citizen kerry

I had the good fortune to go to Hawaii last month on a family vacation. Specifically, I went to the Big Island, which is also called “Hawaii.” This is not shocking, but it’s very pretty and I had a nice time. I expected it to be like California, but with better beaches and fewer LA types. But Hawaii is far more exotic that that. It’s more like: if Ireland and the Moon had a tropical island love child, it would be Hawaii. Sometimes the ground is black and barren because of lava flows, and other times it’s green hills and farms.

I wish I could say that I didn’t over-think Hawaii, that I just let go and snorkeled, but that would be a lie. I spent a lot of time with a 500-page book about the history of Hawaii called Shoal of Time and talking to new friends about what it’s like to live there… And now I have so many questions about my education!

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One of the great things about not being a politician is that I can change my mind and it’s not called “flip-flopping.” It’s called “growing.” Like with veganism. The more I read about it, or see friends embrace it, the more I think it makes sense for me on many levels. (Sidenote and general life advice: if you are like me, which is to say, comfortable with your status quo, prone to guilt, and reactive, STAY AWAY FROM PETER SINGER! His books on ethical living and eating will make you want to re-do everything. And you will no longer be able to justify the default of doing nothing.)

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I’m finally starting to understand those PETA people who freak out against fur-as-fashion. Not that I love mink, but their approach always confused me. Like, the less the industry seems to care about their cause, the more boldly they go nuts and say, throw tofu pie on Anna Wintour. But now I’m getting how you could believe in something, get frustrated by your inability to fix it, and then astound people with your zeal. Recently I’ve been surprised to find myself ranting to friends and family about a 22 year-old US soldier named Bradley Manning who is in solitary confinement in Virginia. And he happens to be gay, hence the title of this post, which I’ll explain shortly. It’s surprising because I’ve never been much of an activist. (And of course, none of this makes me one. I’m sitting in my apartment typing on a blog.) But here goes my verbal tofu pie.

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Recently I called up an old friend who is a Sarah Palin fan to understand that situation. It may seem obvious to you, but after the vice-presidential debate, I never really stopped to think about why people liked Sarah Palin. I just assumed they were wrong. (Nice!) And it’s been easy in my social circles to not challenge this perspective, or lack thereof. A case in point: I have about 500 friends on Facebook, and as far as I know,  only one is a Sarah Palin fan. Lucky for me, she was kind enough to share her viewpoints with me. And let’s just say… yikes! I learned as much about my narrow-mindedness as I did about the ex-governor of Alaska’s appeal. It’s not every day you learn just how open minded you are not.

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I love how animal dating habits are always described like “quirks of people who live in your city, but with very strict gender roles.” And no drama. And since I barely understand my own species in this regard, I appreciate how animals don’t overcomplicate things. The koala doesn’t get stressy about how she’ll eat eucalyptus leaves and carry a marsupial. The peacock doesn’t stop fanning his feathers because he’d rather party in the canyon for a few more years. I realize this metaphor’s gotten away from me. (I am a victim of this metaphor!) However, until I picked up The Secret Life of Lobsters I had no idea that crustaceans were such a fun phylum. Or that I could totally relate to them. 

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