Dinner's Done

I Have Nothing Important To Say.

As usual. I did have an actual thought today, so maybe I'll talk about that. There I was folding laundry and I was thinking about that Chavez fellow, and how he is virtually taking over the press, and I thought, it probably won't be long before folks are being imprisoned or worse for opposing the regime. Maybe they already are, I confess I don't know much about it all.

I thought what would I do if my freedom of speech was suddenly ripped out from beneath me? What if I were hunted down and imprisoned for the very things I've put on this blog. I remembered a man I met once, he was from Texas. He was a stranger to me, but in conversation he described something in a colorful way, and I said, "Are you a writer? That sounds like something a writer would say." He laughed and said that indeed he was a writer.

He told me a bit about his views, and the types of things he writes about, stuff right up my alley, but I could not let on in that particular situation, I'm not permitted to share such personal things like my own thoughts. Then he asked me point blank, "Is there anything (belief) you care so much about that you would be willing to die for it?"

A lot of things came to mind, my family first of all, which was the safe answer I gave him. I don't think I gave him the answer he was looking for, but he accepted it, and didn't delve further. I have since thought a lot about that question, and when I did, I realized that's not an easy question to answer at all. I've tried to imagine scenarios where I'm forced to make that sort of decision, but I can't. I have to look outside of this country to imagine a place so horrible that people are forced to choose between death and expressing their beliefs. I know there are plenty of places like that in the world.

I think of our troops overseas risking their lives for the people of this country. While I sit here comfortable spinning my moral compass to see where it lands, they've already made the decision. I have no tolerance for those who speak ill of the military folks, cough, John Kerry, cough.

As to the question, I'm still pondering it, and hoping things never get to that point. Could things ever get so bad in this country? At times I think wow, we are in for it if things continue like this, but I think we've probably got a long way to go for things to ever get that bad, and I pray it never happens.

Well, I better go fold some more clothes, maybe put another load in.