i am a believer
i am an American
i am white-skinned
i am a college graduate
i am married, to one man
i work at home on the farm
i feed beef cattle to feed people
i am a home owner and land owner
i am conservative in my political views
are these statements provocative?
unacceptable, politically incorrect?
should i apologize to the world?
do we really believe in tolerance?
does diversity respect equally?
i want to listen and learn
i may disagree but that
does not mean i hate
yes, i am privileged
to love & be loved
to also bleed red
i thank God for
his blessings
every day;
you?
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. (Psalm 16:6)
a poem in my pocket 
Oct 25, 2019 @ 04:02:20
Well expressed and no apologies needed.
Oct 25, 2019 @ 11:06:42
I appreciate your comment!
Feb 21, 2019 @ 12:56:18
This line
“does diversity respect equally?”
That, for me, is the crux of it all. We all lie within a patchwork quilt….we can disagree and do so respectfully. Dividing by deliberately talking about “us” and “them” or by fear mongering is not acceptable.
When my daughter (now 44) was 16, she flew to Germany for a year as a foreign exchange student. I suddenly had a new understanding of geography — Europe is made up of many countries….each small in the amount of space it takes up….each with a different culture and language. Here in the United States of America, we stretch across a vast amount of space and try to be united…of course there are different cultural aspects in terms of food, colloquialisms, choice of shoes even (I’ve always wanted a pair of cowgirl boots!)….and now add into that the melting pot of immigration that actually began when folks moved here to live on Native American land….and one can understand the difficulty of making this vast amount of land and people “united.”
Ah….see how you’ve got me thinking here? The mark of a good writer!
Feb 21, 2019 @ 20:46:02
I’m glad you shared your thoughts, Lillian! Yes, diversity in unity means mutual respect but it’s hard to undo the disrespect that’s part of the past. If we can think of ourselves as one race (human) or as citizens of one nation (America or another), that may unite us. Thanks for moving this discussion along 🙂
Feb 20, 2019 @ 18:24:56
Smiles.. Conservative and Liberal
Are Written in all of the Animal
Kingdom Including Humans
For there Will
Always
Be
the ‘Sitters’
And ‘Rovers’
And Smiles my
Friend Lynn It’s
True Ya Can’t Fall
off the Cliff if Ya Stay
in the Cave there is
A Safety to Being Conservative
And a Freedom to Moving Away
From ‘the Desert’
And to be
Clear that’s/
This Is Just a Metaphor
i Still Live in ‘the Desert’
And The Beach And Get along
‘Just Fine’ With the ‘Desert’ Natives..
Too.. True though.. i Leg Press 1340 LBS
And Really Weigh 243 LBS Some Days..
No ‘Farm Boy’.. Now at Least
Threatens me Not to Cry
or Smile these Days as
That’s what the
‘Onward
Christian
Soldiers’
Tried to Tell
me in School and
Yes i go to Church
Every Sunday for i
Continue to Forgive ‘them’ for not ‘Feeling’ Love.
Love is a Garden if it is Not Served With Real Love
Felt Given and Shared it Does Not Exist And No NEVER
No i Will NOT Vote For Anyone who Goes Against Every
Single Verse of the Beatitudes for i Believe in That Teaching..
And on the
Other
Hand
i Still Love
Those Who Do
Smiles; Obviously With Smiles..
But it’s True if You Really Wanna
Become a Loving Man Where i Live
in Yes ‘Trump Town’ LA Lower Alabama
Florida Panhandle You Practically have to
Become ‘Super Man’
to do it
as Lord
Knows
‘Being
Jesus’ might
Get You ‘Crucified’
in So Many Ways Still
if You couldn’t Back Your Love Up
With a Sword of Guns and Arms that are not Metal..
That ‘You’ Will Never Have to Use As “A Real Man” And Not A ‘Gun Substitute’.
Note: Real Alpha Male Leaders Cry (Have Empathy) and Pet Dogs in the White House And Somewhere in the Bible it Suggests We Expose Those Anti-to-Love-too.. Nah
i am Not
Afraid Now
to Discern..
Either.. My Friend
Lynn.. And it’s not even
The Very End Yet With Smiles..
Winks.. i Always have at Least a
‘Few Words’ When Folks ask ‘You’?..;)
Feb 20, 2019 @ 18:53:38
Oh yes, I asked for this (all?)…and you came through, my friend, with love in your manly heart. I like to “play it safe” but I believe the beatitudes too…Jesus’ teaching was/is radical! Now to LIVE it…
Feb 20, 2019 @ 18:55:51
SMiLes.. Much
Love to You
My FriEnd
Lynn For
Without
Love We Are
Nothing At ‘All’..:)
Feb 20, 2019 @ 19:06:33
Amen!
Feb 20, 2019 @ 19:07:32
X2🙌😃
Feb 20, 2019 @ 16:08:01
Lynn,
I just read the comments where several folks said something to the effect of :
“rather respect each other’s views.”
I think this is a meaningless platitude.
If you believe abortion is wrong, and another feels killing fetuses is OK, how do you respect that opinion.
If you believe sending our young people to die on foreign land under the feigned propoganda of “freedom” but instead they want your children to die for oil or gas or trade lines — How the hell do you respect that?
If you feel your Jesus has to make a touchdown on the Temple of the Mount in Jerusalem so he can rule 1000 years so you need to support the embassy change to Israel and back Israel being a Jewish Nation and kick Muslims out or make them powerless because that is how your Evangelical faith (my former faith) believes — How do I respect that if I see it as part and parcel of thousands of dead and many more suffering in the Middle East and the cause of wars and death of possibly our loved ones?
Respect? What, do I smile and say, “I respect your opinion? and do everything I can to undo their efforts of legislation and their way of life that I feel brings very bad things? Is that respect?
“Respect” is a word I guess means to please attack quietly.
What do you think about those responses. Do you think those folks respect your differences, or just work quietly to undo the things you value?
Feb 20, 2019 @ 19:04:16
Wow, you hit on something here! Now, is it possible (I hope) to disagree but be willing to talk about issues (e.g. – abortion) calmly without name-calling or demonizing political “opponents” so that we may find some common ground?! Can we show respect to the person, giving them dignity by hearing them out, even if we have a strongly different opinion?! I think it takes humility and love. I also believe TRUTH wins in the end. But some people are bent on power and will seek to destroy anyone who opposes their agenda…they are dangerous.
Feb 20, 2019 @ 16:04:00
wanting to listen and understand that is the first and most gracious step, you embraced the subject with sensitivity yet made your heart known
Feb 20, 2019 @ 18:49:09
We should all try to listen with our heart…to other hearts; thank you, Gina 🙂