#6 Some thoughts on the election
I quarantined for two weeks so that I could spend a couple of days with my parents. As the coronavirus rages around us, I don’t know if it will actually make a difference at this point, but it gives me peace of mind to do my part to keep them safe. I was at their home when the news outlets projected Joe Biden as the next president of the United States.
It was appropriate that I was at their home. Every year at election time my mom places Righty and Lefty on the mantle - a donkey and elephant beanie baby that were created back in 2000. This isn’t just symbolic of the time of year - it’s a symbol of our family.
You see, we have always been a family divided. My mom is a lifelong democrat and my dad is a lifelong republican. Yet, neither of them are driven entirely by party and they never have been. I was taught early in life to consider politicians on their stance on a collection of issues as well as to consider politicians on their character and integrity.
As I look at the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, I realize that my family remains deeply divided by politics. It’s that division I want to talk a little more about. My family is, in this way, a reflection of our country. We also reflect one of the things that I think is at the core of the division in our country - a lack of conversation about what matters to us and why we’re divided. We avoid the conversation in order to maintain peace - but that avoidance won’t heal the deep divisions and build respect for one another’s opinions even if we will never agree.
Part of the reason for that is that having a nuanced, grace-filled conversation is not the way we talk about politics and other challenging issues in most circles anymore. For instance, for many people, single major words decide who they vote for - abortion, gun control, socialism, and more. We vote based on words rather than the nuanced conversations about these issues.
So, my prayers this morning were for more peaceful conversations and grace to those we love. And that we all think more before we speak and post.
A quote and a note
I’ve always been a collector of quotes. I want to share them. I’ll add a brief note to each one.
This quote was resurfaced via Readwise. I chose it before I decided what I would write about this week. Perhaps it inspired my thoughts this week. To mean what we say we must believe it.
A tool and a tip
I love technology. Lately though I’ve been thinking about how I need to make sure that my technology defaults are things that actually make my life better and easier. I’ll use this section to share a tool and a tip with you.
Dealing with Zoom Fatigue
During the week, I spend an average of 30 hours on Zoom. It is even more exhausting than attending meetings in person. One reason is that I’m constantly looking at an image of myself. This is shown to increase that Zoom fatigue. I’ve been turning off my own camera quite often which puts up an image from my profile. However, Zoom also allows you to turn off your own image. I will absolutely be trying this this weekend.
What bugs you that you’d like a tech tip on? I love making technology work better for people.
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