Your Voice

What will you be doing one cold day in January-the January after next, that is? January of 2017...
Odds are you'll be going about your life, worrying about mundane stuff like work, vacuuming, dishes, the laundry. You'll be living your life, as aware (or as unaware, as the case may be) as you are right now of what's going on in the world around you. You might wake up that morning and think that the world looks the same as it ever has...you might wake up thinking as you may right now that the world takes care of itself and that you're apart from that, that your life will go on...
 What you may not realize is that things will have changed and that by that point, it may well be too late for you to wake up and realize how important your voice is--your voice, that thing you've been using to tell everyone how little politics matters, how annoying it is to see political posts on Facebook when your time could be better spent doing important things like posting meaningless platitudinous memes and cute cat videos on social media, that thing you use to have mundane conversations about the weather, that you use to yell at your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, children when you're upset, that thing you use to tell people who you see day in and day out what you need...that thing you use to let people know when things aren't okay, what it is that you need in order to make them right-your voice, that thing you use to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you and that they matter, that you use to fix the relationships that need fixing. So why oh why do you insist on using this powerful, beautiful voice of yours to tell the world how little it matters? If your voice truly didn't matter, then how is it that it's worked so well for all of these years as you've sat by trying and succeeding to convince yourself that it's meaningless? Your voice has gotten you to where you are in life. It's allowed you to take and make opportunities. It's allowed you to build your world, make your life what you want it to be. Can you imagine what a difference your voice would make added to so many others? And all you have to do is show up at your polling place-take fifteen minutes out of your day once every couple of years to do that.

Why The Term THEY Bothers Me When Used To Explain Your Theory, Or, Can We Please All Agree To Stop Using "They" To Back Up Our Theories And Beliefs For Us?

 Can I just say how much I dislike the use of the term "they" when used in relation to conspiracy theories and scare tactics-or really at all for that matter, even when it comes to defending and rationalizing your own personal beliefs? I was met with statements at least three times this week of "oh c'mon Dominique, I can't believe you actually buy THAT. THAT's just what THEY want you to think." Really people? REALLY?? Let's put on our deductive reasoning and critical thinking caps, shall we? Let's slow down with the THEY talk, mkay? In fact, let's bring it to a screeching halt, because every time you use the word "they" to prop up your system of beliefs (or the specific situational belief you're trying to express and/or explain at any given time) the terrorists win. K? Thanks Obama.
 But real talk, using the term THEY in reference to some lofty group of people operating from the shadows as a source of blame for whatever is plaguing you this minute or this hour or this day is LAZY. It tells me that you can't defend or explain your own system of dearly held beliefs. It tells me that you don't know what the actual reason is behind what it is you're trying express. It tells me that you haven't put this particular belief or system of beliefs through its paces-the first (and last) of which is Occam's Razor. What is Occam's Razor, you might ask? Well, handy that I've already written about it, but for those of you who aren't up for the task of sifting through my ramblings, I'll give you the short definition, which is this: Occam's Razor is a concept used in theoretical physics that states that however many explanations you might find for a given set of circumstances or a given situation, the simplest is always the best and likely correct. If you feel yourself being drawn to use the word THEY all the time, your theory could probably do with a liberal application of Occam's Razor. Also, if you find yourself using the term THEY more than once a week (or the term THEM for that matter) in the the above way, you might just be an alien conspiracy theorist and if you are, then you're done. Go sit in the corner with your tinfoil hat. And by the way, it's not a faraday cage for your brain. You're welcome. Back to the drawing board for you. So, can we all agree to take a giant step back from the use of the term THEY for awhile?