Hate those little green people

I keep going back and forth this morning on what I wanted to write about. I should do another gardening post, but another blogger and something I saw on the news have my attention.

I was flipping through the channels when a woman on some news channel caught my attention.

I can be flaky at times {or says my husband} but this woman was off the charts. I felt so sorry for her and her ability to cling to her hatred. She was yelling and spiting as she did so. Her anger could be seen in her muscles and tendons. She wouldn't allow the other's on the panel to talk, and when she did, she could only personally attack the speaker or rehash something she had just said. It was painful to watch, but I suddenly turned into a rubbernecker, and found myself entranced into watching her tirade. At one point you could see her fist clench as though she was going to hit the speaker next to her.

You are probably wondering what the topic of discussion was. Abortion? Animal rights? Human rights? No, those things I can understand why people get so emotional about. This woman was seething over environmentalism and the fact that Al Gore won an Oscar.

I do not see a reason to disclose this woman's political affiliation due to the fact that it would seem as though I am lumping them together. I know many people in the same party that are not like this woman.

She continued to say that Gore was a hyprocrit {this was before the national media started asking that question} To be honest I have not seen An Inconveinent Truth, and have no plans to see it anytime soon. So I have no opinions on that movie, nor Mr. Gore's lifestyle. What I do know of Mr. Gore is that he is trying, and just in making an attempt has always been great in my books. We all make mistakes, we all have our imperfections. I have cheated when it comes to homesteading. Sometimes you just get so tired and overwhelmed that a quick fix helps things along. Yet even with my cheating, I'm still trying to do my best.

I really do not care if Mr. Gore flys in private jets. I drive an F150, yes, gas guzzler, and that won't change until I can get some draft horses and a wagon. My husband builds motorcycles for a living. My household consumes energy daily. My house is an old mobile home, my computer is not green. I use propane and have a lagoon. I have a personal library, the books use paper. I am building a log home {will talk about the differences in log vs conventional homes later} We use a gas powered rottotiller. And I collect various things that may have been produced over seas. My point is, unless you are living primitively, you will never be completely one with the enviroment. Small steps lead to larger changes. And I for one could never hate someone because they are not flawless.

As a community consumerisim is important. As consumers it is important to spend our money in places that have the same or close to, beliefs as we do. I buy groceries from a locally owned store, yet most of their products are not from local manufactors. I grow and raise most of my food, and not because of my impact on the environment, that is just a perk. I homestead because of money and because I enjoy the work. I never intended to say otherwise. I shop at a farmer's market when it is season. Yet some of these farmers come from over 100 miles to sell their wares. I will not chastize them for this. We as individuals decide the fate of our lives by our actions. We have always bought and traded for things. It is part of survival, yet this woman talked as though she worshiped this golden money cow. I fear she was never taught the difference between a need and a want.

I could have turned out differently. I came from a home with many things, then I had nothing. And once again I find myself in a place where I can have many things. Sometimes there is that urge to buy, just so I could have it. When you have nothing because it's been forced that way, you {I mean I} tend to want. Having things and having money is so much simpler then having nothing. Somewhere my wires became crossed and I decided that I didn't need the things that I wanted, I wanted the things I needed.

This woman, I do feel sorry for her, seemed to be the type that buys her wants. She came across as someone without a compassionate bone in her body. She is the antitheses of what I want to be. And for that I am glad she is around. I needed someone like her to show me that I am not insane for choosing my lifestyle. I am not that angry. Would I be if I had chosen to go the other way?

The woman I am talking about is not a rarity. There are many like her out in the world. I would love it if she could calm down for just a moment so that she could tell me way she hates people like me so much. I do not lecture, and I never cared for people that are the End of the Word types. No one can force you to be greener, and their decisions to do so will have little impact on your life if you will it that way.

By the end of the program I felt sad for her. She is too wrapped up in the off chance that she will lose her way of life because of one movie, because of one man. How horrible it must feel to be that paranoid.

Update on my father: he came through the surgery just fine. They are hoping to get him off the ventilator sooner then they had previously told us. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.