understanding why it is important.  And yes, there are families were such basics in life are not practiced. Many homeless persons need more than a roof over their head, they need support to learn to live in a civilized society.  The care and support is often overlooked and many good efforts fail as a result.  At our core we all want a safe place to live.   

I don't believe in state sponsored murder, that can be war, overly responsive police, or the death penalty. It is hard for a government to preach "thou shall not kill" when the government kills people.  

I believe that you have to be a good neighbor to have good neighbors. Several governments need to learn this simple rule, you can't shoot over the fence at your neighbors and not expect them to shoot back. 

I have really complicated views on physician assisted suicide, and I will call it what it is, it is not physician aid in dying - that is palliative or hospice care.  I worked in an environment where we didn't take a position on that issue, no matter what position you take someone is going to be angry at it. It is a perilus cliff that needs strong fences to avoid a shift from choice, to genocide. 

Well this one went in all kinds of directions I didn't expect when I started writing.  Many pieces of a complicated mind.