There was a time when we first moved back to Virginia when I wasn't sure how to marry this creative, crafty, finding-me-again blog with the whole military lifestyle. Remember? And I wasn't sure anyone even cared what I think about it or how I deal with it. But judging by the comments to this post, I've muddled my way through it just fine. I am coming to realize this blog is simply a reflection of myself.
My Papaw asked me not long ago if S and I were raising the boys to be conservatives. I love that my Papaw is always up for a good political discussion, but I was a bit dumbfounded. I wasn't sure how to answer him. Yes, I would consider ourselves pretty conservative. But on the liberal side by some standards. Here are some examples:
- We are obviously military, so by most standards, that would make us conservative.
- We are supporters of local farmers and organic gardening when we can, liberal?
- I limit our T.V. consumption as much as possible.
- We are very involved in our local church and attend regularly. We are Christ followers. Conservative?
- We are huge supporters of wildlife and land conservation. I even take spiders we find in the house outside to the garden. Liberal? Possibly.
- When I watch news I watch Fox News because they cover the war more than any of the other stations.
- We incorporate unschooling philosophies into our everyday life. Most definitely leaning to the left.
- We hold our boys to a strict sense of right and wrong and aim to teach them that morality is not relative. Right wing?
- I own and wear on occasion a pair of birkenstocks.
- I love country music and will listen to it until I die.
- We explain the value of differing opinions and different cultures to our kids in terms they can understand. Our boys after all are of "mixed" race and come from two very different cultures. Liberal? Maybe.
- Our boys say "Yes, Ma'am" and "No, Sir" and call our adult friends "Mrs. Ambre" and "Mr. Matt".
See my dilemma in being pigeon holed into liberal or conservative? According to Rod Dreher, we are crunchy conservatives. But I don't know if that accurately seams it all in either. So Papaw, I still do not know how to answer your question. I would say yes, we are raising the boys to be fiscally and morally conservative, but to be free thinkers and embracers of new and innovative ways of doing things. Open to all that the world has to offer them.
And I do not believe that I am alone in this. I think as the world gets smaller and more complicated, I think we are all rethinking how our world should be organized and governed.
Thank you friends, for the amazing comments and outside emails over the past several days. I have been truly humbled, amazed and honored. Amazed that you actually care to hear my opinion on this war. And as many of you have commented, I am glad to put a face (or at least a blog face) to humanize all that is happening overseas. I do think that we (our family) have an interesting perspective and I am feeling more comfortable sharing that part of ourselves. And I owe that in part to this so very accepting community surrounding me. Thank you again for helping me learn to be truly who I am. And who we are as a family.
More upbeat posts to follow!