I get it, but I don’t *get* it

I openly admit to it being my own fault. I knew I shouldn’t have done it, and I did it anyway.

I read the comments.

After a June spent jaunting off to any place that wasn’t my house, I had delusional ideas of coming home in July, pumped by all my various activities, and accomplishing wonders of artistic feats. The fact that I truly believed this was possible proves that either I have astounding wells of optimism in the face of adversity, or that I am in dire need of psychiatric care. I have done just as much running around in July as in June, only this time in town. I have once again affirmed that single parents, stay-at-home parents, and parents who actually manage to work from home with children around are true super heroes. I don’t know how you all do it.

Which means that in between running my child to wherever she needs to go, there hasn’t been much time to settle into painting. There has, however, been plenty of time to wander the internet on my phone in all those 5 minute chunks that seem useless for anything else.  With the national budget battle being all over the news for the past few weeks, with its proposed cuts to Medicaid and Planned Parenthood, there have been a lot of conversations going on. While I can mentally understand the process behind some of the opinions that are opposite to my own, I simply do not *get* it.

Here is my summary of many of the conversations I have been reading:

My brain breaks down at all the people who feel that because their opinion is the “one, true, and right way”, that they should get to determine the choices and options available for other people, while at the same time denying they have any responsibility for the outcomes that result from those choices  and options. I have a problem, no matter what the topic of discussion, with anyone who says ”I am right, this is the way it shall be, but YOU have to deal with all the consequences–I’m blameless”. That isn’t how the concept of “personal responsibility” works.

As someone who supports Planned Parenthood’s efforts to provide affordable birth control, testing, and education, I admit to being unashamedly biased in their favor. Why? Because of conversations like this:

Which is, unfortunately, a true conversation between teenage boys that was overheard by a friend of mine. We live in a world where many think that if we deny our children accurate information about how their bodies work they won’t have sex, leaving the field open for them to learn about sex through the porn industry (Watch this TEDx Talk by Gail Dines. It’s eye opening).

I don’t get it.

Since I had a rare, calm weekend, I was finally able to work on some more comics (see above), and I once again look forward in the next few weeks with dreams of artistic achievements. Not next week. The week after that. I’m almost sure. 😉