Husband, Papa, Popop, Veteran, Wannabe aficionado and connoisseur of everything.

Though my body hath betrayed, my mind is staging a coup as I engage and explore alternative points of view

I believe that enlightenment is best achieved by engaging and exploring alternative points of view, that opinions and convictions should be formed empirically, and that perspectives should be tendered without apology. They are merely what we believe to be true at a given point in time and nothing for anyone to get their panties in a knot over. Hell, who knows, we might feel differently next week. That’s how it works when we continue to grow.

Sometime in 2016, as Trump’s political shenanigans were evolving, long-dormant emotions and sensibilities awakened in me. I felt compelled to engage, and even though I was an adult, I was reluctant to voice my opinion because I was afraid that, if pressed, I couldn’t back it up and I didn’t want to assert my ignorance. ;-)

First I needed to figure out where my give-a-shit factor was on stuff. I found I have a broad and abiding regard for embracing diversity and inclusion, the import of the phrase “you do you”, a practical(pun intended) appreciation for the premise “I’m Ok, You’re Ok” and the precepts “Do No Harm” and “Leave No Trace”. Those revelations gave me a basis on which to form opinions and ultimately, convictions.

Writing about my stuff forced me to scrutinize it more and I gained a better understanding of it. With all my rumination complete and innate filtering mechanisms like ethics, morality, and legality considered, I now had informed opinions and some actual convictions. I felt ready to be part of the greater discussion.

I don’t categorize myself as Democrat, Republican, Liberal, or Conservative. Merely a 60s-era poet who realizes that health is fundamental to both life and the pursuit of happiness, that liberty should be color-blind, and that big business will never think beyond next quarter's earnings report to put our country's best interest ahead of their bottom line. Protecting our environment or even their own consumers is paradoxically secondary to big business. Oops, I'm guessing all that makes me a liberal*.

My poems are profoundly personal expressions as are all forms of art and ask only to be perceived without bias, or critique. I have no illusions about my significance or the import of my work. Nor do I apologize for its tenor, or fret over how others might judge it, or me for it. For to do otherwise would inhibit free expression. And a reticent self-conscious poet is doomed to idle melancholy.

Naively, I hope my writing fosters just an iota of awareness in the uninitiated and clarity of conscience in the culpable.

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* liberal | ˈlib(ə)rəl | adjective 1. willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas. • (in a political context) favoring policies that are socially progressive and promote social welfare. 2. relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise: a liberal democratic state.

These are good things, right?

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Independent thinking is the process of making sense of the world based on your observations and experiences rather than depending on the words of others. It is the ability to trust your judgments, even if they are not in agreement with what others might say or believe.

Free thinking: A Freethinker is a person who forms opinions independently of tradition, authority, or established Belief. No one can be a freethinker who naively conforms to another’s creed.

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© RidgeMagee, Unabashed Woke Liberal

Naively, But Doggedly, With Only Pen And Faculty, I Denounce Hatred And Bigotry.