I have to say that "community" is the one thing that I miss about being an atheist. I cannot abide organized religion for the hypocrisy that members and leaders show (or the belief in deities) but losing the community they provide might be just as bad. There really isn't anything else like a congregation to espouse love of your fellow man. I am not saying that I need a God to fear to make me act in a moral manner, just that not having a stake in a community can have the same result.
We are way too isolated with our Blackberries and our computers and our iPhones and our video games. Online community is all well and good, but I think that we need actual face to face time as well. You cannot empathize if you haven't had contact with that to which your empathy should be directed and I think that there are too few online communities that translate themselves into flesh and blood groups.
9.18.2009
Joe Wilson is Your Pre-Existing Condition
I had an interesting gchat with my roommate the other day about the use of mockery in politics after she sent me a website horribly mocking Joe Wilson and linking to the contribution page for his opponent. Now, I in NO WAY endorse what Rep. Wilson did, but to mock him and call HIM names for doing it does not further the discourse at all.
I have come to believe that in this day and age that mockery has no place in politics. When either side is calling the other a fool and much worse, there is no way that we will ever close the gulf between the two sides. There is no repect anymore for the other side's opinion. So why in the world would anyone deign to listen to what the other side has to say.
I have come to believe that in this day and age that mockery has no place in politics. When either side is calling the other a fool and much worse, there is no way that we will ever close the gulf between the two sides. There is no repect anymore for the other side's opinion. So why in the world would anyone deign to listen to what the other side has to say.
9.17.2009
9.11.2009
The idea of the "almighty market" is one of the great fallacies of American life.
And yet, criticize the "almighty market" and you get called a socialist, a communist, or a facist which evidently all mean the same thing.
I have no problem with being called a socialist. I think I am. I think that it promotes more equality than capitalism and I am with TJeff on the "all men are created equal" and "life liberty and pursuit of happiness" stuff. I just happen to think that "all men" means all people. I think that if more of us understood what socialism really meant then more people might identify with it.
Oh, wait, of course they wouldn't because we all want to live the American DreamTM. Which actually translates once again to make as much money as you possibly can, damn the consequences. And not that "citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a 'better, richer, and happier life.'"
It has only helped to foster a classist society where the rich get richer and the poor die younger in larger numbers because they can't afford healthcare.
I'm sorry if this is ranty but the more I think about this whole healthcare "debate" the angrier I get. While society as it is with the privileged white man reaping all of the benefits may have been technically what was written into the Constitution, I would have hoped that as a society we woudl have gotten to a point where we coudl actually embrace the wider meaning of "men" by now.
(title taken from Charlie's comment on this post on It ain't all pizzas and cream.)
I have no problem with being called a socialist. I think I am. I think that it promotes more equality than capitalism and I am with TJeff on the "all men are created equal" and "life liberty and pursuit of happiness" stuff. I just happen to think that "all men" means all people. I think that if more of us understood what socialism really meant then more people might identify with it.
Oh, wait, of course they wouldn't because we all want to live the American DreamTM. Which actually translates once again to make as much money as you possibly can, damn the consequences. And not that "citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a 'better, richer, and happier life.'"
It has only helped to foster a classist society where the rich get richer and the poor die younger in larger numbers because they can't afford healthcare.
I'm sorry if this is ranty but the more I think about this whole healthcare "debate" the angrier I get. While society as it is with the privileged white man reaping all of the benefits may have been technically what was written into the Constitution, I would have hoped that as a society we woudl have gotten to a point where we coudl actually embrace the wider meaning of "men" by now.
(title taken from Charlie's comment on this post on It ain't all pizzas and cream.)
9.10.2009
expectations
I watch a lot of tv. My therapist seems to think maybe I watch too much tv.
She's probably right.
I like the escape. I think it's better than my life.
My favorite shows are aimed at teenagers. Kids who have their lives ahead of them and will meet all of the expectations that they, and their parents, have laid out before them. Whether it's the job or the partner or whatever.
