I Can't Be Quiet!

I have decided just now that the best part of being part of a site like this is the fact that I do not have to put a disclaimer on everything I say/write.  Not everybody has to like it, and not everybody has to agree, which is part of what makes things in life interesting-but we all know going in that my content here is mine-my writing, my opinion, my thoughts on everything and anything I care to write about.  What a blessing, in a world where having  strong opinions and a real, functioning brain in my head has caused me to be told, time and time again (through implied or verbal reminders!) that I need to keep my mouth shut.

 This comes up because of another web community that I belong to; I recently posted my opinion about a feeding issue with an infant and stirred up all sorts of shit with one of the other mothers.  I can and will agree that when I feel strongly about something, I generally come across as forceful, but that isn't anything that is going to change anytime soon, and I get really, really tired of having to put a disclaimer in front of everything I say that might possibly be construed as a personal attack on anyone.  Now, if I wanted to personally attack someone, I could, and quite well; however, I try not to do that simply because it isn't right for me.  In this instance, however, I can see why it might have sounded that way-because I told another woman that to withold a meal from her ten month old son because he "refuses" to feed himself is abuse.  In my opinion, it is-all kids develop differently, and to NOT feed an infant a meal because you think he should be self-feeding or holding his own bottle is terrible.  However, it is my opinion-nothing more, nothing less.  Not like I was going to stalk this woman until I got her address out of her and then called CPS to turn her in for abuse; there are different levels of abuse, anyway, and something I might see as abusive doesn't seem so to someone else.

I digress, as I tend to do when I am hot under the collar about something.  The issue here is not really the feeding issue (though it is perhaps the topic of another article); the issue as I see it is the growing trend of Americans who just want everyone to keep their mouths shut and go blissfully along in their own little world.  I hate this; I hate that the tendency to avoid issues and any kind of confrontation has turned us into a nation of imbeciles.  Honestly, do we think the problems are going to go away if we don't address them?  And why do we think that having our little corner of the world sqeaky clean and happy absolves us from having any responsibility to the rest of the country? 

Here is the way I look at it: nothing and no one is served by any one of us keeping our mouths shut.  I don't agree with accusing people of things they haven't done, nor do I agree with deliberatley causing problems for people.  However, if I say I care about my kids and my friends and the people in my life (right here and collectively), how can I in good conscience stop myself from making a comment about something that concerns me?  How can I consider myself a good citizen and teach my children to be  the same if I am constantly ignoring the warning signs around me, not just in this instance but in a larger sense?  I want to talk about it; I want to tell you that hey, I don't agree with this, and here is why, and I want you to do the same.  Maybe we will agree, maybe we won't, but how can we call ourselves a thinking people if we don't have this kind of interaction?  How can we say we are learning and living and breathing if the only opinion we listen to is our own?  I don't understand this, and never will.

I won't shut up.  I won't withhold my opinion because you might not like it.   I will not pretend that I know everything, and I might make mistakes and come across as too strong.  However, stop and listen and THINK.  You might learn something, and I might learn something from what you have to say, and I think-believe-that this is where all change begins.