Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
A Rant Against Infuriating Words
Today, I read the most infuriating, annoying piece of drivel, not ever, since I have read quite a few infuriating works, but this one was most assuredly within the ranks of the top 5. The article in question was an article about reasons why women should not marry anyone in the military, and then went on to blast away at the military, making it sounds that if you married into it, you were essentially marrying into some dark, shady underworld of the new Third Reich or something, which is simply, extremely untrue.
Now, I'm not exactly sure who wrote this, I know from reading a little on their blog that they are Canadian, and apparently a gay male. Neither of those things matter to me, what country you were born in and who you like does not matter at all to me, you are you and I am me, and that is that. However, for this person, and I find myself scowling as I use the term person, to describe the entire U.S. military as a lot of serial killers, international war criminals and a bunch of crazies who apparently are so ridden by guilt that they have no choice but to commit suicide is ridiculous and disgusting. By the time I finished reading it I was literally shaking with righteous anger.
Now, everyone is entitled to their opinions, as everyone is entitled to their idiosyncrasies and possible ignorance. That does not mean that one should go about foisting these views upon others, trying to force feed their views, about the government, about the military, or even about their idea of the color of the sky upon others. But to write an article stating that no one should marry, or even think about marrying military members is infuriating, as is the idea behind the entire article. Simply infuriating in every sense of the word. Now, I know that some of the readers may think that I have no room to talk as I have posted political articles before, but my point is to initiate conversation, make people think and state my opinion in a, hopefully, non-confrontational and intellectual manner.
Every one deserves the right to be treated as an individual rather than a hive mind, and to lower oneself to this level smacks of bigotry and reminds one of the elder days when racism walked the land openly with a heavy fist. I deserve to be treated as I deserve, not as my neighbors or my ancestors or some far off person deserves to be treated, but as I deserve. And so it should be with all men, and women and children, regardless of nationality, race, religion, beliefs or ideals or ability.
Some one asked me why I did not confront the author directly with my issues with his statements. On his blog, I saw several comments where people had done so, and he had responded with the same drivel that he had been pouring out, telling service members, families of service members, veterans, and regular people that they were wrong, that the people in the military were terrible and giving no new information to defend his pitiful point. I understand that probably not everyone who reads this is a fan of the military, but imagine if such claims were laid against your country's military, or your country's veterans or soldiers. It would be quite annoying and for some down right unsettling. That is the reason that I did not contact the author of the piece, because all he would do is say the same thing over and over and wave around his opinion and random facts, which have been taken out of context, or it seems, fabricated. The simplest way to argue against a fact is to let others know that it is wrong before it takes root.
I will post the article, against which I am railing, below so that if you, dear reader, wish to, can read this, and garner your own opinions. I, for one, am thoroughly, completely, and absolutely against it, and the ideas behind it. I would rather that you did not read it, but I am not the final authority upon this, nor should I be one to limit your actions your your freedom of thought, so, here is the offending piece of offal. I hope you can get over the stench quicker than I.
http://mindprod.com/politics/iraqdontmarry.html#DONTMARRY
Now, I'm not exactly sure who wrote this, I know from reading a little on their blog that they are Canadian, and apparently a gay male. Neither of those things matter to me, what country you were born in and who you like does not matter at all to me, you are you and I am me, and that is that. However, for this person, and I find myself scowling as I use the term person, to describe the entire U.S. military as a lot of serial killers, international war criminals and a bunch of crazies who apparently are so ridden by guilt that they have no choice but to commit suicide is ridiculous and disgusting. By the time I finished reading it I was literally shaking with righteous anger.
Now, everyone is entitled to their opinions, as everyone is entitled to their idiosyncrasies and possible ignorance. That does not mean that one should go about foisting these views upon others, trying to force feed their views, about the government, about the military, or even about their idea of the color of the sky upon others. But to write an article stating that no one should marry, or even think about marrying military members is infuriating, as is the idea behind the entire article. Simply infuriating in every sense of the word. Now, I know that some of the readers may think that I have no room to talk as I have posted political articles before, but my point is to initiate conversation, make people think and state my opinion in a, hopefully, non-confrontational and intellectual manner.
Every one deserves the right to be treated as an individual rather than a hive mind, and to lower oneself to this level smacks of bigotry and reminds one of the elder days when racism walked the land openly with a heavy fist. I deserve to be treated as I deserve, not as my neighbors or my ancestors or some far off person deserves to be treated, but as I deserve. And so it should be with all men, and women and children, regardless of nationality, race, religion, beliefs or ideals or ability.
Some one asked me why I did not confront the author directly with my issues with his statements. On his blog, I saw several comments where people had done so, and he had responded with the same drivel that he had been pouring out, telling service members, families of service members, veterans, and regular people that they were wrong, that the people in the military were terrible and giving no new information to defend his pitiful point. I understand that probably not everyone who reads this is a fan of the military, but imagine if such claims were laid against your country's military, or your country's veterans or soldiers. It would be quite annoying and for some down right unsettling. That is the reason that I did not contact the author of the piece, because all he would do is say the same thing over and over and wave around his opinion and random facts, which have been taken out of context, or it seems, fabricated. The simplest way to argue against a fact is to let others know that it is wrong before it takes root.
