The Native Iowan

A clear, crisp, blue skied day on this side of the planet. Things are sedate, the dogs are all quiet, the birds are not being too noisy, a gentle breeze chills the skin.

Ive been thinking (and mowing), and talking to a couple people I really appreciate, and disagreeing and pissing them off by being, they think, obtuse. I think I’m being an inquisitive centrist, asking questions, honestly trying to understand their position(s)…

It is the bane of a centrist to never have a team. Right, Left, Up, Down… I’ll listen, be respectful, and when I disagree I’m viewed as an enemy, as opposition.

My old buddy, DB, is rabidly anti-Trump. Nothing can get him to see any positives in what is happening. The old-stool concept of “the voting is done, let’s all work together until the next election” is rejected.

The electoral swing, according to DB, is false, those that voted on the “right” have shit for brains, listen to Fox News, are of very low IQs, and should be sterilised.

Another, RB, is firmly of the opinion that the path the US has taken is wrong, deadly, hurtful, damaging, and leading to disaster. Trump is “fucking everything up”. Which leads me to assume that the status quo before Jan20th was ok, in his mind. I cant figure this out…

As soon as I hear the sound of personality hatred I step back…

I’m not sure, and I fear the emotion in both my dear and valuable friends, clouds their ability. We end up at “Orange Man Bad, Republican bad”. Haven’t got too far, have we?

Both have little inclination to answer questions I pose. We are tru, good friends, valued friends, and I dont fear being cancelled for my questions, but I am pissing them both off. One of the hardest things to do is explain what you believe in, believe to be good and true.

As a centrist I dont have a position to defend, I’m still looking for “my team”. Benn looking for a long time.

One main topic/ issue is the DEI+A agenda that Trump has put a choke hold on. According to RB, the US is going to come to a grinding halt under Trump… Eggs will cost more than gold soon, all our agriculture will die because there will be no labourers in the fields. With an almost gleefully-diabolical laugh, he says “wait until we cant buy eggs any more”… waiting to be proven correct. Wishing upon a negative to be proven positive.

The DEI+A gig is something I dont really get. RB is an educated expert on the topic, as he says “Ive been doing this since the 80s”. Gives me his credentials to add weight to his words. He explained what DIE+A is… and I’m none the smarter.

AM I being obtuse? Perhaps.

With Trump cancelling all the DEI+A programmes, RB tells me the US will grind to a halt. (Even tho I still dont understand)

To me I see DEI+A as an added regulation on the workplace. And regulations require bureaucracies and departments and inspectors and rules and laws… its more than just a good idea to hire the needy kinda good idea… I think, I’m still not sure.

I did some research and and still confused…. allow me to drop some of the sage words I found on line…

“Diversity in the workplace is not a hiring manager handing an open position to someone because they are a member of a marginalized group. It’s about expanding the representation of who works in every industry, yes, but it’s also about creating goods and services with the elevated potential to be effective.”

Help me here… what does this mean “but it’s also about creating goods and services with the elevated potential to be effective.”

“Elevated Potential to be Effective”… hmmm, hmmm…

And… When I ask my online intelligence what specifically DEI+A is I get the results of a survey: “Of those surveyed, 56% percent say the term means “to be informed, educated on and aware of social injustices.” That includes not only three-fourths of Democrats but also more than a third of Republicans. Overall, 39% say the word reflects what has become the GOP political definition, “to be overly politically correct and police others’ words.” 56% of Republicans agreed with this view. The term will likely continue to be a point of contention.”

So we dont know what it means, we have no real definition, but we take a survey and attempt an explanation by poll… ???? And, of course the term will be a point of contention because we dont agree on what the word means.

And so, we argue and throw rocks discussing its meaning, effect, use, misuse…

DAMN, I say… lets talk about basketball…

My week in pictures…