Once upon a time as a teenager, a friend and I did not stand for the pledge in protest. The next class was dedicated to an hour's lecture on how criticizing the government in any way disrespects soldiers who died for our freedom. I wish I could tell him how very much I think of him every time I hear they do not do a pledge in other free countries, that we are perceived as brainwashing in doing so. Sometimes attempting to control the beliefs of others backfires.
@tippitiwichet Yes! Remember how they taught us that other "bad" countries brainwashed their people with "propaganda:. Our entire lives have been nothing but propaganda under the guise of patriotism.
@JusDucky Oh, yes. I have vague recollections of the effects of the war on drugs rattling around from school and Behind the Bastards, I'm bracing myself. Especially since I will be perusing it with the perspective of talking to money motivated people, and *sigh* trying to see their perspective so I can educate them without losing my cool. I already feel dirty.
@tippitiwichet Then this little tidbit should really throw you for a loop. Nancy was said to be known for backseat BJ's in Hollywood. She was also pregnant when she and Ronnie married. I don't care about any of that but seems like some people may have cared, given the fuss they made over Bill Clinton not too many years later.
@JusDucky Yeah, it's amazing how many people who uphold a puritanical image don't hold up to their own ideals, but still love to shame others.
@tippitiwichet You can't educate them. But it's always fun to throw facts at them. They won't believe them but Reagan did so many bad things that you will never run out of ammunition. Tanked the economy, shut down the government, busted the unions, ignored AIDS, Iran-contra, yada yada yada
@JusDucky You can't do it in one conversation, no. No one person is enough to change anyone's mind. But, I believe that enough fingerprints adds up. There have been times in my life where I believed the wrong thing, and part of how I learned was through patient people explaining things calmly. So, I hold out hope. My other option is despair. Also, I suck at keeping silent, so I figure I better figure out how to speak up more effectively.
@tippitiwichet Very true words.
@tippitiwichet I love brushing up on past events that I was vaguely aware of in my past but never really understood or cared to. Since I have been watching Derry Girls (multiple times--I still LOL no matter how many) I decided to brush up on all of that background. There are conflicts today thanks to COVID and Brexit. Reviewing this history was enlightening. Much more complex than I thought at the time. I get it now.
@JusDucky I'm finding that looking into history to homeschool is giving me things to fill my journal, and it's all the same thing, dusting off that basic education in the back of the head. Spent the last couple of days writing to myself about erroneous logic because we'll be talking about ancient Greece soon, I realized also that when we swing to the subject again in 4th grade and high school, I'll be whipping out my journal. It all fits so well. Bet I'll froth when I get to the cold war.
@JusDucky Ok, I'm assuming you can make the connection to Greece and logic, you fully seem capable, but I felt the need to clarify in specific Aristotle's laws of logic. Studying for her made it click that I've heard too many people try to fit humans into the laws to justify strict gender roles, even saying "It's just logic", but humans don't have laws governing behavior, thus psychology is a "soft science", and it is erroneous to apply the laws in the first place, but in 5 handwritten pages.
@tippitiwichet Agreed. Anyone who tries to generalize and pidgeon-hole any part of the human experience, has an agenda.
@tippitiwichet Be prepared to be appalled. Honestly, I rank Reagan right up there with trump as being a terrible president and damaging the country. He paved the way for trumpism. I think the GOP realized that you could put a spin on anything and people would buy it. Read up on Nancy while you're at it. She was no prize either.