Random post that went BOOM. Dunno why
Just felt like posting.
Nothing new to report, really. Work is still work (still working is a good thing, too), the job hunt still sucks, still have been lazy as Hell, and I haven't bought a snake or a pacman frog yet (I did drop some serious cash on my turtle for a better setup, though. Little bugger already seems more healthy and perky). Bernice is still quite awesome, and I find myself growing ever more into her family.
*RANT ALERT* ...my fingers took control for a bit, and KABLOOEY. I guess that the following needed out, and I hadn't intended for this to be a big post, just a small update! Warning: This is a really long one, and I'm too lazy atm to figure out how to squeeze it into a link, so read at your own peril.
This week, I'm tired of idealists who try and fail to hide a heart full of hatred and intolerance, especially if they claim the opposite. Then again, our society is built to piss people off, stuff them full of pride (I.E. "You're more special/deserving than everyone else because of *insert reason/twisted value here*, or you're more intelligent X than because of Y"), and then shove them off in a corner. The danger therin is that some of these little cornered types then grow up to be angry fanatics who would do little else than claim open-mindedness while their only real grasp on being 'open-minded' is having others think just like them. Lets not forget that they seem to have to go about making attacks on big institutions or generalized social groups (the proverbial masses, really, which no one is every truly brave enough to admit that they're a part of), complete with what I'm sure are well thought out and researched facts gleaned from the infallable and completely verified Internet. It's funny to watch them fail, too, because then all the fun little condemning comes out (everything from the proverbial "You're going to Hell!" or the "You're not one of me, how can you understand?") The ideal itself doesn't matter, either. These folks are everywhere, in every creed, color, lifestyle, and social group, and they serve nothing more than to both keep people separated through vanity and hatred, and then set horrible examples for whatever ideal they represent. I could really keep going with this rant (how people twist ideals to meet their own ends, how they will play stereotypes into condeming others, it goes on and there's a good few thousand years (how long have we really been around?) worth of history on it), but I choose not too atm.
To these folks I say thank you for further ruining any chance at honest open-mindedness and thank you for further separating us as people. Please, go die in a fire. For those who have to force ideals on others using force, congratulations on your weakness, and you're doomed to fall in the same way someday.
Here's the other kicker. America has tons of flaws, as anyone can see. I could get into a ton of shit I hate about this country, but here is what I like about it: We're free to keep our own ideals. We're free to congregate with others who share the same views. We're free to be as zealous or as laid back, as smart or as ignorant as we choose to be, and for me, that's something that you can't put a price tag on. Don't like someone else's view? You may walk away. Don't like a church? The door is on the left, and there's another down the street. Don't like the way a politician is doing something? We can write and bitch and do all sorts of things. We may not be able to change the polotics, but we can at least speak out without fear of immediate reprisal, like a bullet, a bomb, or jail time. We even can use mediums like this to post rants like this, about damn near anything we want! The downside here, though, is that the fanatics can form bigger groups, and stupid people in numbers are capable of quite a variety of things. That could entail another rant about personal responsibility and people thinking for themselves, but people really hate the first one, and the second one is slightly more common than common sense. The underlying issue sparking the rant here is people forcing ideals on others.
Economics is another deal when it comes to freedom, but that's someone else's game, and a different rant. I don't have the energy for that one.
As for what open-mindeness is? For me, it's finding one's own way, being happy for others who seek their own way, and freely exchanging ideas (debate doesn't count here, because technically, debate is competition. Free exchange is more along the lines of simple presentation). I don't believe that someone can truly be wrong (even the idiot who blows himself up because the cleric down the street told him too is right in his own mind), and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. If I don't like someone's opinion, I simply don't have to deal with it (Sadly, that's not the case for everyone. Some of the afformentioned fanatics managed to gain power and either turn their ideals into law or found other creative ways to force ideals onto others. It's not just old, white, WASP farts in America, either). If they try to force it on me, I will retort (or run, depending on what they're armed with). I believe that people betray the concept of open-mindedness when they begin condeming others, or being forceful. That's something I have little to no stomach for. People can be open-minded and keep their own beliefs at the same time. Going back to those friendly little fanatics, I don't think that many of them truly believe that. You HAVE to think like them, or concede to them that they're more correct than you are, or else.
This all being said, I try to surround myself with people whom I believe are truly open-minded. I have friends all over the social board, and if anything, it makes life fun, interesting, and all the more enriching. As for folks who I can't stand or those who hold ideals that I wouldn't like, I exercise that whole "Walk away" freedom. In the end, you can't change a person unless they choose to change, and as for our country? Well, time will tell, but I'm here, I love the bits of freedom that I do have, and until something better (hopefully not worse) comes along, it's what we have.
So yeah, that bugger needed out. Wow. I need a cigarette now or something.
