Some Friday Thoughts about Flags

It was a good day.

Yesterday, not so much.

Today I watched a slow moving truck pull over as it rolled through Tisch Mills to let the cars behind it pass on forward. He didn't have to do that. He could just go on as he was getting to where he was going. But he had the situational awareness to recognize that someone behind him had to be patient. He cared enough to let them pass. It's a little thing, but it is an example of the things that make the world a better place. I am a fan of situational awareness and compassion.

Yesterday I was tired. I took a couple of naps, didn't really get much done, and when it was all over had to access some grace and recognize that some days are like that. I did do some writing on a quirky topic about the economics of taxation, but apparently that didn't lift me up much.

Today, I was energized. I didn't need a nap and spent several hours on a ladder and in the booth working on the transition of our lighting infrastructure.

Both days I spent several hours reading and reflecting on the world around us. Yesterday it felt like doomscrolling. Today it felt investigative and purposeful. WTF? Attitude is everything and we need to let ourselves be where we are. 

Our season opens in three weeks. Once that happens, the days have more things in them to distract me. I like that. On the other hand, it's interesting to have this winter off season when my mood drives my activity and I have to pay more attention to mental health.

I live in a small town in NE Wisconsin. Folks here live in a diverse set of voting districts as we're on the intersection of several towns and counties, but generally they voted about 66% for the Trump ticket. As a progressive, I'm not exactly unique, but certainly more visible as such.

Tonight I decided that I didn't want to cook so I wandered over to our local bar and restaurant to order some food. While there, I took a moment to chat with a friend, who introduced me to his friend, who was wearing a Trump hat. We chatted about how I was putting out a new US flag because our old one was pretty tattered. This is important here. Respecting the flag speaks to a respect for our roots as a democratic community. We all understand that differently, but there is room to let those differences exist.

I also observed that I had ordered a flag of Ukraine. The gentleman with the Trump hat observed that he had put out a flag of Mexico, but had then been told by his friends from Mexico that it was actually a flag from a state within Mexico, not the actual Mexican flag. What an interesting thing that this Trump promoting citizen wishes to support his connections to the community of people from Mexico.

Anyway, as a part of this conversation, because we were talking about flags and such, I introduced myself as the "local socialist". It's a label that I've been attaching to myself lately. It's shorthand, in my mind, for the notion that I support a range of progressive priorities, and that they are important to me. My hope is that it offers an opening to thought and conversation, since I am usually able to do it with a bit of a chuckle and lightness.

I passionately reject the notion that we are divided. I passionately reject the idea that only the progressive voices in our nation understand compassion. I passionately reject the notion that my understanding of how the world works is the only way to understand an individual's circumstance. 

I will never amplify social media posts that personify our political and policy differences. I recognize that the pain to marginalized communities is real and that we have a responsibility to amplify those realities, but there is no benefit in demonizing people who have landed in a political milieu that you do not understand. We must proceed by shedding a light on the things that we find objectionable. We must shed a light on the truth. That is the only way that we will find a community of value.

Whew! Okay. That's a wrap.