Post something positive, what the hell happened to u? Being a democrat has made u hateful
This was a comment I received tonight after posting some facts that put a negative light on Republicans in the House of Representatives.
I was a bit shocked to be confronted as being 'hateful', when I do not hold any hatred in my heart, nor mind.
What follows is probably not going to be a well written diary with enlightening information, and probably not even any good reading compared to the many brilliant posts found here regularly.
I am not a writer.
I am a father, a husband, and an American who loves his country with a passion...
I will be the first to admit that I post quite a bit of politically charged content on Facebook, mixed in with pictures of my beautiful children and wife, photographs from our family trips (I fancy myself a decent photographer, loving nature photography, although I'm sure I'm not as good as I fancy myself to be), and various other things from around the interweb.
Tonight when I read that I was a hateful person, I was a bit shocked at first, and then I got a bit angry (is that the same as hate? I think not .... but could be wrong..).
The thing that put me off - this comment came from someone who has, in his own postings, attacked 'Dems', used examples of 'people getting more money from the gov't in welfare than they would if they worked', and is friends and family with local Tea Party members, who have not always been such a shining light.
So I'm thinking this hateful thing is a bit out of nowhere, and feeling a little attacked.
Here's the deal, I do not hate anyone, nor anything.
I do despise ignorance, lies, and distortions, and those who use lies and distortions to manipulate the ignorant.
I do get upset when I hear Romney / Ryan and any Republican with an open mouth talk about repealing Obamacare, as this reform has done so much to give a family like ours just a little peace in our daily lives, knowing our little girl will not lose her insurance due to reaching a 'lifetime cap' before she hits the age of 15, and will never be denied the services she needs.
It's hard enough waking up every day and checking first thing to see if our sweet girl is still with us, or if a seizure may have taken her in the night.... I don't want to go back to having to worry about her not getting the care she needs, or that we might go broke trying to pay for it ourselves without insurance.
I am disgusted when I see administration after administration of Republicans spending like drunken sailors, and then pointing the finger at the Democrats who are charged with cleaning up their messes.... and I am disgusted at the ignorance that allows people to buy it.
I am extremely angry that we've been in a war since before my children were born, and that I was called un-American for questioning the wars...... and I am heartbroken at the loss of life brought on by the lies that got us into the wars to begin with.
And there are quite a few more things that make me less than happy with the current state of our elected officials.
These things do not make me hateful person.
They make me angry, disgusted, upset and sometimes discouraged.. but not hateful.
Why is it that so many people, when confronted with the truth, try to turn things into this "you're being hateful" accusation?
Why is it that shedding light on what I feel is a detriment to the future our my country makes me 'hateful'?
I have seen this argument before, many times - 'Liberals are filled with hate', 'Democrats are hateful' .. etc etc
And I truly, honestly, do not understand it, especially when it comes from people who support changing the constitution of our United States to deny love. People who support the starting of wars, and torture of human beings. People who do not feel any obligation to help the least among us.
And so there you have my thoughts, and I do feel better now that they are out. Thanks for reading, and for maybe helping me to understand how I can come to grips with being labeled a hateful person, when all I wish to do is try to bring light to ignorance and lies.
Oh, and here's what I posted on facebook. It was accompanied with an image of Bill Clinton holding up a 0 with his fingers, when talking about the number of jobs bills that the Republican controlled house has put forth the last two years:
... in fact, here's the numbers on what the Republicans HAVE introduced since they gained control of the House:
44 bills on Abortion
99 on Religion
71 on Family Relationships
36 on Marriage
67 on Firearms
445 on "Gov't Investigations"
ZERO on Job Creation!
All the while voting +30 times to repeal Obamacare, while the President's Jobs Bill sits without any votes from them.
Yeah, the party that cares about jobs, right?
Too hateful?
I will try to sleep on it.
1:15 PM PT: After having some sleep, and reading the mostly great input (still a couple comments I'm trying to decipher) I wanted to say thank you to those who provided some input and some ways to look at things I might not have considered.
I have come to some good conclusions, and have some more thoughts to share on this matter, and a very funny (fot its timing) and quite amazingly pathetic experience that occurred while I was leaving Coscto this morning.... more later, when I have time to share.
Thanks again all!