Hello lovelies.

I know I have disappeared again, but I am having a really difficult time trying to write posts that don’t add more negativity into this really scary world we seem to be living in.

I swear the divide between Gen X and millennials has gotten smaller, and what brings us together are the words, “I miss the 90s.” I miss there being less technology and more human interaction. I miss people being willing to talk to each other and try to find a middle ground instead of just attacking each other for our differences. I’m not in any way trying to say the world was perfect back then, but it did feel more hopeful and a whole lot easier.

If I had to pinpoint when things really changed politically in America, I would have to point to the election of 2000. The closeness of the election in Florida, the confusion of butterfly ballots and hanging chads, the lack of uniform standards for the recount and the questionable Supreme Court decision have all combined to make people distrusting of elections.

I just finished reading Bush v Gore by Charles Zeldon in the hopes of understanding what went wrong. The beginning of the book presents a nonpartisan view of what happened, how the case got to the Supreme Court and the processes that are in place that should have been used instead. The last chapters are a bit more skewed. They list sketchy republican tactics of gerrymandering and voter suppression as direct correlation to the 2000 election.

Gerrymandering happens on both sides and is more about control than protecting the people. Voter suppression by moving voting precincts is deplorable and the people doing this should be held accountable. Requiring picture I.D. feels like less of an issue though. I need a license to drive. Most jobs want a copy of your I.D. You need I.D. to exercise your right to bear arms or to travel on a plane. Instead of playing the blame game, why not work together to help Americans get their I.D.s and make them feel like the government is actually working for the good of the people?

I will vote in my local elections in August and again in November. I haven’t given up on the American dream. I can only hope that the people we elect follow through on their promises.