We All have Something to Say

The birth of an opinion is complex

It comes from the gut

Shaped by beliefs, values and experience

There exists no human life devoid of hypocrisy

I get it!

I also know that within the universe of each individual

Who walks this Earth

There are conflicting drives

The good cop and bad cop

Sitting with pride on opposite shoulders

Despite this

Most of us latch on to one side of an issue

Hold it tightly

Push an opinion to influence friends and family

Or sound off on social media

I am no innocent here

Of late, I force myself to watch FOX News alongside CNN

Flip channels for ten or fifteen-minute chunks of time

Curious about what the hell makes the other side tick

To consider how passions can become twisted

Finessed into a blustering “stand”

I’ve begun to see some overlap between the two extremes

Contrasted with the scorching “dis” between the parties

The venomous words tossed from one bank to the other

Yes, I admit that I heavily lean to one side

And I believe it’s the good side

Voraciously embracing my political beliefs and principles

Which I feel represent the freedoms I think are right, fair, compassionate

Yet just before I drift off to sleep late at night

Staring up through the skylight above my bed

At the bright moon and twinkling stars

I find myself braiding the two distant political agendas and convictions

I dream of working in Congress or at the House

Where I eagerly reach across the aisle

Offer a handshake, an elbow bump, a head nod

To my opponents

Offer an open ear

A willingness to understand the underlying motivations

This practice before I fall off to sleep

Has given me a thin slice of inner peace

Like a mini-meditation

That allows my mind to float

Explore the possibilities

Imagine the potential

Of two sides coming together

In truth

Though

I still remain a hypocrite

 


 

Linda S. Gunther is the author of six suspense novels: Ten Steps From The Hotel Inglaterra, Endangered Witness, Lost In The Wake, Finding Sandy Stonemeyer, Dream Beach and Death Is A Great Disguiser. Her essays and short stories have been featured in a variety of literary publications. www.lindasgunther.com

 


 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

40 Units

  “ You take forever to order just like with everything else, you haven’t changed at all have you?” A familiar voice with an unfamiliar face calls from behind. A long-lost friend welcomes unfamiliar emotions. We stare at each other in silence because I don't want to have small talk. I know her life ain’t easy, and at the same time, I still fall into the same small talk I desperately want to avoid. Cause just looking at her I know it’s not easy. Taking care of four kids by herself while working at Church's chicken ain’t nothing to even smile about. But I still ask her “How's everything” because I have no clue what else I should say to you. I want to make a joke, cause you know me as a class clown but life is no joke, and I know that better than anyone. Life's not fair in the slightest and I’ve always known that from being in foster care. Yet even I didn’t think life could be so cruel to just steal Rufina’s life from her. You tell me about how tough things ha...
Read more

Childcare

Image
Originally published in https://fiftywordstories.com/2023/12/27/derek-mcmillan-childcare/ Tom was a very badly behaved lad. Dick was frankly a demon. Their parents were careful to keep quiet when they were in the cradle. Harry’s parents were forever playing their Rod Stewart records. He was a very well-balanced child. Perhaps if you spare the Rod you spoil the child. Derek McMillan is a writer in Durringon in the UK. His editor is his wife, Angela. He has written for print and online publications in the UK, USA and Canada. His latest work is the cheerfully- entitled audio-book "Murder from Beyond the Grave" which is available on eBay. Check it out. Click Here
Read more

Demons

Image
Demons cannot do harm in real life. In dreams and reveries? Untold damage. People in the village were saying that the girl I met on the common was a demon. They seemed pretty certain about it too. This was ridiculous. Erica had long blonde hair and blue eyes. In those days all demons were foreigners and she did not look like a foreigner. Even so, I got her to swear blind that she was not a demon. "Do I look like a demon?" "No." "Well then." "So you're not?" "No, Tony, I am not a demon. I could swear on a Bible." She did and the Bible did not burst into flames either. The village was Sodbury but Erica actually came from Nether Sodbury which was a twenty minute walk away. Nobody in Sodbury ever went there. To say that Erica haunted my dreams would make her sound sinister. Let's just say that I haunted my own dreams with images of Erica. My family would not countenance a marria...
Read more