4 Comments
Nov 12Liked by Mark Bonica

Hey there Mark, thanks for your many posts. I read them all and rarely comment. This one resonated with me as I too believe there are only three things in life: things we control, things we influence, and things we have neither. My experience is many people reject this concept. For those willing to consider, it I offer the following:

1) The lesson in this idea is to restrict (ideally eliminate) spending any energy on the later.

2) Any energy wasted on the later is energy wasted that might be expended more profitably.

3) The better investment is to put that energy into building relations that may expand what influence you might weld.

4) Building strong, healthy relationships with others is the key to influence.

5) The challenge is doing so with people who seeing the world differently than you do.

Many of the folks I supported in this election did not win and my plan going forward is to work to build more robust relationships with people who do not think like me. Worst I get some new perspectives, at best others expand their world view. Cheers brother, jeff

Expand full comment

I strive to maintain a stoic mindset where I can, but I don’t believe concerns about this administration’s goals to significantly limit abortion access and reproductive freedoms are exaggerated—they are well-documented. Attacks on women and their autonomy have increased in the current environment and this new "manosphere." The risks to science and research related to women’s health are real. For example, research focused on military women is under threat because certain politicians are uncomfortable even discussing these topics, let alone advocating for us. Military women often struggle to access comprehensive healthcare, depending on their duty station, and location isn’t something we can easily choose. I agree with much of what you’ve said, but this presidency feels different. I truly hope my concerns prove unfounded, but being a woman of child-bearing age is scary right now, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Expand full comment
author

You express your concerns well, and I don't disagree. The administration might do a lot of bad things. Perhaps I am understating what is possible and likely. Military women's rights are more complex and tenuous, as you have demonstrated here and elsewhere. Thanks for your comment.

Expand full comment

Thanks for listening.

Expand full comment