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Oct 4 2018
What a Mess

What a week and what a mess. It’s enough to make you want to run and hide.

My role in my job changed recently and I don’t like it and I feel a little lost, I was accused of sometimes overreacting by a family member, and, at work, my opinion on something (in which I could be certified as an expert) was solicited but only adhered to after the opinions of two other people were solicited. It strongly felt like I was only correct in my advice because two other people concurred.

This may sound a little whiny but it was a rough day and such days make you feel stupid, underappreciated, and targeted. It’s one of those days where you wish that you could go on vacation– by yourself–to lick your wounds.

Today reminded me of the Kavanaugh hearings and the fallout. We have seen Senate decorum become obsolete, respected members of Congress targeted, and opinions replacing facts. Both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford have had their names and their families dragged through the muddy world of politics. I’m sure both families wish they could hide for a week just to get away from the cruelty that seemed to abound.

People with strong opinions have expressed those opinions loudly, crudely, and destructively. Many conservatives have been taken aback by this behavior because, well, it’s not what “normal” people do.

Everyone has had an opinion, from the neighbor to co-workers but how do we fix it? How do we take a step back from Defcon 1 and take it down a notch or two.

I am reminded of some rules I learned when competing on my college debate team:

First, human lives trump all other issues. We are not anonymous handles on Twitter–we are all living human beings.

Second, opinions are not facts. If it doesn’t have a citation (primary sources are best), it is only opinion and does not advance an argument or become a fact.

Third, we should not engage in ad hominem attacks. Verbally abusing people who disagree is not helpful and can incite anger and violence.

Unfortunately, it can feel like yelling in a forest–only the squirrels are listening.

 

Laura Echevarria 0 Comments
Oct 14 2017
Interests and Topics

I have a wide variety of interests both in my reading and writing. I tend to be conservative and read conservative publications but I’m not afraid to read opposing viewpoints. I love logic and debate (having debated in college), word origins, grammar, and old books.

I also love British cozy mysteries, British television, action movies, Hallmark mystery movies, old films–especially mystery comedies like “The Thin Man” or old film noir like “Laura,” classical music (especially anything with the violin), contemporary Christian music, and film scores.

THE THIN MAN, William Powell, Myrna Loy, 1934, with Asta the dog

 

My strengths are curiosity and an interest in the learning. I used to be able to recall anything I wrote down or material I read but after three kids, my brain is too muddled with other people’s schedules to remember things like the page number on which a quote appeared or the website I used as a resource for an article. Today, I have to write things down and use a program to save online references, websites, and books I use for articles.

Come back often for observations on a number of topics including politics, the media, film, and books.

 

 

 

Laura Echevarria 0 Comments