Muss Up Your Hair

A friend from Puerto Rico sent me the following essay. I translated it with very few "indulgences"... I couldn't find any reference to when or where it originated, but it came with a cartoon of Mafalda ... a cartoon character from Argentina and very popular and well known throughout the Spanish speaking world. I don't know if Mafalda is known in the States. The original author is apparently a woman who is mandated by Feminism to write this essay, but frankly I feel like it's a pretty good admonition to men too. Of course, some of us take it a little TOO far, but what the heck!


Muss Up Your Hair


Today I learned that you have to let life muss up your hair, so I have decided to live life with greater intensity. The world is crazy. Definitely crazy. If it tastes great, it’s fattening. What’s pretty is exprensive. The sun that warms your face wrinkles it too. And everything that is truly good in life musses up your hair.

· Making love musses up your hair.
· Laughing till your gut hurts musses up your hair.
· Traveling, flying, running jumping in the ocean musses up your hair.
· Taking your clothes off musses up your hair.
· Kissing the person you love musses up your hair.
· Playing musses up your hair.
· Singing till you’re out of breath musses up your hair
· Dancing till you wonder if wearing high heels was a good idea leaves your hair unrecognizable!

So, from now on every time you see me my hair is going to be mussed up. And you can be sure that I am living the happiest time of my life. It is a law of life: the woman who rides in the first car of the roller coaster will have hair that is more mussed up than the one who chose not to take the ride.

I may feel tempted to be impeccable, combed and pressed inside and out. Life’s ‘help wanted’ ad demands a good appeareance. Brush your hair, put on, take off, buy, run, loose weight, eat healthy, stand up straight, get serious.

And maybe I should follow the instructions, but when will I be told to be happy? Hasn’t anyone figured out that to look pretty I have to feel pretty? The prettiest person I can be! The only really important thing is that when I look in the mirror I see the woman I should be. So, my recommendation to all women:

Throw yourself into life, Eat with abandon, Kiss, Hug, Make love, Dance, Fall in love, Relax, Travel, Jump, Go to bed late, Get up early, Run, Fly, Sing, Dress up, Be comfortable, Admire the view, Have fun…and above all, let life muss up your hair!!!!

The worst that could happen is that you look at yourself in the mirror and see that you have to comb your hair again!








This is an example of Mafalda ... by the cartoonist Quino. Mafalda is saying " Mom! What kind of future do you see for this woman's rights movement? Never mind."

Conservative or Liberal?

So, here I am in Texas...living close to Austin which is touted as being a liberal oasis in the vast conservative spaces of this gigantic state. I thought it would be important to be in a liberal community since I have always thought of myself as liberal. Why? Well, because I believe in the individual's right to the pursuit of happiness and too many of the things which bring happiness are rejected by the conservatives. It's that simple. My view of conservatives is one of a group of unhappy people bent on making others as unhappy as they are, assuaged only by the pursuit of capital gains. They believe themselves to be the anointed ones, in sole possession of the truth religious or otherwise. They are either sincerely convinced that any deviation from their interpretation of the truth is a sure and just road to Hell or they are equally convinced that strict adherence to the appearance of sincere passion for limiting the choices of others is a sure path to success.

Being Liberal has always meant to me that one was willing to live and let live...to embrace that one person's pursuit of happiness is not equal to another person's but that each individual is guaranteed the right to pursue whatever flavor of happiness they see fit. In the recognition of the individual's right to an opinion or belief that may be dramatically different from one's own lives the sweetness of loving your neighbor as you love yourself, of being willing to help others when they are in need of help because rather than passing judgement on others' choices one need simply acknowledge a real and present need.

All pretty much theoretical because quite frankly the application of the labels had never been applied in real life U.S. political nowness until the present election year because I lived outside of the continental US and my understanding of these labels had never been put to any test.

Never having been much of a fan of labels to begin with, the dizzying aspect of trying to label an individual's conscience based on an ever moving target defining political parties seems insane to me. Theoretically. But come November I will be entering a voting booth to participate in the election of our next President so like it or not I had better get a grip on some of these labels.

I have been exposed to many different views of what Liberal and Conservative means since returning to the States. Sadly, the most verbose and voluminous array of definitions come from the ultra conservative media. How is it that the liberals have allowed the conservatives to define them? It offends my ideals that liberal is equated with leftist, socialist or communist. It is offensive to hear that to be religious you MUST be the Religious Right, or that if you are liberal you are invested in losing the war in Iraq. It is nefarious, to me, to have the "spin-sters" tell the world that my choice in political direction makes me un-American and a danger to the future of the nation. I am awed by the conclusion that anyone who fears that the collective effects of man's presence on Earth may endanger the safety of the planet is by definition a "Whacko". For the first time in humanity's existence we have had the knowledge to understand that climate change is happening, whether it is of our making or not, but trying to do something about it is apparently a communist plot of the new world order. This is very unreal to me.

So help me out. Here are some of the things I believe in...where would you put them?

1. I believe that matters of conscience cannot be dictated by laws. Taking a life is not a matter of conscience, but determining when life starts...at conception or latter IS. Approving the RIGHT to an abortion does not mean that I approve OF abortion. It means that I approve of one's right to make a mistake. Either a mistake by getting pregnant or a mistake by eliminating the pregnancy. Apparently that makes me a liberal.
   
2. I believe that parents should actually relate to their children rather than simply being related to them; they should be involved in their lives, shape their choices by helping them understand the consequences of their actions and allowing them suffer the consequences when the need arises. Apparently this makes me a conservative.


