Getting Pissy at Celebreties for Politics

 Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

Let's start out with saying I don't personally believe that celebrities should be role models, anyway. But that's technically a separate issue.

But lately I've been mulling about why people get so mad about celebrities being political, and I think I have it. 

The response is often "Their job is just to act/sing/play sports etc!!!"

Which, okay, fine. Unless they are refusing to say their scripted lines or sing the songs they are being paid for, however, that has nothing to do with what they say into a microphone or camera (that we as society collectively shove in their face as a result of their profession).

What people are essentially saying is, "THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A PERSON! They are not worthy of independent thought! Their sole function is to entertain me, and they have no worth outside of their ability to please me."

Which is a scary as fuck thing to say.

It does what people are doing all over the place in America, which is ascribing humanity based on something other than being a human.

Whether it is a celebrity dripping in diamonds and expensive clothes on a red carpet or destitute immigrant illegally crossing a border, we do not have the right to strip another human being of the title "human." We just fucking don't.

And if you want to sit there and preach at me that they did this bad thing- or, more and more lately, that they have the POTENTIAL to do this or that bad thing- look in the fucking mirror. Watch a fucking movie.

The good guys and bad guys do the SAME SHIT. 

Just on different teams. We may assign a higher morality to one side, but it's all humanity. And sometimes humanity is complete fucking garbage. But it's still humanity.

America can very easily become equivalent to Nazi Germany or current day North Korea. Because all three countries consist, and have always consisted of, humans.

Stick your fingers in your ears and sing "la la la la" all you want, but unless you step to be the absolute BEST of humanity, the worst can and easily will take over. 

And it won't be because they are "just" anything. It will be because of carelessness and hunger for power and it will all be possible because we allow people to say that other people aren't people just like us. It will be because "us" and "ours" are better than "them" and "theirs." And the reality is, we aren't.

And quick reminder to Christians- Jesus died for everyone. 

He didn't come for a specific race or country or political administration. Literally the entire damn world. So remember when you claim someone deserves something, you are literally doing it to a child of God. Whether that PERSON has accepted that or not, GOD LOVES THEM and JESUS DIED FOR THEM. And if that doesn't mean something to you, your religion is not soul-deep.

I'm not saying people who do bad things shouldn't be punished.

I'm saying- they are bad people. They are not inhumane, they are not separate from us.

They are simply the worst of what we could become, and ignoring that fact just gives them greater power and makes the best of humanity even more vulnerable.

Add It To My List: June 2018

• Julie Roberts
• Always looking for females to add to my I Love Tomatoes playlist, so when I came across a Julie Roberts duo I made a note to go look her up. Turns out, she is NOT a new artist because I totally remember seeing her songs on CMT while at my grandparent's house, which would have been at least a decade ago. Still love her, and I don't understand why she isn't more popular.
• Give a moment or two to the angry middle-aged woman
•  Wonderful post by Jana at Jana Says about the current political climate, specifically as someone who is Jewish. 
• EXPERTS ON EXPERT: Wendy Mogel
•  An episode of Dax Shepard's podcast, Arm Chair Expert, with Dr. Mogel who is an author and child psychologist. The overall messages included chilling the hell out and lowering expectations for both children and ourselves as parents. She comments how people act like the normal curve has disappeared- aka, MOST OF US ARE AVERAGE by the very definition of average so stop grading our kids and ourselves, which really spoke to me. Also I appreciated how she talked about becoming more religious and putting more Jewish practices into motion after becoming a parent and the value in those traditions and part of why they have carried on for so long (I am Christian, no Jewish affiliations in any way, just for the record and the sake of non-appropriation but some things make sense cross-culturally and even Dax who is an outspoken atheist could relate and find value in the discussion).
• Shutterfly Photobooks
• I used Shutterfly to make our adoption photobook- we had to do a book that described our life/family/home/hobbies/etc. I loved it so much and kind of got addicted...I since ordered two more and started on a third. My new goal is do one of these every year. I used to scrapbook but...this is so much easier guys! I will say, I think the hard covers, Storytelling style, and lay flat pages are worth the extra money. Shutterfly totally gets ya by sending coupon codes often, but I really do think it's worth it. 
• Z-Grip Ballpoint Retractable Pen
• I'm the kind of person who has strong opinions on pens. Felt tip pens are my favorite for the way they write, but they bleed through regular notebook paper so easily which makes them not the best for taking notes for class. I like colors but hate gel. These pens are super smooth and don't seem to clot up on the tips as badly and the color is very consistent, if that makes sense. I tried Papermate InkJoys because people just raved about them in my Bullet Journal groups, but ink didn't flow well and different letters had different thickness...it was just buggy. I wished these were thicker because I'm a freak who loves thickness in pens, but they're the best I've found so far. 
• No Boundaries Tank Top
• So I can't find a link to the exact product, but I got these awesome tank tops to work out in at Walmart. They are plan, polyester+spandex material which kind of sounds awful but is so much better than anything cotton when the heat index is 90+. They do cling a little, but I'd rather just hug the mum-tum than have something loose that falls while I'm doing mountain climbers or something. They cost like 3-4$ and for the price you can't beat them. They weren't with the workout gear but totally work anyway.