I am constantly wishing that I could go back and do it over. That I hadn't fucked it up then. That I could take advantage of the world of possibilities open to me. That I'd taken a different path, a better path. That I'd been charmed too.
And so, I think I have completely unrealistic expectations when it comes to the course my life has taken.
I desperately want to have the dream job that I can't wait to get to every morning and perfect children who do cute and funny things that I record meticulously on my blog which has thousands of readers. I want a sister and/or a brother who is insufferably witty and loves me for who I am and does everything to help me follow my dreams. I want grandparents who are richer than Donald Trump and want nothing more than to spend their every dime on me and a mother who is my best friend and a father who is fantastically successful at all he does. I want a huge extended family that loves and supports me no matter what. I want to be skinny and beautiful and wear all of the right stuff and mento find me incredibly attractive and smart. I want to be successful at everything I try.
None of these things is reListic on it's own, but all together? No one had that.
But, I feel like I EXPECT that these things can and will magically happen with little or no effort in my part and when they don't I feel like a failure.
So, I spend a lot of time feeling like a failure.
I compare myself to everyone around me. They all seem to have the things I want and don't know how to get. .
And then I think that I have this horribly mediocre life. Albeit with some pretty great friends but rhen there are the overpretective parents who can barely get by and want to know every derail of my life, four dead penniless grandparents, no siblings to count on, nor loving partner, and a job that is boring but just tolerable on the best of days.
Oh, yeah, and no motivation or ambition and a heavy dose of depression to boot.
So here I sit. Feeling old and hopelessly inadequate. All because of pop culture and my own lack of a feeling of self. And you would think that all of this would turn me against the teen comedies and dramas. But it's like a train wreck and I can't stop watching.
She's probably right.
I like the escape. I think it's better than my life.
My favorite shows are aimed at teenagers. Kids who have their lives ahead of them and will meet all of the expectations that they, and their parents, have laid out before them. Whether it's the job or the partner or whatever.
I am constantly wishing that I could go back and do it over. That I hadn't fucked it up then. That I could take advantage of the world of possibilities open to me. That I'd taken a different path, a better path. That I'd been charmed too.
And so, I think I have completely unrealistic expectations when it comes to the course my life has taken.
I desperately want to have the dream job that I can't wait to get to every morning and perfect children who do cute and funny things that I record meticulously on my blog which has thousands of readers. I want a sister and/or a brother who is insufferably witty and loves me for who I am and does everything to help me follow my dreams. I want grandparents who are richer than Donald Trump and want nothing more than to spend their every dime on me and a mother who is my best friend and a father who is fantastically successful at all he does. I want a huge extended family that loves and supports me no matter what. I want to be skinny and beautiful and wear all of the right stuff and mento find me incredibly attractive and smart. I want to be successful at everything I try.
None of these things is reListic on it's own, but all together? No one had that.
But, I feel like I EXPECT that these things can and will magically happen with little or no effort in my part and when they don't I feel like a failure.
So, I spend a lot of time feeling like a failure.
I compare myself to everyone around me. They all seem to have the things I want and don't know how to get. .
And then I think that I have this horribly mediocre life. Albeit with some pretty great friends but rhen there are the overpretective parents who can barely get by and want to know every derail of my life, four dead penniless grandparents, no siblings to count on, nor loving partner, and a job that is boring but just tolerable on the best of days.
Oh, yeah, and no motivation or ambition and a heavy dose of depression to boot.
So here I sit. Feeling old and hopelessly inadequate. All because of pop culture and my own lack of a feeling of self. And you would think that all of this would turn me against the teen comedies and dramas. But it's like a train wreck and I can't stop watching.
I was just reading a post over at It ain't all pizzas and cream and it got me to thinking again about the lack of empathy shown my so many people in this healthcare debate.
I've been thinking about this a lot recently. And while I think that a lot of what Charlie says is indisputable (esp. re: racism), I think that a large part of the problem is the overwhelming and incredibly misplaced belief that the market is king. We seem to believe that regulating industry, any industry, will compromise capitalism.
