“Harry Reid has decided to trigger the nuclear option.”

And about time! I am so tired of all the back and forth arguing, the posturing and threatening. The thought that someone was doing something, anything, to try to fix our broken system was a huge relief. Fist pumping in the air, I listened as the political pundits debated this move by the Senate majority leader.

And then I became depressed. Perhaps it is my own failing… needing a right answer, an answer that will make everyone happy. At my age I should know this doesn’t exist. And yet I hope. I hope that rather than this partisan bickering we could find a way toward personal and interpersonal peace. When I hear the word War it makes me think of fighting on a battlefield or in a foreign country. But war is waged, every day within each of us.

We really don’t have to look any further than so many family Thanksgiving dinners. Even without the conflict that families bring, our own  internal debates about the best way to keep the mashed potatoes warm can be the like a little Normandy.

Peace is warm and fuzzy… it is our rose colored image of what Thanksgiving should be. But, somewhere between that image and the reality of pulling together 7 different dishes, kids and adults, silverware and stemware, I usually lose it. My Zen calm goes up in flames like the yams placed too close to the broiler.

As the holiday approach, as we consider the 150 years since Gettysburg, the 50 years since JFK was assassinated, the year since we lost
those precious lives at Sandyhook Elementary, may we find a new resolve to fill our lives with peace, within ourselves and with our  neighbor.

Do you have any good tricks for maintaining peace in the midst of strife? I’d love to hear your comments on this or any of my blog posts. And to prove it, I am going to pick one lucky commenter during the month of November and donate $10 to the charity of their choice. Just leave a comment for any of my blogs and then check back at the end of the month to see if you have won. 

“… (It) is like going to your credit card company after you’ve maxed out and saying- I’m
not going to change my spending, I’m not going to spend less, but I want you to raise the rate.” Tom Cole (R) Oklahoma

Yesterday Alex Wagner had Oklahoma State Rep., Tom Cole (R) on to discuss the possibility of default on the U.S. debt. His point was in reference to asking Democrats to negotiate over the debt ceiling. Giving him the benefit of the doubt that he meant ‘raise the limit’ NOT ‘raise the rate’ (which will indeed happen if we default), it seemed like a fair point.

But wait!

Blame whomever you wish, the bottom line is that the congress has had a chance to reach a budget agreement for months (since the sequester went into effect, March 1st in fact.) And yet they failed to come together to resolve this and put in place a real budget.

And, what about that sequester? How’s that going? Check the numbers and you will see that the budget is already at lower spending levels than the majority of either party proposed back when they were attempting to resolve this a year ago. Unlike the congressman’s example, we may not like how we got here, but the federal government has been placed on a financial diet. (So feel free to begin referring to last year’s Super Committee as the Jenny Craig of Federal Spending.)

Where does that leave us, then? I don’t know about you, but I am scared. The politicians so far seem unable to acknowledge the harm they are inflicting. And I don’t care how many resolutions they pass to bring select government employees out of furlough, all I see are the kids unable to go to Head-Start, or the families who can’t pay for their housing this month because of a lack of housing assistance.

It is not right. Conservatives claim that government is too big and these things should be handled by private organizations, like churches or non-profits. Show me where that is happening right now. Please, really, show me. I would like to know that these people who suffer are getting more than a 10% discount on their hamburger. I’d like to think that people, other than Colbert, are stepping in to provide the services that are not available because congress can’t accept that they already made a mistake by letting it get this far.

And liberals, stop making this about winning some game. The first rule of negotiation is NOT to back your opponent into a corner. The right is claiming you won’t negotiate. We know that there is room for agreement outside of the two crises that face us. So stop letting your rhetoric block in both sides. It is not helpful!

Tom Cole is an excellent example that things are not always black and white. I hope everyone can see that there are many, many colors that make up our country and each of them have a story. Listen!

I’m done with my rant now… but you may have something to add. I love to hear comments- I just ask that you
keep them civil and fact based. 

And, to prove how much I love hearing from you I will be giving away a copy of my book, UNTANGLING THE KNOT, to one lucky commenter in October. Leave a comment for any of my blog posts and at the end of each month I
will randomly select one  visitor/commenter to receive a free download of my book. (Note: winner will be notified by a reply linked to their original comment…. Check back at the end of the month for directions on how to claim your prize!)

NOTE: September is now over; thanks to everyone for your fun comments. I have chosen the winner of BETTING JESSICA from the names of those who commented during the month. Congratulations JENNY HANSEN. Please send me and email at dwilstedauthor (at) outlook (dot) com and let me know where I can send your digital copy:>)