RANT OF THE DAY . . . MONTH . . . YEAR . . . . . .
Well folks, I guess I'll give you my take on the "Subaru" driving individual with the bumper sticker that says "DRAFT SUV DRIVERS FIRST".
It's so convenient to take a unique, complex, and unknown human being driving next to you and turn them into a simplistic, single-identity "BAD" person for the sake of indulging in one's own belief system and ego. After all, we all know that SUV drivers are greedy, selfish, a**holes who could give a damn about the rest of the world and take pleasure in indulging in stupidity.
Well, I happen to know of a few SUV owners, and they tend to look like this:
Woman, mother of four kids, volunteer, who takes in stray, unwanted animals (and reptiles!) and keeps them until homes can be found. Often hauls hay bales, cases of goods from Costco for donation, and other people's kids for community work. In other words, bad person who drives SUV and ought to be drafted.
Woman, artist, mother to an only child, wealthy philanthropist who donates thousands of dollars to the teens and children in her community knowing that her own child will never use these resources. Often uses SUV to take groups of kids to performances and venues around town to expose them (priviledged kids) to people and places that broaden their perspective of the world (people of less material means, but invaluable talent and worth) In other words, bad person who drives SUV and ought to be drafted.
Man, successful business person, father of four boys, who faithfully attends Sunday services and donates time, money, ideas, and his family's home for fund raisers to help their church and it's charitable outreach program. In other words, bad person who drives SUV and ought to be drafted.
And then there is me, CRAZY ASS SUV driver, single mom, who hauls amps and guitars for a budding and talented, enormously generous 14 year old kid, who makes good grades, does community service and is acutely aware of his world and his responsiblity in it, and his disabled brother (who brings along various (sometimes large) items that make him feel safe, including other humans that mercifully help him navigate the strange world called Earth. I am guilty of the crime of driving an offensive vehicle, and I am also a bad person who ought to be drafted.
Yes, I'm the first to admit that the guy driving "monster-truck" raised HUMMER who peeled out using what would seem to be 70,000 gallons of gas in just ten feet right in front of me, risking my life (and his) was just an unconscious and idiotic person in that moment. He was. But is he a BAD PERSON? I guess I'd say I don't really know. I don't know him, his world, his past, his future. I don't like his behavior in this moment, but I wouldn't want him to have a stupid bumper sticker on his vehicle stating "SEND SUBARU DRIVERS TO HEAVEN" just because of the car that they drive.
Come on . . . what do any of us know other than our own small worlds? At any given moment, we just might find ourselves faced with another human being who is just . . . human, beautiful, and flawed. Our lives are unfathomable to one another.
CHIRP
We have an addition to the household. A little bird has fallen from it's nest onto our front walk, and is unable yet to fly. We have rescued the tiny fuzzball, and it is now chirping away inside the cat carrier. We have fed it hummingbird food with a little dropper (the very same hummingbird food that the Hungarian Nanny insisted upon TASTE TESTING HERSELF - eeeew). I think that if it chirps any harder it's going to pass out. Or I'm going to lose my mind.
