Pages

Thursday, July 11, 2013

I will never be a Republican...

I am quite disappointed in our state legislators.  Actually, I am quite infuriated.  As women, we need to stand up for ourselves and stop legislators who believe we're too stupid, as a gender, to make decisions for ourselves, for our bodies, and for our unborn children/fetuses (depending on your point of view).

Here are two examples, and from the SAME state legislator who happens to be a woman!
“'I am proud of the step we’ve taken to protect both babies and women. I think it speaks volumes about who we are as humanity,' Laubenberg said."  (Associated Press, July 10, 2013) 
"During a House debate on an appropriations bill that year [2007], Laubenberg, a staunch conservative, put forward an amendment that would require expectant mothers to wait three months before they could begin receiving prenatal and perinatal care under the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, a program that helps cover uninsured children in low-income families."  (Huffington Post, July 9, 2013)
Do you truly believe you are protecting women?  From what?  Their own decisions?  In 2007, you wanted to withhold healthcare since unborn children are "not children," but now you want to protect them as children.  The irony.  Do you know what would protect women even more so?  Expand Medicaid.  And seeing that women still make about 81 cents to every dollar a man makes (unadjusted), how about you fight for some gender equity in the workforce?  Those are two things that would improve women's lifestyles and improve the lives of their children.

The one thing I do believe is that this law is only going to pass to prove a shoddy Republican point as they run for the Whitehouse in a couple of years.  Perry is not running for governor, so I'm pretty sure he'd use this as leverage if he chooses to run for president again.  Newsflash.  Young people like me are still voting and I will do everything in my power to see the BEST candidate win whether he/she be Democrat, Republican, or Independent, but the way the Republicans have been acting these past five years...you can tell how I lean, especially as a public health worker.

Our legislators desperately need to learn how to work together, something they preach but don't do.  It's all about "being right" rather than digesting the information that they receive.  I think the two parties need a mediation session.  At least Texas isn't afraid of a fight.  North Carolina hid their abortion bill in a motorcycle safety bill; thankfully their governor will be vetoing the abortion legislation.  People scream at how our health care system needs to be changed, but I think our legislative arm of government needs a complete rework even more. 

So my final comments on this posting.  Personally, I could never go through with an abortion, but that does not mean I have the right to strip another woman of her rights to make choices because in the end, she's the one who is going to have to stand before God and be judged for her decisions.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Moving Forward

I sometimes wish people could climb into my mind and see how it functions.  I swear they would have a different perspective of who I am if they had that opportunity.  From the exterior, I understand why most may assume I'm a pessimistic person, but that's only when I start verbalizing my reactions.  Prior to this verbalization, I keep reminding myself of the positive aspects of whatever I'm facing, that "It can work" or "I am good enough for that job" or "It could be worse."  I go through many iterations of this type of positive reinforcement before I truly start believing in the negative, especially if I feel like I keep getting the beat down on one particular issue.

Waiting for something to happen in my life has always been difficult because the negative thoughts keep creeping in.  I typically keep my life busy at this point or God puts something else on my heart temporarily to get me through it.  It is through this time that I can clear my head and figure out why the contradicting thoughts keep creeping in during God's waiting period.  The negativity symbolizes something that I had to deal with (or not deal with) in my past in some shape or form.  Other times, it can be just a confidence issue, which, if one really thinks about it, stems from the past as well.  I always thought forgiveness was enough, but now I am learning that you need to let it go too.  But are we meant to forget everything bad that has happened to us?  How do we learn from the past if that is the case?  Perhaps it's more about not letting our past stop us from moving forward.