Posts Tagged ‘society’

Thanks to YouTube and my fellow contributor to this site Harpuia, I’ve started watching Indoctrinate U. It’s a student film about how public universities in the United States are acting more as indoctrination centers than educational facilities as they are supposed to be. It’s pretty disturbing, watching supposedly rational people acting so knee-jerk about social issues because of what they’re taught in college, and it strikes a distinct chord with me because I did drift significantly from my conservative heritage just in the one year I attended the University of Oklahoma.

However, I didn’t drift as far left as some of the people shown in that film. Whether due to a factor of my inquisitive nature or the short time I was a college student, I didn’t drift any further than moderate. If anything, I dropped off from any solid political leanings due to my cynicism. Looking at this film, I consider myself to be extremely lucky. I also have to wonder just how the idea of “liberal thinking is the only thinking worth thinking” became considered such a good idea.

I mean, history tells us that cultural uniformity is more often a destructive force. The most successful civilizations, such as the Greek and Romans, allowed their people to flourish in their gifts. The Renaissance was so awesome because so many talented people in many different areas of expertise popped up almost all at once and began to change the world, starting from where they were. On the flip side, a sense of cultural uniformity lead to events like the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust.

Not only does history warn us about the dangers of uniformity, so do literature and cinema. “1984″, “The Giver”, “Brave New World”, and many others all say that when we give up our individuality and our freedom, we become less than human. So too do movies like “Equilibrium”. That specific movie centers around a world where “peace” has been created through the death of emotion caused by a drug called Prozium, but that “peace” has to be maintained through strict laws and the violent destruction of anything emotion-provoking and anyone who is acting emotional. Alas, that kind of dystopian future is more likely to happen in this day and age than one would realize.

Are there unifying ideals that are not destructive? Yes, there are. The idea of becoming a better human race is indeed noble and should be striven for, but not at the cost of what makes human. What makes us different from animals is that we are all unique individuals, capable of figuring things out in our own way, although in some ways we may need the help of others to help us get started. Ultimately, though, each person has their own path and must find it in their own way. If we fail to truly embrace diversity, either suppressing or artificially enhancing it (the latter of which ends up acting the same as suppression), we will begin to kill our humanity. Our souls, if you will forgive the terminology, should be more precious to us than any other resource, because there is nothing we can get in return for the loss of the individual.

Consider this: do all pixels on a computer screen show the exact same color? If they do, there is nothing but one solid color, which is usually a sign that something is not working properly. Beautiful images and inspiring works of art, whether image-based or text-based, are only created by variances in color and in brightness of each individual pixel. Even black text on a white screen (or vice versa) is based on variations in color and brightness. This is not a fluke, people; this is how nature works. Nature itself is heterogeneous, with oceans and deserts, forests and prairies, mountains and plains. If the entire world was an ocean, it would be a very dull world; if the entire world was a desert, it would be unlivable.

Bottom line is that in order for us to be united, we all must first be unique. This may sound like a contradiction, but it is perfectly possible, as the Earth herself shows us. We will never be a successfully united human race until we find ways to use all of our various skills, talents, and philosophies in conjunction, rather than discard them for one perceived “complete” ideal. Look at the United Federation of Planets in the Star Trek universe. Their unity was only made possible because of the sharing of gifts, not only between human ethnic and social groups, but between races of intelligent beings throughout the galaxy. That is true unity. The social homogeneity being taught at our universities is a false unity…and a dangerous one.

The more I talk a look at what’s going on with our Congress, spending ourselves further and further into debt, the more I realize how politics as usual has run its course. Unfortunately, our elected leaders seem to refuse to accept this and keep trucking on as if their political extremism is doing everything but killing this country in a slow and agonizing manner. Democrat Nancy Pelosi has, in her time as Speaker of the House, gotten away with suppression of debate on at least two occasions, all seemingly out of spite for the Republicans and so she can accomplish her goals on her time schedule. Today’s Democrats, as well as a large group of their supporters on the Internet, seem to be more concerned about lording over their current control rather than about actually getting what really needs to be done done. They’re bullying everyone, including moderate Dems, just so they can get their way.

