Oprah

A Monday MEME


I am not much of a team tag player which is probably why I never get tagged but I found an interesting MEME on FuelMyBlog that doesn’t require any effort beyond the ability to put links in a post.

Link 1 must be about family

Link 2 must be about friends

Link 3 must be about yourself

Link 4 must be about something you love

Link 5 can be anything you choose

Post your five links and then tag five other people.

1) Family Night

2) Making New Friends

3) Me

4) Rob

5) Jasper

Normally I would tag Steven Spielberg but he’s got a premiere coming up at Cannes and probably just doesn’t have time, and Angelina and I are on the outs ’cause she doesn’t have much by way of a sense of humor these days (preggie with twins will do that to you). Since Oprah can’t admit she reads me (because it would cause a run on this site, overwhelm WordPress and make other bloggers jealous), and I really shouldn’t be name dropping anyway, I will call upon some of my trusted companions in blogging: Rob, Pammy, Girl, Uncle Keith, and Daisyfae. However, anyone can play (or not) as the moment moves them. If you do, don’t forget to post a link here for all to enjoy.

The Oprah Effect


Oprah is coming to Iowa on December 8th to campaign for Barrack Obama. Some people, I am sure, will be impressed. I like Oprah as much as the next person, providing that person is a double X genetically or spiritually and is okay with the fact that Oprah long ago ceased to be an Everywoman. Really though, why should anyone care that she supports Obama for president? Celebrity endorsements shouldn’t carry weight in decisions that have such long reaching impact on what will one day be our history and our legacy to our children and theirs.

Living in a foreign country during the lead up to a presidential election is a little like being Oprah. People here in Canada can be very curious about my take on the campaign. I hate to disappoint so I try to offer as much of a synopsis on the whole things as I can, Truthfully, I don’t know much more than what I catch on the Daily Show from John Stewart from time to time and what I read in the Globe and Mail which is definitely not American-minded in its assessment of candidates and who is qualified or not. My hair stylist is particularly interested in what I think about politics, Iraq and the whole dollar thing.

The truth is that I have never cared less about politics, Iraq and the whole dollar thing than I do right now. And, it’s not because I am living out of the country, but because during my late husband’s illness and my unwanted walk among those who must make use of Medicaid and Social Security, I learned a few important things. Chief among those things is that my government really doesn’t care about the people it governs. Sure, there was more than enough evidence to support this finding before my life was turned upside down, but it wasn’t until it was and I needed real help of the kind I could only get by accessing programs my government set up to specifically help people like me and my late husband that I could see what a sham it all is. And there is no easy fix. Electing a new president does nothing to change the infrastructure that now exists. It just gives the monster a new face.

Who do I think will be the next president of the United States? Who cares? Oprah? You? Not me. It doesn’t matter and here’s why, we don’t demand anything from the people we elect. We go crazy with Caucus fever and primary fever and Super Tuesday fever and it’s all a whirlwind of celebrities like Oprah in Des Moines. We elect people based on their personalities or the personalities who support them and at the end of the day he or she moves into the White House and emerges with a Stepford smile, ready to do the bidding of the beast. Nothing changes.

Things That Matter


 

Oprah’s column for September is worth a read, even if you can’t stand the woman. Personally, I think there is a lot of admire about her despite the fact that she has probably passed the point where she has any reality check contacts in her world view. In her column she uses the old stand-by of mountain climbing as a metaphor for life. There are reasons that things become cliches and that isn’t just to annoy us. These chestnuts exist because they are quite apt. I don’t have a mountain in Hawaii to ruminate upon but  my kitchen table serves reasonably well most days when I am pondering my life and writing about things. Oprah made a list of five observations that resulted from her backyard hike that I feel are worth reflection:

 

1. Challenges are often more difficult than they seem at the outset.

And sometimes, they are not.

 

2. An ascent that at first looks smooth turns out to have unseen dips             and ridges and valleys.

 

Murphy’s Law will usually hold true here, but the unforeseen can be the best part of any journey if you hold the panic to a minimum and really think about it.

 

3. The higher you climb, the thicker the weeds.

 

And weeds don’t pull themselves. They can take the shape of preconceived notions about yourself or negative people who have some personal need to see you fail. Point is that you will run across them and the closer you are to the top, the more of them there will seem to be.

 

4. You need a clear vision of where you’re going if you want to avoid getting disoriented by the clouds that roll in and block your view.

 

True, and to a seat of the pants Sagittarian this can be tough. This when it is good to know an earth sign or two.

 

5. You have to be determined to make it to the top. Otherwise every slip, stumble, and fall (all of which happened to me today, within that first hour) will give you an excuse to turn around and head home.

 

Yes, it is all too easy to find or make up excuses for not being where you want to be. You have to want it. You need to be hungry. Only people who don’t need to win the lottery, or would be better off in the long run if they didn’t, pick those winning numbers. The rest of us have to work for what we want, and work is exactly that though interestingly it never appears to be so to those who prefer the excuse route.

 

Finally, I would add that you need to remember that mountain climbing should be a little bit of fun at least. Views should be admired whenever possible and shared with those who mean the most.