I’m not sure when reason left us. I always joke that I am a Libra and that makes me wishy washy. Actually Libras are based in justice and balance. There are only a few things that I can’t see both sides of. Child and animal abuse. Thievery. That’s about it. I actually understand while someone is racist or bigoted. I don’t respect it, but I understand that they are not accepting responsibility for their shortcomings and have chosen to vilify someone else’s race, ethnicity or culture to make themselves feel better. It’s strange to me, it worked with the Dixiecrats and it’s working now. When I was a kid we were so white bread. I just wanted some color in my world. I wanted more of the Mexican lady a couple of houses down that made tortillas by hand. I wanted more of the culture I saw in other communities. I craved that. I remember going to dinner with my cousins in New Jersey to an Orthodox Jewish home. We had to wash our feet before dinner. I went along at the time (who eats their dinner with their feet? asked my 10yo brain) and left fascinated. My brother became a huge Motown fan. Eventually, when he lived in Detroit, he attended the Rev Franklin’s church so he could hear the Reverend’s daughter sing. He was the only vanilla chip in that chocolate cookie, but he got to hear Aretha Franklin sing the gospel in her father’s church. I have never been to Detroit except the airport. I am extremely jealous that he was able to hear her sing gospel in her father’s church. (Admit it, you are too). This world is made up of so many different peoples. I lived and traveled through Europe for a bit in 78-79. I learned the best way to travel was to hang out with the locals. I traveled to Germany, Italy, France, Monte Carlo, The Netherlands, England, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was still part of the Soviet Union back then. We got our room tossed by humorless men in ill fitting suits and shiny shoes. The thing is, our differences are what spices up our lives. It’s why I zig when I should zag. I understand that over my life my resistance to conformity has hurt me a lot. But I don’t regret my chosen path. It has put me in some amazing places. I am not going to agree with anyone 100%. We need to stop expecting that from our elected officials and look for the best in each one. I watched “Knock down the House” the other night. (St. Louis should have elected Cori Bush) I don’t agree 100% with AOC. OTOH she is 100% right about not taking PAC money. And she proved it can be done. Her upbringing was a lot more colorful than mine was. I have no doubt she really loves this country and wants to make it better. I don’t agree with all of her ideas, but I am happy that someone is rocking the status quo, because what we’re doing isn’ working for a lot of Americans. My taxes went up last year. I lost a lot of deductions. And my epically shitty health insurance is costing me over $600 a month. The ACA is shitty because it did not remove the insurance companies from the equation. That is how you get health care costs down. Don’t believe the lies.