Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

Now that the crazy days known as the "beginning of the school year" are mellowing out a bit, and I've had time to think.

I've got that "to-do" pile almost "ta-done". I'm generally ready-to-go with a plan for the next few weeks of teaching. I'm caught up on emails.

Emails, that's where I've done some thinking. Just before the first week of meetings, paperwork, and directives, an email was sent to me from an acquaintance co-worker.

She's nice enough, but a militant lefty. I mean militant! At work, she generally doesn't have a great track record of attendance says the rumor mill. But we all have faults, and mine tends to be a lack-of-caffeine induced short temperament, so I can look past others' imperfections if they can live with mine.

But in catching up with email, I recalled one of the particularly busy days that I was deleting and reading messages like a mad woman. I had received one from the co-worker, but didn't take the time to decipher if it came from her external/home account or from inside our place of employment. If it were the latter, holy smokes, she could have been frying herself!

The email went on and on about how "moveon.org is so great", they're looking out for my best interests, blah blah blah. Something about how horrible it would be for peoples' birth control to not be covered under insurance or something like that type of dribble.

First, I thought to myself, "Boy, she's assuming my political leanings and taking a real chance that I sympathize and agree with her." Apparently the gossip grapevine doesn't stretch to her end of the building. She hasn't yet caught wind of my party affiliations.

Second, I was burned up that someone would have the balls to be so bold to my work account. This is irregardless of whether she emailed it from home or her classroom!

Finally, I weighed my immediate need to "cleanse" myself of junk email vs. "Is this the hill I'm going to die on?" type of mentality. Did I want to "nark" on a co-worker for this? What if the shoe were on the other foot, and I was emailing the staff about my "Pro-Life" legislation? Something tells me a little birdy would mention it to the powers that be, and I'd be exercising my Weingarten rights faster that you can say "Sarah Palin."

I'm disappointed once again in myself, I shoulda fought the battle. Had the timing been right, I woulda, but regardless of the conditions, timing, and situation... I really coulda. There's really no excuse I can offer up.

As a conservative, in a liberal's world...there are a lot of battles I can (could) fight daily. I guess one small victory today was in telling these "powers-that-be" that I think a particular field trip we are forced to go on each year is a waste of time and money. I was looked at like my head was spinning around, but I did it!

It will take a lot of these little battles for me to stop kicking myself for not calling out the leftist emailer though. I'm finding that I need to take on each and every battle if I want any chance in hell of winning the broader war: the war against allowing liberal thought to go unchallenged daily.