ericadawn16 | Fuck these midterm elections.

Current Mood: Devastated but trying to be Hopeful
Current Location: My Mom's Living Room
Current Music: The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Fuck these midterm elections.

Every time I thought it couldn't get worse, it did. Now all of my life, except for Bill Nelson and Barack Obama, are controlled by Republicans. The only silver lining is that the Pro-Environment Amendment passed and everything was SUPER close so Florida has more progressives than they give us credit for, but...

Fuck.

Frodo : I can't do this, Sam.

Sam : I know.
It's all wrong
By rights we shouldn't even be here.
But we are.
It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo.
The ones that really mattered.
Full of darkness and danger they were,
and sometimes you didn't want to know the end.
Because how could the end be happy.
How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened.
But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow.
Even darkness must pass.
A new day will come.
And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
Those were the stories that stayed with you.
That meant something.
Even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand.
I know now.
Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t.
Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo : What are we holding on to, Sam?

Sam : That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

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That certainly is not acceptable, I'll grant you that for sure. I saw that particular one during the big teacher union strike in Wisconsin and the recall election of Scott Walker. Those kinds of tactics are not nice, and they certainly didn't work in Wisconsin.

That is one of the cruxes of the ACA; it's cheaper to pay the penalty and not get insured, so where's the benefit in that?

I'm definitely not saying you didn't vote, just encouraging you to continue to do so, and don't give up. I know it's hard when you think you're not being heard, but if you (I mean in the general sense, everyone) stop voting, you will definitely not be heard.

In some states, absentee ballots don't need any reason. In others, I guess you have to file a particular reason (as if you know you're going to be sick on election day!).

It's true, many people don't know how government works. It's strange, because many people have to pass a "Constitution Test" to go on to high school. Believe me, it doesn't delve into the specifics, nor do we discuss what those words mean.

Absolutely, nothing gets done because the peripheral issues are what the government argues about, issues that really shouldn't even be a part of the discussion. Those are private matters, and it is not the government's place to legislate against them, nor does it serve our country.

It is hard to not get discouraged with voting, and I appreciate the push to remember it does matter and does make a difference. I'm so damn pissed Scott Walker won again.

I really think a good chunk of voters vote for who they always have or buy into some of the hate being spewed. But that's probably me being cynical.

I had a FANTASTIC government course in High School that went into a lot of what things actually mean but most people I talk to know they have a right to free speech (which despite what they think doesn't actually entitle them to be harmful to others all the time) and the right to bare arms because heaven forbid we have less guns in this country.

I was stunned that when the assault rifle ban was about to elapse it got ONE mention on ONE news program 24 hours before it did and most of the coverage was of how the gun companies were gearing up to start production runs the moment it ran out.

Then again though, I feel I went to a great HS because I DID have a class that taught me, how to balance a check book, the difference between a charge card and a credit card, how to justify (check) my balance vs. my bank statement AND how to do my taxes.

I don't recall the taxes part but we did have a catch-all class called Life Management that taught about the check book and finances and things like that.

That's why I encourage. It's not just a right, it's a responsibility and and obligation to do so. A good chunk of voters gave up and didn't vote. At least you know you gave it your best shot.

I'm glad you went to such a great HS; they used to teach all of that routinely way back when I was in school, but now I find myself teaching my own children these life skills that they wouldn't otherwise get.

I mentioned on my Facebook about schools teaching life skills...I also wish now that had included things like fixing things around the house and car. My mom and I just learned a couple of years ago how to re-set the fuses. We honestly thought all the electric would need a major repair because nothing worked.

However, when I mentioned this on my Facebook, I got jumped on by several Republican friends who said that wasn't the school's responsibility, it was the PARENTS responsibility. Obviously, my mom couldn't teach me what she didn't know herself, but whatever, I guess they don't see it that way.

Guess I was lucky in that department. My father taught me how to handle basic repairs, sewing, embroidery, needlepoint and crochet, as well as basic cooking. If I don't know how to do a repair, I'll watch a repair person and ask tons of questions so the next time I can handle it myself. That said, I do know my limits.

Schools used to have a "vocational" track, but I don't know if they taught just basic repairs or focused on things like auto repair and other job related items. I think some states are beginning to recognize the lack in these skills, which is causing a lack in a skilled labor force, so they are working more closely with companies requiring these skills, since that's where many of these jobs are. They would teach basic skills in order to work up to the skills needed because apparently, that's where many jobs are. The ability to do calculus doesn't necessarily enable one to do these jobs.

Practical skills in all areas are important. If parents can teach them, that's great, but there's always more to be learned. Also, there's often too much emotional investment when parents try to teach their children. The children often learn better from an objective third party like a teacher because they aren't rebelling.

My high school did have a vocational track when I attended.

I learned sewing from a sort of Home Ec course in middle school.

I learned cooking for a "Nutrition and Wellness" course which was Home Ec in high school...although I feel cooking at restaurants for work taught me more, hehe.

I took "Principles of Construction" and loved it. I learned all the construction tools, but I never had room in my schedule after that.

I did seriously consider the Auto Shop class but several trusted teachers told me that the females were coddled and not actually taught anything in it so I didn't.

I never took Calculus, hehe. There is a movement to try and making Computer Coding satisfy one of the Math requirements which would be awesome.

Due to budget cuts, I'm not sure how much of the vocational track has survived. The state and federal governments had so much money tied to STEM classes. Plus, now, in order to hire less teachers, all the students are required to have a certain amount of classes online.

That's a very good point about the problems of parents teaching kids. I know I had a problem when I was first learning to drive because I couldn't stand my mom being in the care with me. It made me too nervous.

I won't even say how long I lasted in the car when my first child started learning to drive, OK, so it was probably less than a second before I told him to pull over. With the second child, I wouldn't subject him to that, same will come with the third.

I took a Home Ec cooking & nutrition course. Because of kosher issues, I couldn't cook much of the stuff, and I certainly couldn't eat any of it.

I did take calculus (and differential equations, for the fun of it). As to how much of it I use today, well, none of it.

I never had a constitution test. We studied Florida history in 4th and 8th grades. Then, 12th grade was split between Government and Economics. However, since my class was doing the AP Government exam, we only covered about six weeks of actual economics AND it was taught by a true Libertarian.

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