Dear Imagined, Supposed American Majority,
Just so we are clear. You do NOT speak for me. You do NOT represent me.
You do NOT represent me Mr. Trump, with your bombastic soundbites and your mob mentality. You do NOT represent me Ms. Davis, with your misguided crusade against something which has NO bearing upon your ability to freely practice your religion. You do NOT represent me Fox News, with your contortionist’s view of history. You do NOT represent me GOP, with your misguided war on my body and your continued attacks upon any fellow American who does not fit into your plastic mold.
YOU do NOT represent ME.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I am not telling anyone else how they can or cannot, should or should not live their lives.
My way of life does not suppose or demand someone else be denied rights or guaranteed civil liberties based on the color of their skin, who they have sex with, or what clothes they wear.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I want you to be able to live a life of your choosing, a life less ordinary, a life in which you are free to make choices. I may not agree with your choices, but they are YOURS to make.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I care more about our children getting shot than I do about someone else’s right to carry a gun. I am more outraged by the way we continue to turn our back on gun control than I am about a lion being killed or the fact that Target has chosen to stop labeling toys with arbitrarily assigned meanings.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I believe a woman’s body is hers and hers alone. Not YOURS. Not the government’s. And certainly not some overweight man who has never had to make the personal and private choice of a woman.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: my beliefs do not infringe upon yours. My beliefs do not preclude you from doing anything which is legal and protected under the law. Your beliefs, which are not MINE, would prohibit me or those I love from doing just those things.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: YOUR perception of religious freedom actually impinges upon MY rights as an American Citizen.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I do not subscribe to the notion that a belief in God makes one better than anyone else.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I believe there are many things about the United States which are broken. Wanting to fix those things does not make me any less patriotic.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I don’t believe waving a flag and out-shouting makes you any more of a patriot than the receptionist who quietly files papers at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: my beliefs are working toward inclusion, while yours are working toward exclusion.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I do not believe worshipping a specific God trumps all else.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I don’t think the needs of a corporation should come before those of a population.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I understand freedom does not mean taking rights away from those who are different from you are, or different from how you think they should be.
The difference between ME and YOU is this: I understand your way of life is not under threat. Your liberties are not at stake. Your freedoms are not in jeopardy. Yet those are the very things you want to take from others.
Just so we’re clear.
You don’t speak for ME.
Regards,
ME
Wine and Cheese (Doodles) 
Excellent! I am not American but I am so with you on this! Very well said (like all of your posts)!
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Thanks. It was a ranting kind of morning–the launching point being the county clerk in KY who, despite the Supreme Court of the United States telling her to get back to work, continues to claim she is working under God’s Authority. Arrrggghhh.
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brava!
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Just your average Wednesday morning rant.
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Very well said as usual Dina.
Thank you!
ME too 😉
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Hooray! All of us MEs need to be more VOCAL!
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Now that’s a manifesto.
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Ross, I’ve always wanted to pen a manifesto…
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Spot on. I’m going to have to reblog this because you said it much, much better than I could. Thanks!
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Well thank you, Elyse. Sometimes I sit in the morning and read the news and well…I just can’t help myself.
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Oops. Never mind, apparently I can’t any longer because Word Press has modified that feature. Thanks Word Press.
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To the left of the LIKE button at the bottom of the post is where the REBLOG button got put. Because where no one will notice it is exactly where the button should be.
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Thank you. Why does WP DOOOOOOOO THIS????
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I know! I haven’t even gotten used to the last round of “improvements” and now they throw more changes at me. Grrrr!
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At the rate things are going, the Catholic church will be more inclusive and accepting that the so-called “free world”.
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Now there’s a cheery thought!
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Well said. We need more just like you.
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I think there are many more people like me than the other. For some reason they are louder. I can’t figure that out, though I try mightily.
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I wish I had your optimism on that point. Living smack in the middle of the “guns and God” part of the country, I have to search pretty hard to find fellow sane progressives.
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You’re the 2nd person in as many days to mention this. I’m not sure I would survive. I give you a lot of credit for not breaking down and buying a gun…if only to shoot a few THEMS in the foot to save them doing it themselves.
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Brava! Well said, and thank you for saying it!
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My pleasure. Next year, an election year, is going to be the time to BE LOUD.
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Reblogged this on FiftyFourandAHalf and commented:
Don’t you just HATE it when someone else picks your brain and expresses your innermost thoughts better than you can?
Me neither.
Dina is far more like me than them.
Special thank you to Melanie who unlocked the hidden location for the “Reblog” button (next to the “Like” button!)
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Thanks, Elyse. Sooner or later all us MEs are going to have to make sure we are HEARD.
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We’re working on it!
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Take that GOP!
Interestingly, there is no difference between Me and You.
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That’s the thing that throws me the most! If you look at the way things are going, the way they’re changing, there are a lot more MEs than THEMs out there. So why are they louder? I mean, I’m pretty loud just on my own. Where is the outrage? I keep waiting. And I keep getting left high and dry..
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I’m not sure why they are louder, but I think it may have something to do with the fact that they are so wealthy they’ve bought up all the megaphones, so to speak.
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I don’t know how anyone who doesn’t have a couple of billion dollars can really feel represented by the Republican party.
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It’s all part of the American Dream that we Americans drink in the water, like fluoride. There’s a little tiny seedling of hope in most people that maybe some day they will be the one with a billion dollars and who are the rest of us to tell them how they should spend it. It’s mind-boggling. As an American overseas I spend countless hours trying to explain this phenomenon to others who scratch their heads in confusion.
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Many Republicans were against fluoride, too. Because, you know, it helps people.
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Ha!
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Elyse did the perfect reblog when she did this one. Brava.
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Thank you! (Sorry it took me so long to respond to this, it just popped up in my feed).
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I guess the MEs of the world aren’t as sensational news but WE need to be heard too!
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The irony is, I honestly believe that the MEs outnumber the rest; at least if the way things are going is any indication. Time to get loud!
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First time here … over via Elyse. Nice rant. All the above are the ITOM majority … In their own mind.
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Aye…there’s the rub. Their majority is only imagined. The real majority just needs to bang on their pots more.
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That’s what those people do. Let’s take the Christian RIght .. they give the impression they speak for all Christians, and odds are they speak for much less than 50% … much less!
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I am not American, but always wonder how those issues were perceived by Americans…The only one I have encountered seem so “narrow minded” that I was too scared to ask….thinking I would be appalled by their views.
I am glad to encounter one with the same beliefs. Love your blog btw!
Claire (a french froggy)
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Thanks Claire! There are plenty of us out there, in fact, the majority of Americans–if not AS liberal as I am–are pretty fair minded. It just seems like the ultra conservative are louder and more vocal and prone to tantrum throwing. Maybe a few more of us have to band together and make sure we drown out the others?
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Loud and clear and well said.
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Thank you. Eventually we need to make some noise to drown out the rest.
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More of Kanye fan then ? Bring on 2020
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Sometimes I think, what is this madness? And then I remember Reagan.
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Best one ever Dina! However the more controversial Trump is, the more the media covers him, and the more attention his outrageous views get. I say ignore the man, why waste precious energy..let’s instead focus on people who can make a positive contribution to the American fabric.
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Let’s find some!
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Go for it! Well said.
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Let’s all say it. Really, really, loudly. Like, CAPS LOCK loud ;-).
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