3. I believe that the best case scenario for #2 is one loving mother and one loving father. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. Life happens. But the consistent factor is LOVE. One loving mother or father is better than none, and two loving mothers or two loving fathers is better than a dysfunctional mother and an incompetent father. Apparently this makes me a liberal.


4. I believe in being personally responsible for one's decisions and one's choices in life. A drinker or a smoker must be accountable for the sum of their choices. A thief, whether it is money, credit or identity that is being stolen should suffer the consequences of the crime committed. Equally, a hardworking, dedicated individual should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Apparently, this makes me a conservative.


5. I believe that the state of an individual is not always attributable to the sum of their choices. Children are born into dysfunctional families and become dysfunctional students out of no fault of their own. Families are split apart by financial difficulties borne of illness, overall economic downturns and other situations that are not of their making. These people, who for all I know could be me someday, deserve access to tools that will allow them to survive, flourish and renew. Apparently this makes me a liberal.


6. I believe that mistaking lack of motivation and neediness for true need creates a weaker individual who in turn creates more weak individuals. Many people in need are only victims of their own choices and decisions and should be held accountable for those choices. Apparently that makes me a conservative.


7. I believe that those who are enriched by the labor of others should share their good fortune proportionally based on the effort, capital invested, creativity, etc. that created the wealth. Apparently this makes me a liberal.


8. I believe that entrepreneurs take risks that employees do not and that Capitalism provides greater reward for greater risk. Income derived from employment requires little more risk than the continued success of the employer. And while no employee should be taken advantage of, neither should any employer be unfairly exploited just because they may have more capital than their employees. Apparently, this makes me a conservative.
   
9. I believe that Capitalism and Greed are not synonyms but that too often they have become fused and confused , aided by the jargon of talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh who manipulate the concepts to equate Capitalism with an American right to waste and excess; as if this is somehow a trait to be applauded and lauded as patriotic. Apparently this makes me a liberal.


10. I believe the forefathers were bent on creating a community of faithful who could worship God as they saw fit. As such, belief in God was an important element that guided the hands, hearts and minds of the creation of our nation. Re-writing history to pretend that separation of Church and State somehow was meant to provide freedom FROM religion or to deny the reality of its import in our communal beginnings is foolish and wrong. Apparently this makes me a conservative.


11. I believe that the world we live in today is a very different place than it was at the time of the framing of the Constitution and that the spirit of the meaning of freedom of religion has only changed enough to allow embracing ALL of humanity's various ways of worship. Inclusion vs. exclusion. Apparently this makes me a liberal.


12. I believe that the concept of the "majority rules" is the backbone of democracy. If the decision of the majority somehow offends the sensibilities of the minority it is up to the minority to use the tools of reason and education to affect the decision but not to impose the will of the minority on the majority. Apparently this makes me a conservative.


13. I believe that government should provide its citizens with national safety and security including protection from any collective means of spreading harm from forces of power; internal or external. Apparently this makes me a liberal.


14. I believe that citizenship is not to be taken lightly; it requires sacrifice and understanding of our government's structure underscored by the history that created it. I believe that it is the responsibility of each citizen to feel passion for their country, for the process that gives it continual life; to discern between politics and public service. I believe that Patriotism is not a collection of words but a series of actions and I believe that the further we drift from the origins of our nation, the more the world grieves for us because the world has benefited from our success. What does that make me?

Confused. That much I know.

6th Grade Passions

As far as I can remember, a 6th grader is about 12 years old. Well, imagine this...the honorable governor of the State of Texas has mandated, by virtue of an executive order, that all sixth grade female students must be innoculated against the Human Papiloma Virus before entering the 6th grade. Now, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease...in other words, you guys, in order to need the vaccine you must first be sexaully active. You don't even run a outside chance of getting HPV from kissing or from sharing a straw with your milk shake. Oh! How gauche! Nobody does that anymore and as far as I know, no one makes milk shakes either!

Anyway, the point is that this mandate assumes that 6th graders are the at risk for sexually transmitted diseases. And sad as it makes me to say this, I think that a good number of 6th graders may well be at risk. And certainly, as the grade increases the ability of our youngsters to behave in a manner that contributes to their welfare decreases. But what ticks me off is that no one seems to be mentioning the obvious...not whether the governor has the right to mandate this, not whether the vaccine should be administered to boys as well, not whether there are risks associated with the vaccine. No...the issue really should be "how have we degenerated to the point where we pacifically accept the fact that 12 year olds are engaged in sexual activity?"

The issue is more approriately, "Where are the parents?" "Are the parents incapable of teaching their daughters about the safe use of their bodies?" At least, ladies and gentlemen, before the age of 12? Sad, but true...some parents, many parents ARE incapable of teaching morals...OK! There is the word...morals and morality. I consider myself a very liberal person but when sexual activity is pushed toward the young age of 12 by default we will have youngsters who are not mature enough to understand the consequences and responsibility of sexual activity thrown into situations they cannot cope with. And I am not going to throw the age old cliché of "thrusting the financial responsibilty of their irresponsibility on society and decent tax payers."

No, I am not going to go that route...but I am going to denounce the vicious circle that is produced when irresponsible people become parents. They inevitably produce irresponsible children. We are living with the first and second generation of irresponsible children. How can we expect to survive as a society with another iterration of irresponsibility? Governor Perry...worry less about HPV and more about the society that is producing a state full of 12 year olds who are sexually active.