Because too many of our national leaders are not talking about this productively and because this is my country and I am tired of their effect on it, I decided to write this post. Because I am tired that the people of this nation continually have their emotions and fears exploited, I decided to write this post. Because I am tired of this default rhetoric and the fact that it helps absolutely nothing, ever, I am writing this post. Because Brussels and all of Belgium and all of Europe need our support and not impotent bluster, I am writing this post. Because I stand with the people of this world against TERRORISM and ISIS, I am writing this post. But, most of all, because too many of our national leaders continually fail at moving forward with a solution and because they are too busy assigning blame on a religion and not on people, I decided to write this post.
First of all, when people lose their life to gun violence in the United States, strong advocates of the second amendment are quick to point out that guns do not kill people, people kill people. Semantics, shemantics right. So, a religion is not a living object either, so is it not right then to say Islam does not kill people, people kill people. That is all these terrorist are, plain old people. Cowardly people, but people none the less, who are co-opting and perverting a religion. So when Mr. Cruz blows hard making sure we denounce them and their religion and "cracking down" on all the other people with the same religion, how come we do not do the same things to people who own guns in this country when a "radical gun owner" decides to go postal on their workplace?
Secondly, I stand with Belgium, and France, and Germany, and all of Europe. What ISIS is attacking is our ability to live in an open and free society. They want people to cower in fear, there is nothing else they can do but threaten fear. They cannot fight fair, they cannot withstand attacks, and they most certainly cannot win a fight against a real military. What happened today was an attack on our open and democratic society it must not be made into a platform for the exploitation of fear. If we, everyone in our civilized society, stand together they cannot make us cower in fear and they lose their power. Because fear is a powerful thing. By Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz calling for division and exploiting people's fears they are doing the work for ISIS. Fear is their main objective, emotionally and mentally immature will fall for it, and demagogues will mistakenly think they can corral that fear into power. Fear will be our downfall.
I will never cower in fear. I will continue to travel this world either alone, with my husband and you bet I will continue to encourage my friends to take trips with me. During the Paris attacks I was in Scotland, during 9/11 I was 6 hours away from my family freshman year of college in an unfamiliar city, and my husband and I were in downtown Sydney 10 days after the 2014 attack. It does not matter what the incident is, terrorism will never stifle my need to see the world or connect with new people. They will never conquer my need to live, they will never make me cower in fear, and most of all, they will never ever cause me to turn on my fellow man who are innocent. They will never cause me to turn my back on people in need just because I am fearful. Their actions will never cease my will to see the world and they will never in a million years make me fear living in our open and democratic society. Terrorist can and will be defeated. When we stand together, strong and united, their power is greatly diminished. When we focus on their real intent, which has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with fear and power, we come closer to a real plan to defeat them. Because what they are attacking is our civilization, not our religion or lack their of, but our way of life. To live in fear is to submit and that is not something I am willing to do and I ask you all to do the same.
Me
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Wino Wednesdays
I usually save my Wednesday's for the mid-week feelings of self-loathing and despair. You know it is almost Thursday, one day from Friday and the freedom of the weekend. It is where you see that all your efforts from Monday and Tuesday have not paid off and it feels like you are back at square one. The Joe vs the Volcano rat race us Americans absolutely adore, the safety and drudgery of the day to day grind is at its peak. I am pretty sure it is the reason Wino Wednesday's were invented, it is the perfect self-loathing drink. It makes you feel intelligent and sophisticated when you are not, increasing your confidence for the remainder of the week. You might go to work hungover on Thursday but, damn it, there was a break through last night and as you swished that wine in your mouth, trying to find all the floral and fruity notes, you thought to yourself, "I am better than this" and off you went back to the grind Thursday morning. Rejuvenated from the bullshit you were able to feed yourself the night before about actually being able to taste the floral and fruity notes. But, not today my friends. This Wednesday I find myself full of incredulity.
in·cre·du·li·ty
ˌinkrəˈd(y)o͞olədē/
noun
noun: incredulity
the state of being unwilling or unable to believe something.
It is a feeling we all know too well. In fact my brother-in-law and I often go round and round about our incredulous feelings about how someone so dumb could be so rich, or how so many people in Chicago apparently make shit-loads of money when they can't even parallel park their G-Wagon or drive properly. The fact that an 18/19 year old reality star makes so much money simply off her name she is trying to trademark it despite a visible lack of any real talent. You know, those little things that are so contradictory it drives you insane. The amazing guy with a basic woman, the amazing woman with an asshole of a guy, the amazing ability of your chronically unemployed neighbor, who still drinks milk from a carton, to go about life like he is even remotely normal. All of it is just so hard to believe sometimes, it honestly makes me wonder if I am slowly going insane. The kind where you do not know you are crazy, like Leo ala Shutter Island.
Just today for example, my husband told me that at his work they remodeled a floor of offices and did not replace the garbage cans at the desks. Apparently they just throw the garbage on the floor, I found this concept insane...according to him I am in the minority. A girl pulled over with over 100 pounds of marijuana in her car, along with countless edibles, only given 2 years probation and a thousand dollar fine. Trump and Cruz are the leading Republican nominees. I mean for God's sake, The Bachelor is actually still on air and the Real Housewives are still a thing. The list goes on and on and on. All of this is compounded by ridiculous Facebook posts and other social media platforms where we are not even humble bragging anymore but out right bragging and people love it. They eat it up. I truly believe some days that I am just not meant for these times. Everything is taken to the extreme and has high stakes consequences all with little meaning.
We are not living in reality in any sense of the word. I am tired of wading around in the shallow end of the pool, but it is easier to keep the masses there. I am incredulous about all the above, but also at the idea that it is easier for us to be so flippant about our world it sometimes feels like we are living in a Cringe Comedy movie. I think back 20 years and Jerry Seinfeld hit the nail on the head, people want a show about nothing, it is such a metaphor for life. It is not that things have to necessarily be heavy or deep all the time, but if you truly believe in a higher power or karma you should be worried. Because it feels like the inmates are running the asylum and they are getting rewarded on top of it and it is because we are drawn into the crappiness of all of it.
I am incredulous because there are so many amazing things happening each day that should the in our periphery. Real kids who are changing the world like the student protesters who are being continually assaulted at Trump rallies, real moms/wives starting and running amazing businesses from the ground up. Legit politicians who are still trying to do the right thing for the people, socially responsible companies, activist investors. People who care, people who have real talent, people who matter silently walking behind all of this and pick up the garbage that is thrown on the floor and the least we could do is see them. It would be awesome if we attach the real value to celebrity. It would be awesome if our criminal justice system was fair to everyone. It would be down right morally up-lifting if our economy worked the way it was meant to. We may complain about our political system, but it starts with us. Everything comes back to us, what do we consume and why. I am simply here today to say that I am tired of consuming what is offered in the shallow end of the pool. I am swimming for deeper waters because that is where so many of us belong and what we deserve. So please, let put the inmates back in their cages where they belong. Lets stop consuming their BS.
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