Day #3

What is something you feel strongly about?

WARNING: Some of these talking points may be controversial to some, so proceed with caution. I'm not looking for a fight, just answering a question honestly...

I'm going to go with bullet points and explanations on this one, because I can think of quite a few:

• Animals
• As most of you should be aware of by now, I'm a huge cat lover. I will advocate for their awesomeness until the day I die! But really, I feel strongly about animals in general, and in their well-being. Did you know that Idaho is one of only 3 states where animal abuse is not considered a felony? It's terrible and something that needs to be fixed. I really want to make the time to start volunteering at a shelter, because I'm sure I'd love my time there. If I could, I'd adopt a whole bunch of shelter cats! Even better, if we somehow come into a pile of money later in life, Chris and I have discussed creating a cat sanctuary. A nice place they can come to live out their days in peace. That would be amazing.

• Health Matters, Not Weight
•  I've discussed this topic before on the blog, about our need as a society to stop hating ourselves and our looks. It is practically a rule that if you are a woman, you have to want to lose weight no matter what size you are. Even if you're a size 2, you could still become a size 0 because Lord knows, the smaller you get, the better you are. This is a cycle that we teach our kids, when we are critical of ourselves in front of them. It is something that needs to stop. I think you should take pride in your appearance and put yourself together, but if you're in the double digit sizes, that doesn't make you any less of a person or any less beautiful. I believe in health, and you can be healthy at many sizes. You can also be very unhealthy when you are rail thin. We need to stop putting so much emphasis on weight and beauty as the things that make a person valuable.

• Equality
• I believe strongly in equality, and by that I particularly mean equality for the LGBT community. I have been known to de-friend people on Facebook over this issue, including one cousin. I can't deal with intolerance anymore. If you want to have your religion, that's completely fine, but how does it effect you if gay marriage is legalized? No one is going to force YOU to go marry someone of the same gender. Live and let live. If you want the lefties to leave your religious rights alone, then leave their freedoms alone. This nation was founded on the whole ideal of freedom, so these big religious groups trying to force their beliefs on the country makes me sick. The same could be said for women's rights. I could not believe how anti-woman the Republican party sounded this last election cycle. There was a bill going through Idaho to force women who wanted an abortion to have a vaginal ultrasound first. Why? Because it might make them change their minds? Most likely it won't and it just causes more psychological grief to the woman. There were politicians out there saying that abortions should be illegal, even in the case of rape.  Remember this gem from Richard Mourdock?: "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." Ugh. Just ugh. Wonder if he'd feel the same way if he had to switch places with a rape victim who became pregnant. It's easier to say that as a man, isn't it?

• Gun Regulations
• I know I might get some heat on this one, being from Idaho, but this whole argument going on right now over gun rights is sooooooooooo ridiculous!! When the bill was first being discussed to ban assault weapons and clips with more than 10 rounds, I heard some co-workers discussing how that shouldn't pass. I couldn't help myself and went to ask them to please explain why they would be against that. Why do you need an assault weapon in your home? Why do you need a clip with more than 10 rounds? If you aren't up to anything illegal, I see no reason why those regulations should bother you. One of them told me some statistic about it taking 3 bullets to stop someone and what if 4 people broke into her house one night? The other said it was about restricting freedoms. At that point, I had to ask how the right wing people could use that as a justification for denying gun regulations but felt perfectly fine restricting gay people's right to marry or women's right to choose. It is completely hypocritical. Those regulations were buried, which isn't surprising, but what shocks me is how the bill requiring universal background checks to purchase a gun could be blocked. WHAT POSSIBLE REASON IS THERE TO OPPOSE THAT??! It seems like there is some kind of multiple person shooting every week in this country and we need to do something to stop it. I will never personally own a gun, but if you want to have a handgun, fine. What do you need an AK-47 for? While we are on the subject, why oh why would you teach your children under 10 years of age to go shoot a gun?? To go shoot groundhogs?? Seriously, tell me why you would want to teach your child that it is okay to shoot a harmless animal? Obviously I'm against hunting, but it's at least arguable as being legit if you eat the meat, etc. Do you think people who shoot those groundhogs eat them? I highly doubt it. So you are teaching your kids to go out and kill animals for no other reason than as a "fun activity."

I think I am going to stop here. If I continue, I may just alienate even more of you than I already have. As you can see, I've grown to hold some strong opinions in the last couple of years. I'd love to find ways to actively help pursue changes I'd like to see in our country, so if you know of any opportunities, please let me know.