Eight propositions

Starting today's post has not been easy. It's Saturday. Everyone is home. I'm being pulled in umpteen different directions; and just as I was about to start writing this blog, my son urgently calls to me: "Come quick! Come quick!" So, I go barreling up the stairs to the bathroom thinking that he must have cracked his skull open in the shower or busted the stitches that he just had placed around his eye after stabbing himself with a pencil earlier this week - (never a dull moment here) - and he proudly announces "Mom! I've got puberty! I've got puberty! Look! There is a hair growing down there! I've got puberty!"

Now. My intention here is not to embarrass my son - although if he sees this post, we can drag out the mission accomplished banner pronto. I'm really just trying to give you an idea of how eccentric my morning has been before I go on to talk about my intended topic, which already had my head in a spin before my eyeballs were fully dilated .
As I awoke from from my usual night of restless sleep and drank my usual cup of strong, strong coffee, I also listened to the T.V news whilst reading the Papers on my computer, as I usually do... Hey, multi-tasking at its best.
The first thing that struck me as bizarre today was that the main headline and the main topic of conversation all over the media was centered around the new "puppy elect" at the White House. What breed should it be? Who should choose it? What other pets have been in the White House? And on it went. I even took another listen to Obama's press conference yesterday and clearly heard him say that the "dog issue" has, and I quote, "generated more interest on our web-site than just about anything".
At the same moment as I was hearing these words again, I was staring at Headlines from quite a few sources. I saw that there was a new Prime Minister in New Zealand amid their economic crisis and I saw that rescue teams have been working through the night under floodlights at the site of a school in Haiti that collapsed with several hundred children inside. I saw that there have been Political protests in Thailand and that a hurricane is hitting the Cayman Islands and that an Iraq suicide bomber killed EIGHT. It goes on ...

But talking of EIGHT - I could feel that the main cause for the weirdness of my world today was fueled by my disbelief (still) at the Proposition EIGHT vote in California; and that this whole issue is perplexing - to say the least - when, as a country, we just voted for change and have been listening to rhetoric about Civil Rights day in and day out.
I mean, call me crazy, but the result of this vote seems like the most disturbing act of Civil Rights mis-judgment in a long, long time. And given that we do live in the US of A in 2008, I'm feeling as if I'm still in one of my disturbing dreams; or if not that, then I'm in some "back-to-the-future" movie somewhere.

Look. I'm not trying to get all preachy here or become the "Voice" of this, that or the other (despite that this issue does need more very loud voices); but IMHO, I think it deserves to be seen for what it is and to have everyone look deeper into the issue and do something about it.
I have gobs of information and discussion that I could quote from; but instead will just direct you to an intelligent interview with some eloquent, well researched answers between Rachel Maddow and Melissa Harris-Larwell regarding Proposition EIGHT. It really clears things up.
PLEASE, take a moment to listen to it all. It's not very long.

And so to end my rantings for this Saturday; and to help steer myself away from more days like these, I have put together EIGHT propositions of my own. Here they are:

1). To always have varied media sources.
2). To be aware of what is going on in the WORLD.
3). To always look for people who inspire me.
4). To set aside time for myself.
5). To accept the things I can not change but change the things I can.
6). To only embarrass my child when it is absolutely necessary and "for the cause".
7). To prepare weekend posts ahead of time - and -
8). To have more than one strong cup of coffee in the morning on the days that begin in the Twilight Zone!

L.