I will post the article, against which I am railing, below so that if you, dear reader, wish to, can read this, and garner your own opinions. I, for one, am thoroughly, completely, and absolutely against it, and the ideas behind it. I would rather that you did not read it, but I am not the final authority upon this, nor should I be one to limit your actions your your freedom of thought, so, here is the offending piece of offal. I hope you can get over the stench quicker than I.
http://mindprod.com/politics/iraqdontmarry.html#DONTMARRY
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Campaign Thoughts
When I am asked who I'm voting for this year, I reply, "Obi-Wan Kenobi, because he's our only hope." People laugh, but it is the closest I can come to finding a candidate that I would vote for. Especially now, since it seems that people are up in arms lately over a lot of things in the political world. Specifically, in the presidential race, that Mitt Romney made a statement about his birth certificate, a statement which was meant, apparently, as an off-the-cuff remark, something as a joke, a reference to his home state. This was probably meant as a joke, since Romney has repeatedly says he is not a "birther" but it could have really gone either way. People are saying that it means that Romney is a birther (and here) , that he is attacking Obama, that it is racist in some way, and basically that it means that Romney is a crazy republican you shouldn't trust.
Here's the issue that I see. This election seems to be more about bashing and smearing the other canidate, his party and his ideas more than anything else. The whole thing, so far, has been two groups children pointing fingers at each other and trying to convince the other neighborhood children that they are better than the other without even saying how they're better. Mitt Romney waves around his ideas, things he's done in the past and makes remarks towards the president, tries to undercut him a lot, and the president does the same, and then waves around the Navy Seals like toy soldiers, which is his perogative, as commander-in-chief. My point is that all anyone has done recently is put their foot in their mouth, play the blame game and try to convince everyone that one is somehow better than the other when there don't seem to be that many differences (and here).
These are issues which are important, letting us know what we need to know, things that should not be overlooked in favor of unreleased tax returns, and smearing one's opponent, which seems to be the standard now in the political realm. What is the point? It's a presidential campaign, shouldn't we be a little more mature than a high school-esque election? Are we going to stand by and let politicians know that they can pander to us by being immature or are we going to stand up, as a country, and say "We want a real person for president, not someone who is going to point fingers and whine, but a real person who has backbone, who will support our endeavors and fight for us?" Until that happens, I'm still going to write in Obi-Wan Kenobi until one of the candidates actually gives us some hope.
Here's the issue that I see. This election seems to be more about bashing and smearing the other canidate, his party and his ideas more than anything else. The whole thing, so far, has been two groups children pointing fingers at each other and trying to convince the other neighborhood children that they are better than the other without even saying how they're better. Mitt Romney waves around his ideas, things he's done in the past and makes remarks towards the president, tries to undercut him a lot, and the president does the same, and then waves around the Navy Seals like toy soldiers, which is his perogative, as commander-in-chief. My point is that all anyone has done recently is put their foot in their mouth, play the blame game and try to convince everyone that one is somehow better than the other when there don't seem to be that many differences (and here).
In this presidential election where are the debates about the domestic issues, so far there have been a few pot-shots fired across the bows of the other party's ship, but no actual debates, people have seemed to avoid it, referring instead to the aforementioned finger-pointing and smearing. I do not care, overly much, about the future president's private life, like most Americans, unless it will in some way be detrimental to national security or the overall system that runs the nation. All I, and a good portion of the population here in America, want to know are his opinions, his thoughts, and what he will do if elected, not what he thinks of sports, or how he spends his money, or any of his personal habits, no one is trying to interview a potential new roommate here. We should not be concerned about what a man in a distant white-painted house does in his spare time when he is not trying to run a country. Our duty our mission as citizens is to remain mentally strong and not get sucked into the vicious cycle of schoolyard style drama.
These are issues which are important, letting us know what we need to know, things that should not be overlooked in favor of unreleased tax returns, and smearing one's opponent, which seems to be the standard now in the political realm. What is the point? It's a presidential campaign, shouldn't we be a little more mature than a high school-esque election? Are we going to stand by and let politicians know that they can pander to us by being immature or are we going to stand up, as a country, and say "We want a real person for president, not someone who is going to point fingers and whine, but a real person who has backbone, who will support our endeavors and fight for us?" Until that happens, I'm still going to write in Obi-Wan Kenobi until one of the candidates actually gives us some hope.
Thoughts on Future Pieces
Hi there, readers. There don't seem to be all that many of you, but those who do read, I'd like to get your thoughts on future blog posts or ideas that you'd like to see. I'm working on a political piece and a piece focusing on science, but hit me up with your ideas and comments on where you'd like to see this go. Thanks and have a wonderful day!
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