My fellow Americans, this should not be.

Such behavior is destructive and is doing more harm than it is good. Instead of doing what needs to be done, such as bringing the people who have mismanaged OUR money to justice (Congress included), each individual Congressperson is more concerned with looking self-important and pushing an agenda rather than trying to actually make a real difference. This is why we’ve had multiple bailouts so far, none of which have worked. Congress, in their black-and-white tunnel vision, has lost sight of the ever useful proverb: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

An aside on the bailouts: if the problem is that money is being squandered, does it not stand to reason that throwing more money at the problem will only result in more money being squandered? And isn’t that what we’ve seen happen from the companies like AIG who have been bailed out? The bailout has only served to pour a firehose on the problem of mismanaged money by allegedly smart but apparently greedy people. There should be prosecution, not deluge after deluge. Take the buckets away from the people who are pouring water into the boat.

Returning to the original point: a mindset of “we are right; you are wrong, and we will slap you around until you agree with us” has been causing pain, not healing. What little Congress has managed to get done has only proven to be either a waste of time or, worse yet, worse than the disease it was intended to cure, much like a prescription pill’s side effects. Our country is dying, both in terms of domestic security and in international perception, and why? Because we are letting the political extremists take over.

We are a far cry from the level of political extremism as seen in other countries in the past, where political dissidents were silenced permanently for disagreeing with what was happening. However, it is not unlikely that the United States could well get to this point, though I don’t know how soon. But we can change our course, and we still have time to leave this highway to peril. We haven’t reached the last exit yet. But we’ve got to start changing things now, and we have to do it by insisting that those who are hellbent on pushing their own agendas, those who are determined to be divisive and bullies rather than uniters and peacemakers, those who are extremists should leave office. We do not need people like them in charge of us! Whether they are liberal or conservative, it doesn’t matter; speak with your vote and tell them where they can go (hint: not Congress). The time for extremism is over. If America is to survive at all, we have got to let go of our egos and our selfishness. And we have got to let go of those who know nothing but to be egotistical and selfish.

Congratulations, Senator President-Elect Barack Obama. You have won the Presidency. Good luck with that; you’re going to need it.

Truth is, despite the historical nature of having elected the first African-American President in this country’s history, not much in the US has changed. The economy is still reeling, there is still conflict in the Middle East, and the world still doesn’t care that much about us, even with “their boy” being elected. We’ve still got miles to go, and it’s not going to be easy. So, in the spirit of coming together, allow me to make a few suggestions as to what needs to be done going forward.

1. Social Justice - You’re probably think I’ve gone soft on this, but there’s more a potential for the Obama administration to screw up here than you think. If there is really going to be change made by the Democrats, it has to start with being truly just. This means actually administering according to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. Champion rights for gay people. Give immigrants a fair shot at becoming US citizens (but please, still require a working knowledge of the English language). Be truly pro-choice, and let women have children if they want to have them. Most importantly, don’t let the rich get away with crimes. Make up for the mistakes of the bailouts by holding people accountable for their actions. Doing such may hurt us in the short term, but in the long run, it will do us a world of good.
2. The Iraq Debacle - It’s not going to be as easy to fix this as one would think. We are too far in to just pull out in one shot. The best withdrawal plan I’ve heard of is a phased withdrawal; it might take a longer period of time than some people are comfortable with, but I believe it will be less harmful overall than if we just disappear in short order. The situation in Iraq [i]will[/i] destabilize if we just up and pull out.
3. Religious Freedom - This is somewhat of a subset of the first mention point, but it is a bit of a concern. We cannot allow the United States of America to be even further unbalanced by persecution from any fringe group, be they fundamentalist or radical atheist. If Obama is truly the intelligent man he appears to be, surely he must recognize that the fringe groups are not the rule in all religions but rather the exception. He must condemn the extremists as separate groups from Christianity, Islam, and atheism. He must recommend that the greater community find ways to co-exist.
4. Rebuild Independence -The only way the US can repair its relationships with other countries to become stronger within itself. This includes finding ways to develop its own energy and become less reliant on other nations. It also means that we must start producing and sending out as much or more than we take in. We’ve been falling behind in trade due to importing cheaper goods from China and other countries. Our own goods are taxed so as to make them too expensive to send out. This must change. Once the US is able to stand on its own two feet again, the world will take notice. We have not been able to do so for almost 60 years, since the second World War.

