Mondays Are Now Ranting Days - Maybe Just Opinion Days

Mondays used to be my days to talk about being an internship supervisor, but I'm not in that role anymore, so I am not sure what I can talk about on Mondays now. The only thing I've got are my opinions about things. So, Mondays may be opinion days for a bit until I figure out if there is something else to write about.

Now, all of my posts are opinion posts, but I tend to try to pull back some of my non-music therapy opinions back most of the time. I don't want this to be a place where I just spew my thoughts about other things willy nilly. I still don't, so I will try to figure out ways to rant or opine about things that directly affect me and my fellow music therapists.

Today, it is pretty easy to find something that stirs me up about the world outside my door.

There is so much that is going on that affects my profession (and yours, probably) in the halls of our government. I am not confident that there will be much resistance where there should be people standing up against the megalomaniac that is pulling the strings of the puppet. (If you can't figure out my political leanings from that sentence, then please read on. I'm sure that it will become pretty clear in subsequent paragraphs. Also, if you do not agree with my comments, you are welcome to comment yourself or just stop reading now.) I am not someone who fears change, but I do fear the shifting of power from the people through their voting rights to select representatives to a dictator who only wants things for himself.

I see the effect of federal money for the disadvantaged every day. My clients are not adults. They often do not have family members who can support them financially. They are all eligible for free and reduced lunches. As far as I know, none of them voted in the recent elections, mainly because most of them are not old enough to do so. They have experienced difficulties in home life, community life, and in all sorts of situations that I have never had to go through. Access to education, health care, and even food are tied up with federal funding for all of my students. If these things go away, then what happens to my students?

My job might go away. If funding becomes nonexistent, music therapy will be one of the first things cut from the budget of my facility. I think that most of the "specials" will go, but not all of them. Transition services will remain, and I am sure that adaptive physical education will remain. Occupational and Speech therapies will remain because they are written into so many IEPs. Agricultural education, art therapy, and music therapy are not required for the education of my special education students. We are not written into IEPs except for the provision of instructional time. It would be easy to get rid of me and my services.

I am not sure if I would be able to find another music therapy job if my job went away. I am not sure if I would want to try to find one out here. If my job went away, I would cash in my pension and move close to my mother and sister. Of course, I would not be able to buy a house there because of the high cost of living, but I would figure something out. I always do.

These are the types of things that worry me about what is happening in Washington D. C. I find that watching the news is making things very difficult for me to be positive about everything. Or anything, for that matter. So, I am not watching the news. I am not looking at Google News. I am hiding people who are posting political content on their social media feeds. I am tired of the constant bombardment of things that bring up negative feelings for me. I am sure that this blog post will trigger emotions in some readers - feel free to unfollow me if you need to. l support you doing what you need to do to keep your own mental health in check.

What will be the outcome of the constant barrage of executive orders? I hope that there will be enough of us who believe in the Constitution to fight back, but I am afraid. I do not want this to be the time when our country becomes involved in another Civil War. I feel helpless in this situation when I pay attention to what is going on out there. It is easier to go through my day when I do not pay attention.

Time to get ready. I anticipate that we will have at least one snow day this week, so I am making plans accordingly. We are going to explore the percussion family this week in music therapy. My neighbors will not appreciate the drumming, but my students really need the physical exertion and emotional catharsis that drumming can offer, so we're doing it! Before that happens, though, I need to take my shower and get my food ready for the day. See you tomorrow??