Today is my birthday, so I’ve made yet another complete revolution around the sun. It’s funny how the older you get, the less important a birthday is to a person. Unless it’s a particular milestone, whether it be a certain age or a goal to beat. As of now, I’m just trying to make it to retirement age!
I think it was back in 2017 or 2018 when I was still working at The Mothership, my wonderful office family gave me this *perfect* birthday card, knowing how much I would appreciate it. After all, we came into the office the morning after Election Day 2016 just stunned in disbelief, some of us not even knowing what to say. That silence didn’t last very long, and in our closed-door office (which was never *really* closed, and only closed for HIPPA purposes) many discussions and well-mannered debates occurred among any healthcare professional that walked into the room. As you can see, this is the lovely card … and it hung on my desk (with those same magnetic bubble clouds — sorry, Mom!) until I left. Ironically, it’s still hanging on my refrigerator door at home.
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So here’s the thing. Anyone that has known me since High School, much to my conservative parents dismay, knows I lean left. Which I find almost humorous, being a First Gen Asian-American, Filipino-Am Gen-X Catholic School Girl.
Going to 12 years of Catholic School, especially post-Vatican 21 brought me up to be open to new experiences, to learn from others and to be gracious and giving. Growing up as a Gen-Ex child taught me self-reliance and independence. It also taught me that working alongside others we can achieve a common goal.
For the past 10 years, maybe even more if I’m being honest, I’ve been watching how the balance of power in our democracy shifting. When I read about the Supreme Court Decision regarding Presidential Immunity, my heart sank. Much like it did back on Election Day 2016. Probably even worse, since now we’re talking about rewriting American Democracy.
The way I hear people talk about the downfall of American Democracy, I wonder if people understand what this means. I don’t know if anyone has the same vision in their heads as I do, or have the same imagery I have ingrained my head. It’s the way I was taught back in grade school and it has stuck with me all these years.
Over the years I’ve asked other friends if they’ve been taught how American Democracy worked in this manner, but it appears no one has. Given the events happening to American Democracy today, I figured I’d share it with you today . And I’d love to know if you’ve been taught about American Democracy the same way. Anyway, here goes:
In the first picture below, you’ll see a brown stool with three legs. Each leg is equal in size and length; and they are balancing the seat perfectly even so that when a person sits on it, they won’t feel it wobble (unlike some tables a restaurants!). It serves as a team to create a functioning product
Now imagine if one leg starts to add burden to the other two legs, what happen? The other legs start to feel the pressure and start to shorten and then the seat will start to wobble, right?
Now the other legs have choices. They can either follow the first leg and further upset the balance of seat, or continue to take the burden and still have the same outcome.
I’ve labeled the legs on the pictures just for imagery, but this is how I perceive the way things are going. The second picture of the three-legged throne? Well that’s how I see it if things continue the way they are.
Maybe this was helpful to others, maybe it wasn’t, but I figured I’d put this out there hoping that this will help safeguard American Democracy before we potentially have Another Revolution.
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- Though sometimes my Filipino parents were still on the traditional Vatican I values. ↩︎