Eating and Voting

Thru trial and error, I have figured out some foods to avoid in order to feel my best self. I’m not allergic to anything (other than invasive procedures which cause me to lose consciousness, but that’s another topic), it’s all just preference. I know what to put into my body and what to keep out to give me the best skin, the most energy, and overall well-being. For ease of recipe-hunting and ordering at a restaurant, I decided to find the name of my ‘diet’.

Paleo? Let’s see… the ‘caveman’ diet. No processed foods, nuts, meat, dairy, grain. Darn… I avoid dairy and gluten.

Vegan? No animal or animal by-products. I eat meat, and love honey… so no veganism for me.

Keto? No sugar, lots of protein options including dairy, no fruit, no potatoes, no beans. Some good things in there, but nope, not for me.

No Atkins, no vegetarian, no South Beach.

I guess I’m just an odd ball. No gluten, no dairy (except parmesan and blue cheese seems to sit with me fine), no soy, minimal sugar and limited alcohol. I prefer veggies over meat. I don’t do processed food, but lately have probably eaten more takeout than I should. I don’t fit into any of the common diet categories. And it works for me!

This evening… November 9th. Sitting on the cusp of new political leadership after we dutifully submitted our ballots yesterday… I realize that my diet is quite similar to my political stance.

I have figured out what leadership qualities and political platforms are important to me. I love me some team spirit, so naturally… I feel an urge to figure out what color to wear on Election Date… Red or Blue, OR??

The major political parties are becoming more divisive and polarized and extreme. And often times simply ridiculous. There are plenty of examples, but how about this one… The Presidential candidates for a particular party stand on the debate stage together and tear each other down, slinging insults left and right, declaring why each opponent is unfit to hold the highest elected office. Then after a candidate becomes THE candidate, one of the opponents is chosen to be their happy-go-lucky supportive running mate. Oh nevermind that she thought he was a womanizer and had been useless in politics all the decades he’s been camped there… YES, I would LOVE to be part of your team! And YES, America vote for this guy! He’ll make a great president! Ignore everything i said a couple months ago on stage! It’s all so shallow, fake, pathetic, full of drama. That’s not for me.

What would it look like if we stopped choosing a diet and just chose the foods that fed our bodies the best? What would it look like if we collectively started voting on political platforms vs political parties?

This year there were some amazing candidates on the Primary ballot that didn’t represent the big R or the big D. It was exciting to think that people were finally tired of the extreme divisiveness that current day politics encourages. I voted for a handful of independents. One of them made it to the General election. I guess that’s progress?

I am pro-life, pro-gun, pro-God. I believe in limited federal government and more power to the states. I want to see my tax bill low and I want personal accountability to come back to the forefront of society. I care about the environment and the welfare system needs to be helping people succeed not encouraging them to live forever on the back of the government. Homelessness and crime are multi-faceted and need multi-faceted solutions. The US should first focus on its own people and stop being the world’s police force. And people need to stop being a-holes to each other… pretty sure you can’t legislate that into action. Most likely, I will always lean right. Red happens to be my favorite color, so I’ll keep wearing that. But I will be mindful every election season to choose my candidate based on the candidate. And more than anything… I’m going to respect people regardless of how they vote, or what color they wear. (Unlike the dude that told my boss she should fire me because of how I voted. lol)

We live in a melting pot. The flavor of what cooks in that pot is best when all kinds of spices are added. You don’t need to agree with me… just try to see where I am coming from, and I’ll try to see where you are coming from. Our best bet is to work together… a lesson we learned in kindergarten and promptly forgot as adults. Making America great again takes us all.

I’ll step off my soapbox now… Until my next blog which I plan to rant about all the terrible drivers I’m seeing on the road lately… I bet that’s something most of us can agree on!