“Hey, lemme tell you the problem with America, okay?
This could be the greatest place on Earth. It really could. You got all these different people comin’ here to get away from oppression an’ poverty, all lookin’ for a better life. But what do they do? They hang on to all those things that got them into trouble in the first place. They wanna go on fightin’ the same wars an’ hatin’ the same people they did in the old world.
They all wanna be Italian or Greek or Irish or Polish or Russian or African or Vietnamese or Cambodian or whatever…so they hang on to alla that, they stick to their own kind, an’ everyone stays suspicious of everyone else. An’ for what?! Culture? History? What the hell is that, a bunch of stuff your folks said you hadda believe in all your life? Does that make it real?”
- Hitman #34 by Garth Ennis and John McCrea
Sometimes the beautiful things that make up our pieces and parts can become the decaying things that are stunting our growth as a society. But this isn’t a black and white statement by any means. You can’t throw heritage and culture out the window, and I don’t think that’s what Ennis and McCrea meant at all. I do think they found a pressure point though: the further we push ourselves away from each other, the further away peace becomes.
Filed under: Politics , America, Culture, Garth Ennis, Hitman, Hitman #34, John McCrea, Peace, Quotes
November 5, 2008 • 9:02 am
November 4, 2008 • 9:15 am
Change doesn’t come through today. Your vote matters, but your actions matter more.
Filed under: Politics
September 11, 2008 • 9:40 am
Here’s that date again. 7 years ago today since the World Trade Center was destroyed, 7 years since one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen as part of a nation occurred. The patriotism that materialized that first week, and months after, was astounding.
Looking back, I feel corny about how patriotic it all felt at the time. Where the American Flag could be seen everywhere. It was probably one of the best selling bumper stickers of the year. But I really don’t regret it. When mass solidarity and compassion is created, the world starts to become a better place.
I wish we would have kept that mindset.
Filed under: Life, Politics , 9/11, America, American Flag, Bumper Stickers, Compassion, Patriotism, Remebering, September 11th, Solidarity
“China beat out Paris, Toronto, Istanbul and Japan to host the summer Olympics this year. Hoping to give a good impression to visitors and the world, China has been constructing new buildings and cleaning up the streets.”
“For natives in Beijing, it is estimated that more than 12,000 Chinese people are being displaced per month in reconstruction preparation for the Olympics.”
“By the time the Games begin, a million total will have been evicted from their housing with little or no notice, never seeing the promised compensation.”
- Justin Boyer, Relevant Magazine May/June 2008
Filed under: Life, Politics, Sports , Beijing, China, Justin Boyer, Olympics, Quotes, Relevant Magazine
I was talking with a friend the other day about self worth and mental health. And we talked about how we just want to feel “normal” sometimes, to not stick out as the sick person.
I don’t think normal exists. If your American, you live in a society that is physically abundant. We have it all at our fingertips. But the trade off comes in the mental realm. Depression and unhappiness are such a common thing in the West. We are trying to fill a circle shaped hole in our lives meant for love and relationships with square shaped pieces made of money, power and sex.
There are always going to “beautiful” people laying flatly on our magazines, making us believe that being like them is what normal is.
I think normal is a lie. Anyone who says they are normal is a liar. If you look at someone and say “Hey, they are fairly normal” you are wrong. We all have skeletons in our closets. We all have physical and mental hang ups that no plastic surgeon or wonder medication could ever relieve.
The sooner we realize that we have problems and need the help of others, that the expectations we put on ourselves are bogus, that the ideal human specimen is one who is comfortable in there own skin both physically and mentally, the sooner we can lead fulfilling lives.
Filed under: Life, Politics , America, depression, Freedom, normal
