However, I'm still pretty new at adhering to the whole "Live and let live" and "Be in the world but not of it" thing and old habits and thought patterns die hard. Some harder than others. So, against my better judgment I went an did it. I commented on a story in the Trib.
The story is about a woman who was, according to the paper and a city governing agency, discriminated against by her employer for having children. What made her situation unique is that instead of filing a suit in court, she filed a complaint with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. I'm including a link to the piece if anyone wants to read it.
My comment wasn't actually on the story itself, which in hindsight says a lot. My comment was directed to a small percentage of other commentators, the ones who feel the workplace and the current tax code discriminates against people without children. I know, I know, touchy subject and not one I can really claim objectivity to as I'm now a parent. But I did work and pay taxes for many years as a non-parent so perhaps that grants me some leeway. Anyway, this is what I wrote:
This country is biased against the childless, WE NEED CHANGE!. Please start by contacting your parents and having them return all and any tax deductions (plus the appropriate interest) that they benefited from due to having you. If you attended public school, and rode a publicly funded school-bus, please add a transportation and education fee - if you attended a State or Community College be sure to include the difference in tuition between the public school and a comparable private university. Of course it goes without saying that if your parents ever received any type of public assistance, welfare, food stamps, state issued complete or reduced child health coverage, it will be returned to the tax payers immediately. If either of your parents worked, and took any time off from their jobs - yes this includes ducking out 20 min. early - due to you being ill, or worse, so they could attend some ridiculous recital, sporting event or Parent/Teacher conference please be sure to reimburse said company if this time was outside of the original work agreement. I believe a certain percentage of medical research is publicly funded so a small charge for any life-saving vaccinations or treatments must be added. Oh wait your parents paid taxes? I apologize, your parents aren't responsible, YOU are (their taxes only covered themselves). Please remit payment within 90 days.
Shortly after, the following rebuttal appeared:
Who turned over the big rock to let all this out? Dear 'justmy2". Did you ever ride a CTA bus/el or RTA bus? I haven't. YOU should pay more in taxes. Did you go to a public university subsidized with tax dollars? I didn't. If you did, YOU should pay more. Give me a break. Your provincial, sophomoric logic dumbs us all down.
Dear AR, I completely agree with you, that's my point. We should ALL be paying only for ourselves and our personal use of public resources. I have no problem paying more in taxes for my use of Public Transit, just as I'm sure those who drive their own vehicles are happy to pay more for their use of public roadways. Let's all sit down and figure out how much we owe and who we owe it to. Obviously, if you've never benefited from anything in the tax code since the moment of your birth, or have never used any public service you will be exempt. Once we have it all figured out, there won't be any need for that silly piece of paper known as the constitution as we will no longer be a country. Another bonus to this is that once we function as truly separate individuals, no one will be able to dumb anyone down, as there will be no group representation. Won't it be great?
Other than going back to the comment section to copy what I've posted here, I've decided to avoid reading anymore. Perhaps this makes me a coward, you know the whole "Oh, you can dish it out but you can't take it" thing or maybe it makes me wise in that whole "I've learned my lesson and will continue to avoid unnecessary stress - and most stress is unnecessary" way. Everything has at least two ways of looking at it, whichever one you perceive as positive is probably the way to go.
But (or in reference to opinions, Butt) maybe, just maybe, I'm supposed to put myself out there once in a while and exercise my first amendment right to express my opinion, especially since I've benefited from that right and many others granted to those of us fortunate enough to live in what's still considered a free society. Especially when I feel a lot of those rights are being threatened by well and ill meaning people alike. Especially when others, many who were much better people than me, fought and died to establish and protect those rights. Especially when I made a conscious decision to bring another life into this world, one that will hopefully be here long after my own life has ended.
Along with actively working to demonstrate the values of compassion and empathy to her shouldn't I also demonstrate the meaning of those freedoms granted by our constitution by at least occasionally exercising them in what I believe to be a responsible, albeit silly manner?
I guess ultimately I need to be the one deciding what's important enough to me to fight for and what to just let go. Right or wrong, whether you agree with my position or not, to me the right to hold and express our opinions and have them heard by those willing to listen (or read as the case may be) is worth a little stress.
And hey, how cool is it that even though "AR" felt my logic was provincial and sophomoric, they apparently thought enough of my technical skill to assume I'd attended a university. Very Awesome.
Now if you'll excuse me, that anatomical area of mine could also use some exercise.