What have you been loving lately?

Contact Etiquette for Large Organizations

Photo by Berkeley Communications on Unsplash

I work at a fairly large organization, the kind that gets lots and lots of phone calls every day. I also used to work at a doctor's office where I also dealt with lots and lots of phone calls.

I have learned that most people do not understand the optimal route for actually getting returned contact.

Here's a few tips. Use them, or don't. But it would probably be beneficial to use them. And if it seems like most of them are common sense, it's because they are. Doesn't mean the world (and possibly you) doesn't need a reminder.

1. Prepare. 
• If you have a student ID, account number, error message code, etc- HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN BEFORE YOU DIAL ANYTHING. You WILL be asked for this information. It is likely how they will identify your account and see what is really going on.  
• Make sure you understand exactly what the problem is. Don't just see there is a problem and freak out and call the first number you can find/Google. This sets you up for disappointment and frustration.
2.  Call the correct department.
• Those main numbers with lots of options? They can feel like a waste. So does taking the time to actually read the email or statement to find what department you need. But you know what happens when you don't spend that little bit of time? You talk to a lot of people who don't know how to help you. You get mad, they get mad, and you are still going to get transferred. If you don't get transferred, you will be put on hold numerous times while they try to find someone who does know how to help you. At this point you are taking up valuable time from two different people. Meanwhile, the people who actually need the incorrect person you contacted are getting a busy signal or having to leave a voicemail. You're clogging the system, basically.
3. Leave a voicemail. 
• This may be one of the single most important things I can tell you. SO MANY PEOPLE call and complain "I've been calling all morning and no one has called me back." And then we look at the call log and yes, they have called 6 times in two hours. But they never left a message. No one is going to call you back without a detailed message saying who you are and WHY you are calling. 
4. Shot-gunning clogs up the system.
•  You call one office, don't get an answer, so you call another office. And another, and another. While you are doing this, 5 other people are doing it also. You know what that means? NO ONE IS AVAILABLE TO TALK TO YOU because they are talking to other people, who they probably aren't equipped to assist anyway (see previous point #2). 
• Email seems harmless, but again it does the same thing. PersonWhoCanNotAssistYou must go find PersonWhoActuallyCanAssistYou, which wastes their time. SecondPersonWhoCanNotAssistYou also eventually goes to talk to PersonWhoActuallyCanAssistYou, so PersonWhoActuallyCanAssistYou can't assist the additional people who need them. Or, more likely, they have to go find PersonWhoCanActuallyAssistSomeoneElse to take care of the messages incorrectly left for them because other people did not follow points #1 & #2.
• Call, and/or email, ONE person.
5. YOU call for YOUR business.
• Getting a parent or spouse or whoever to call for you almost certainly guarantees that you will either need multiple calls, either because they don't know all the needed information OR they don't have permission to actually do whatever you want done.