Picking Your Battles

WARNING I am probably going to tick some people off with this post. If you are one of them, I'm sorry, but I do hope you'll read to the end (with an open mind) and see if I'm not actually making a valid point.

I hear the term "pick your battles" a lot lately. Typically it means choosing a less distasteful option over another. Pursuing one path instead of another. Sometimes (and this is where I'm going to tick off some people) it means taking the easy way out. Pulling a Scarlett O'Hara. "I'll think about this tomorrow".

I'm not saying that living with the decision is easy. If a couple gets divorced it isn't easy - ask anyone who's lived through one. But sometimes it is the easy way out. Rather than deal with the problems in the relationship, one side, sometimes both, just gives up. I'm not saying that there aren't times when a divorce is a necessary answer. No one should remain in an abusive marriage. But even in that case some one is taking an easy way out. Why go to rehab for substance abuse or anger management counseling and face our own demons when we can just take out our problems on the person we're closest to? Using abortions for birth control is taking the easy way out. Again, the decision may be difficult to live with. And there are circumstances where it is a medically necessary procedure. But young women don't have to deal with the lack of self esteem or problems that drive them to look for comfort in sex if they have the option of not dealing with the consequences afterwards. Why stand up for social changes when the status quo is so much easier? Why get involve in our communities when sending a check will do? You could force your children to learn manners or you could just let them interrupt and then they'll leave the room so you can finish your visit. Its easier that way.

I guess my issue is that too often the ugly battle never gets picked. We don't deal with what is uncomfortable or unpleasant. We take the path of least resistance. We don't stand up to the bad guy or force someone to take a hard look at themselves. We just keep rolling along and always pick the other battle.

There is no tomorrow for Scarlett. It is always today.