Aging Gracefully? 

Old age is something that happens to other people. Not me. Not you. Just other random people. Maybe this aging thing is the result of some gene mutation. 

When I see pictures of myself at gatherings I wonder... how is it that my face seems to be imploding? I swear the skin from my forehead and my chin will eventually meet in the middle of my face. My best feature, (so I have been told) my blue eyes, will be lost in skin folds and I will begin to resemble a Sharpei. Makes me want to get a facelift or at least duct tape my face to the back of my neck.

The mirror is a cruel necessity. Gotta put my contacts in and put on make-up, right? Or at least comb my hair. All my friends tell me, "OH JULIE! Your white hair is BEAUTIFUL!!!" Don't color it, REALLY!!!"  I miss my blond hair. I have been mistaken for my younger friend's mother.  Now isn't that a kick in the balls, or maybe I should say a kick in the desert wasteland that used to be my vagina. 

Who needs underwear anymore? Well, ok,  maybe adult diapers when I sneeze or cough unexpectedly and can't cross my legs and bend over in time. Sometimes pee shoots out of my urethra like a firehose. But, I refuse to wear adult diapers. Not me. I play Pickleball. I am an athlete.

Right, Left, Listen

Speaking at a fundraiser for her presidential campaign in 2016, Hillary Clinton stated that half of Donald Trump's supporters belong "in a basket of deplorables"....she went on to say that "they are irredeemable...and they are not America." 

Continuing, Clinton stated that the "other basket of (Trump supporters) are people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they’re just desperate for change."

Clinton's audience was democrats and her purpose was to raise funds for her campaign. She was simply rallying her constituency. She was defining the terms of the battle.  A political move that became central to the media's definition of the H Clinton candidacy. She couldn't get past it. She could not recover from it. 

In hindsight, that makes perfect sense. You cannot identify an entire segment of the American population as "irredeemable" (racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic..) and expect that to sit well.  Half of a basket of people, right?! That feels like a lot of Americans. 
On the other hand, she wanted to raise up marginalized people: black, brown, LGBTQI, and non-christian religious groups. Her intention, (rightfully so) was to reject division and embrace equity. 

Unfortunately, her strategy created enormous divisions. You cannot reject one segment of the population and embrace another segment without creating division. She divided Americans. 
We cannot throw away any American. We cannot tolerate hate from any part of our populace. We must respect those with whom we disagree. 

We must listen to their thoughts and opinions. We must. 

Listening to the viewpoints of others is central to our democratic system.  It is a basic tenant. It is a requirement. Without listening, we devolve into a polarized society.  When that happens, emotions rise and our ability to process logical thought is compromised.  At our worst, we  become violent. We have become violent. 

We are better than this. Our country needs us to be better than this.