What follows is that we are taught, from birth, that us that we are, each of us, THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON EARTH and come hell or high water we are not going to let anyone or anything impinge upon our "god-given right" to a. assert this in any way possible and b. make as much money as we possibly can. And while we are all special, none of us has more intrinsic worth than another.
As much as I loathe to say this, I think that part of the problem is also the displacement of church, or more accurately, community and fellowship, as a mainstay of our life. I don't mean a belief in god or Jesus because I really don't think that there are really that many more non-believers than there ever were, but a gathering place where people meet one or more times a week for their entire lives. The fact that we don't know our neighbors means that it's easier to blame them than a corporation, which many times we see daily on TV or in print ads and may identify, due to marketing, as a friend, or at least as having our best interests at heart.
I've been thinking about this a lot recently. And while I think that a lot of what Charlie says is indisputable (esp. re: racism), I think that a large part of the problem is the overwhelming and incredibly misplaced belief that the market is king. We seem to believe that regulating industry, any industry, will compromise capitalism.
What follows is that we are taught, from birth, that us that we are, each of us, THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON EARTH and come hell or high water we are not going to let anyone or anything impinge upon our "god-given right" to a. assert this in any way possible and b. make as much money as we possibly can. And while we are all special, none of us has more intrinsic worth than another.
As much as I loathe to say this, I think that part of the problem is also the displacement of church, or more accurately, community and fellowship, as a mainstay of our life. I don't mean a belief in god or Jesus because I really don't think that there are really that many more non-believers than there ever were, but a gathering place where people meet one or more times a week for their entire lives. The fact that we don't know our neighbors means that it's easier to blame them than a corporation, which many times we see daily on TV or in print ads and may identify, due to marketing, as a friend, or at least as having our best interests at heart.
9.09.2009
MoveOn & R.E.M. Video: We Can't Afford to Wait
It's no secret that I love REM... and politics. This is one of my favorite songs, You Are the Everything. It's on Green, which was the first REM tape I bought, back in 7th grade, when I was desperately trying to be cool by pretending to like the bands the cool kids liked. Who knew that I would actually fall in love with their music.
Regardless, I found the audio and the accompanying video to be very powerful.
Regardless, I found the audio and the accompanying video to be very powerful.
How true this is
Times Columnist, Bob Herbert, hits the nail on the head in his latest Op-Ed column, It's Time to Get Help.
It seems like this happens all of the time with the Repubs when they aren't in the majority. They act like little children and refuse to participate in the conversation because it isn't going their way.
And unfortunately, even if the well informed spoke the truths loudly and clearly, the opposition would just dig in further and cover their ears, screaming "I can't hear you, I can't hear you," over and over again.
I find the lack of cooperation, while in no way new, to be dismaying and the blatant misinformation by members of the opposition to be downright alarming. The country seemed so very sure of what it wanted last November when it elected Democrats in such high numbers. It saddens me to see how the machine, perfected by Karl Rove, is disseminating such lies.
"There is no end to the craziness. The entire Republican Party has decided that it is in favor of absolutely nothing. The president’s stimulus package? No way. Health care reform? Forget about it."
It seems like this happens all of the time with the Repubs when they aren't in the majority. They act like little children and refuse to participate in the conversation because it isn't going their way.
"The wackiness is increasing, not diminishing, and it has a great potential for destruction. There is a real need for people who know better to speak out in a concerted effort to curb the appeal of the apostles of the absurd."
And unfortunately, even if the well informed spoke the truths loudly and clearly, the opposition would just dig in further and cover their ears, screaming "I can't hear you, I can't hear you," over and over again.
I find the lack of cooperation, while in no way new, to be dismaying and the blatant misinformation by members of the opposition to be downright alarming. The country seemed so very sure of what it wanted last November when it elected Democrats in such high numbers. It saddens me to see how the machine, perfected by Karl Rove, is disseminating such lies.
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