I was waiting tables at the DC Improv, when they changed the law. No smoking inside. At all.
I remember having a conversation with Rob Englert about it. He told me about a conversation he'd had with a politician. About how difficult it was to make decisions, as a politician.
If you vote against the "no smoking" law, then you want babies to get cancer from second-hand smoke.
But if you vote for the law, you're also saying that after a 16-hour shift, the owner of a bar can't smoke a cigar in his own office. That seems like a reasonable "happiness" to pursue as an American citizen...right?
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Making laws is really hard. Because you're making a law that will apply to everyone the same, (in theory), but will affect everyone differently.
Sometimes a law is a great law, and a terrible law, at the same time.
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When someone protects their child, they are admired. When they provide for their child's future, they're a hero.
Well, that's what white-male politicians do. They provide for their children. If America is a great place for them to live, then they're going to want to keep it the same place, for their kids.
I'm not saying they should all be admired.
What I'm saying is, they should all be understood.
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These Republican politicians are not monsters. They are fathers of sons. They want their sons to have the same lives they've had. So they "provide" for their sons, in the form of laws. Laws that benefit them more than other children.
Politics is not rocket science. It's much smaller, and much more personal, than that.
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The truly dangerous politicians are the ones who do more than simply provide for their own.
When a politician starts seeking out the pain of his opponents, we are in a dangerous moment. When he is not content to be President, but must also smear the reputation of his predecessor, we are in a dangerous moment.
When an American is told his ability to travel has been limited because he is on a "watch list,"
and that American was vocally and publicly critical of the current President,
we are in a truly dangerous moment, here in America.
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*Stops writing. Starts speaking calmly but firmly*
We are in a dangerous moment, here in America.
I remember having a conversation with Rob Englert about it. He told me about a conversation he'd had with a politician. About how difficult it was to make decisions, as a politician.
If you vote against the "no smoking" law, then you want babies to get cancer from second-hand smoke.
But if you vote for the law, you're also saying that after a 16-hour shift, the owner of a bar can't smoke a cigar in his own office. That seems like a reasonable "happiness" to pursue as an American citizen...right?
_____
Making laws is really hard. Because you're making a law that will apply to everyone the same, (in theory), but will affect everyone differently.
Sometimes a law is a great law, and a terrible law, at the same time.
_____
_____
When someone protects their child, they are admired. When they provide for their child's future, they're a hero.
Well, that's what white-male politicians do. They provide for their children. If America is a great place for them to live, then they're going to want to keep it the same place, for their kids.
I'm not saying they should all be admired.
What I'm saying is, they should all be understood.
_____
These Republican politicians are not monsters. They are fathers of sons. They want their sons to have the same lives they've had. So they "provide" for their sons, in the form of laws. Laws that benefit them more than other children.
Politics is not rocket science. It's much smaller, and much more personal, than that.
_____
_____
The truly dangerous politicians are the ones who do more than simply provide for their own.
When a politician starts seeking out the pain of his opponents, we are in a dangerous moment. When he is not content to be President, but must also smear the reputation of his predecessor, we are in a dangerous moment.
When an American is told his ability to travel has been limited because he is on a "watch list,"
and that American was vocally and publicly critical of the current President,
we are in a truly dangerous moment, here in America.
_____
_____
*Stops writing. Starts speaking calmly but firmly*
We are in a dangerous moment, here in America.
To know that fact is not enough. To blog about it is not enough. (sorry, Millennials)
It needs to be spoken.
Yes, it takes courage.
No, you are not alone.
I'm a conservative American citizen, born in Pittsburgh, raised in the suburbs,
and I'm afraid to write my thoughts.
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That's how scary it is, here in "the land of the free"
That's how scary it is, here in "the land of the free"
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