taking a break, and speaking out.
i am writing this blog post on my phone from the dubai airport. we are en route to two islands in the indian ocean, and for the next ten days i am unplugging from social media. honestly (and embarrassingly), this is going to be a real challenge for me ... but i think it will be good for my soul. i'm excited to share lots of tropical goodness when we get back!
i've had the post below drafted for the past two days and am deciding now to post it. i have spent the past few nights tossing and turning into the wee hours because my mind is reeling with the disturbance i feel surrounding president trump's executive order concerning immigration. i feel quite weird going on such a nice trip - and disconnecting to read a book, relax with my husband and play with my baby on a pristine beach - when there is so much turmoil in the world, specifically surrounding my home country. i am deeply grateful for my life and profoundly worried about the lives of others. despite the uncomfortable disconnect i feel by indulging in some luxury the next couple weeks (or really, because of it), i hope to find a renewed sense of understanding while i am unplugged about my personal role in contributing to make the world better.
i don't have time (or energy - just got off a red-eye flight!) to refine my thoughts below much more ... but i feel that i should, in some small way, speak out. i'm just copying and pasting something i posted on facebook a few days ago (with a few small edits). i have turned the comments off on this post, not because i am disinterested in a discussion on this topic - on the contrary: i am eager to learn about different perspectives and understand other ways of thinking - but because i will not be able to moderate and respond while i am away from home and unplugged. i just felt like i should share this here, for what it's worth...
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i've had the post below drafted for the past two days and am deciding now to post it. i have spent the past few nights tossing and turning into the wee hours because my mind is reeling with the disturbance i feel surrounding president trump's executive order concerning immigration. i feel quite weird going on such a nice trip - and disconnecting to read a book, relax with my husband and play with my baby on a pristine beach - when there is so much turmoil in the world, specifically surrounding my home country. i am deeply grateful for my life and profoundly worried about the lives of others. despite the uncomfortable disconnect i feel by indulging in some luxury the next couple weeks (or really, because of it), i hope to find a renewed sense of understanding while i am unplugged about my personal role in contributing to make the world better.
i don't have time (or energy - just got off a red-eye flight!) to refine my thoughts below much more ... but i feel that i should, in some small way, speak out. i'm just copying and pasting something i posted on facebook a few days ago (with a few small edits). i have turned the comments off on this post, not because i am disinterested in a discussion on this topic - on the contrary: i am eager to learn about different perspectives and understand other ways of thinking - but because i will not be able to moderate and respond while i am away from home and unplugged. i just felt like i should share this here, for what it's worth...
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chances of dying in a vehicle accident: 1 in 8,938 per year
chances of dying from falling on/from stairs/steps: 1 in 141,571 per year
chances of dying from drowning in a swimming pool: 1 in 485,605 per year
chances of dying from being bit or struck by a dog: 1 in 9,032,253 per year
chances of dying from the effects of lightening: 1 in 13,744,732 per year
chances of being killed by a refugee: 1 in 3,640,000,000 per year
chances of dying from falling on/from stairs/steps: 1 in 141,571 per year
chances of dying from drowning in a swimming pool: 1 in 485,605 per year
chances of dying from being bit or struck by a dog: 1 in 9,032,253 per year
chances of dying from the effects of lightening: 1 in 13,744,732 per year
chances of being killed by a refugee: 1 in 3,640,000,000 per year
if the issue is truly and purely the security of the american people, (statistically speaking) president trump should sign executive orders to halt vehicular transportation, implement mandatory "stair safety" initiatives in schools, ban swimming pools, exterminate dogs, and study how to somehow miraculously prevent lightening before signing an executive order to ban refugees. (and yes, i know a lot of the restriction is temporary - but still.)
it is just mind-boggling to me how much fear can grow from such incredibly low risk. i just can't wrap my head around this being truly, purely about the safety of the american people. there just HAS to be fear-mongering and/or xenophobia at play here.
i am all for revamping and improving the system if it is failing - certainly we should do everything we possibly can to prevent terrorists from coming into the usa. but instead of urgently buckling down - gathering a committee of brilliant and passionate people, using the intelligence and strength we so abundantly have in our country, and determining strong changes and smart reform (all of which can be done WHILE the current system, with its one in billions chance of failure carries on) - trump signed a hasty executive order that he HAD to know would cause uproar and then moved on to working on tactics to build the suspense around his supreme court pick (reminiscent of a reality tv show, which makes sense considering his background). i genuinely want to give the guy a chance, and to be honest i think it is incredibly hypocritical and wrong of people to be downright rude in their scathing criticism of him personally - he, like any other american or any syrian refugee or human being, has value and deserves to be treated with respect even if you disagree vehemently with him - but i just cannot see any noble motivation in his actions as i've been exposed to them thus far.
it seems that the equation for president trump (and his peeps) is: increased division + stuck refugees + hysteria and protests to keep at bay + fuel to the fire for extremists that believe america hates islam < a one in billions chance that a terrorist slips through. that is a very, very flawed equation in my opinion, and it's hard for me to understand how it makes sense in any one else's.
i am praying for this mad mad world. and i am completely convinced that, eventually, right will prevail. in the meantime, i am so glad for anyone that is standing up for what they believe to be right. posting this is my current tiny attempt to do that.
i am praying for this mad mad world. and i am completely convinced that, eventually, right will prevail. in the meantime, i am so glad for anyone that is standing up for what they believe to be right. posting this is my current tiny attempt to do that.