These are but a few of the things I would like to see happen in the next four years. Maybe some of them are pipe dreams, but I truly believe we’ve got a lot to do if the US is going to continue being a superpower, or even to regain that status. I’ll probably post up more in later days as I can think of them…and I’d like for all of us to write up, if only for ourselves, the causes we would be willing to fight for going forward. If nothing else, it’s an exercise that will hold a mirror up to ourselves, to see where we as individuals need to improve ourselves. After all, the rebuilding of America will start with us.

These days, people love to blame others. Regardless of whether they got themselves into a mess or not, we in this country love to point the finger and everyone but ourselves. From the time that we are kids trying to get out of being punished for breaking the lamp to the time when we are adults who can’t accept their own stupidity, Americans love to say “Wasn’t me.” This can be a bit of a problem sometimes, though, as when everyone’s trying to pass the buck to someone else, it can often be confusing as to where the buck really stops. It often leads to what the Queen of Hearts did to the card who painted her white roses red…everyone gets punished for it regardless. This ducking of responsibility even goes as high as our government.

No one wants to step up and take the flack for the semi-debacle that is the Iraq War. Bush doesn’t want to admit he sent our soldiers off on flawed intelligence, the CIA doesn’t want to admit that their intelligence was flawed, and Congress doesn’t want to admit that they allowed Bush to go to war. Same way with the economy. No one wants to take responsibility for causing our economic downward spiral, not the government, not the financial companies…not anyone. And so we have the bailout.

I’ve mentioned this before, but AIG and all the rest MISHANDLED THEIR BUSINESS. They made bad deals, gave out bad loans to people who can’t pay them off anyway, and gave out huge lines of credit like they were giving money to charity. They screwed up. Why now are people perfectly content with letting these companies pass the blame and the consequences onto the people of the United States?

Despite my best hopes, the bailout…excuse me, “rescue plan”, is still alive because the Senate passed the bill 74-25. This is quite the turnover from Monday’s 225-208 rejection by the House. Whether it was because of the record drop on Monday or the rebound the day after, but mostly because of the media pounding it into people’s heads that the failure of the bailout was a tragedy, enough Senators were swayed to bring life back into Frankenstein’s monster. And just like Frankenstein’s monster, this bailout is going to wreak havoc on our towns and cities…through our wallets.

We are refusing to hold the true culprits for the mortgage and house crises responsible. We are refusing to point the finger at the banks and credit companies and saying, “You mismanaged our money. We demand accountability from you!” Instead, we are letting the same “don’t blame me” culture that sparks frivolous lawsuits put a gun to the head of our economy. We are letting ourselves fall in the very trap that President Thomas Jefferson did everything he could to prevent us from getting into…becoming overly-reliant on the rest of the world. Jefferson’s “let alone” policy lead us to an era of unparalleled expansion and strength, and it was in those times at the turn of the 19th century that forged a fledgling country into a world-effecting nation. In the last half-century or so, however, we have undone everything that was done in the first century and a quarter to make us strong, and now we have become as dependent on the world as the world has been on us.

We have allowed this country to become weakened all because we can’t take responsibility for our own problems. To compensate, we have to get ourselves involved in everyone else’s problems so no one recognizes just how screwed up we here in America are getting. The way to begin getting ourselves out of this hole begins with realizing that we are our own worst enemies. Not terrorists, not socialism…the problem lies with us. Once we own up to that and decide to clean up our own messes, that’s when the US will begin to regain not only its internal integrity but its relationships with other countries…relationships that we forged while we were learning to be a self-reliant republic. And one of the first steps to that is to go to the people responsible for the mortgage crisis and telling them where they can go and what they can do when they get there with what uncomfortable object.