Nothing new to report, really. Work is still work (still working is a good thing, too), the job hunt still sucks, still have been lazy as Hell, and I haven't bought a snake or a pacman frog yet (I did drop some serious cash on my turtle for a better setup, though. Little bugger already seems more healthy and perky). Bernice is still quite awesome, and I find myself growing ever more into her family.
*RANT ALERT* ...my fingers took control for a bit, and KABLOOEY. I guess that the following needed out, and I hadn't intended for this to be a big post, just a small update! Warning: This is a really long one, and I'm too lazy atm to figure out how to squeeze it into a link, so read at your own peril.
This week, I'm tired of idealists who try and fail to hide a heart full of hatred and intolerance, especially if they claim the opposite. Then again, our society is built to piss people off, stuff them full of pride (I.E. "You're more special/deserving than everyone else because of *insert reason/twisted value here*, or you're more intelligent X than because of Y"), and then shove them off in a corner. The danger therin is that some of these little cornered types then grow up to be angry fanatics who would do little else than claim open-mindedness while their only real grasp on being 'open-minded' is having others think just like them. Lets not forget that they seem to have to go about making attacks on big institutions or generalized social groups (the proverbial masses, really, which no one is every truly brave enough to admit that they're a part of), complete with what I'm sure are well thought out and researched facts gleaned from the infallable and completely verified Internet. It's funny to watch them fail, too, because then all the fun little condemning comes out (everything from the proverbial "You're going to Hell!" or the "You're not one of me, how can you understand?") The ideal itself doesn't matter, either. These folks are everywhere, in every creed, color, lifestyle, and social group, and they serve nothing more than to both keep people separated through vanity and hatred, and then set horrible examples for whatever ideal they represent. I could really keep going with this rant (how people twist ideals to meet their own ends, how they will play stereotypes into condeming others, it goes on and there's a good few thousand years (how long have we really been around?) worth of history on it), but I choose not too atm.
To these folks I say thank you for further ruining any chance at honest open-mindedness and thank you for further separating us as people. Please, go die in a fire. For those who have to force ideals on others using force, congratulations on your weakness, and you're doomed to fall in the same way someday.
Here's the other kicker. America has tons of flaws, as anyone can see. I could get into a ton of shit I hate about this country, but here is what I like about it: We're free to keep our own ideals. We're free to congregate with others who share the same views. We're free to be as zealous or as laid back, as smart or as ignorant as we choose to be, and for me, that's something that you can't put a price tag on. Don't like someone else's view? You may walk away. Don't like a church? The door is on the left, and there's another down the street. Don't like the way a politician is doing something? We can write and bitch and do all sorts of things. We may not be able to change the polotics, but we can at least speak out without fear of immediate reprisal, like a bullet, a bomb, or jail time. We even can use mediums like this to post rants like this, about damn near anything we want! The downside here, though, is that the fanatics can form bigger groups, and stupid people in numbers are capable of quite a variety of things. That could entail another rant about personal responsibility and people thinking for themselves, but people really hate the first one, and the second one is slightly more common than common sense. The underlying issue sparking the rant here is people forcing ideals on others.
Economics is another deal when it comes to freedom, but that's someone else's game, and a different rant. I don't have the energy for that one.
As for what open-mindeness is? For me, it's finding one's own way, being happy for others who seek their own way, and freely exchanging ideas (debate doesn't count here, because technically, debate is competition. Free exchange is more along the lines of simple presentation). I don't believe that someone can truly be wrong (even the idiot who blows himself up because the cleric down the street told him too is right in his own mind), and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. If I don't like someone's opinion, I simply don't have to deal with it (Sadly, that's not the case for everyone. Some of the afformentioned fanatics managed to gain power and either turn their ideals into law or found other creative ways to force ideals onto others. It's not just old, white, WASP farts in America, either). If they try to force it on me, I will retort (or run, depending on what they're armed with). I believe that people betray the concept of open-mindedness when they begin condeming others, or being forceful. That's something I have little to no stomach for. People can be open-minded and keep their own beliefs at the same time. Going back to those friendly little fanatics, I don't think that many of them truly believe that. You HAVE to think like them, or concede to them that they're more correct than you are, or else.
This all being said, I try to surround myself with people whom I believe are truly open-minded. I have friends all over the social board, and if anything, it makes life fun, interesting, and all the more enriching. As for folks who I can't stand or those who hold ideals that I wouldn't like, I exercise that whole "Walk away" freedom. In the end, you can't change a person unless they choose to change, and as for our country? Well, time will tell, but I'm here, I love the bits of freedom that I do have, and until something better (hopefully not worse) comes along, it's what we have.
So yeah, that bugger needed out. Wow. I need a cigarette now or something.