Has the world gone fucking nuts?!
I don't know if anyone still reads these, I know I certainly don't, however I cannot keep my surging feelings to myself any longer and, with no other available means of thought-output, I have once again returned to the infamy that is LiveJournal.
HAS THE WORLD GONE FUCKING NUTS?!!
I googled that question, and was rather disappointed in the results. I suggest trying it, as they were rather entertaining in their own right. But this isn't about google, this is about the WORLD GOING FUCKING NUTS.
I really don't know what happened. When did it all go wrong? Who wasn't at the helm? Do I really need to step up and save the day in a dramatic Jack-Bauer-esque way or something? Let us recap the utter chaos in this world around us that (until recently) I had a little bit of faith left in:
1. The Muslim World
Now, I feel that I should preface this part by saying that I understand that the particular case study in which I will be exploring is NOT a fair representation of Islam as a faith. I have many Islamic friends, and from what I know about the faith, it is a very peacful religion that stresses non-violence as much -- if not more -- than most other major religions. That said, I'm getting absoloutly fed up with the ignorent immaturity of the Middle East as a whole. A cartoon -- a fucking comic strip -- was published by some no-name newspaper in Denmark, and people are offended. Yeah, I get it, very mean and racist. A debate of words would be 110% understandable, I mean, I'd be upset if someone defaced Tommy Trojan for Pete's sake (Pete and Pete is an awesome show, I strongly recommend it), but this is not in fact what happened. I will now put it in perspective for those of you playing along at home.
Denmark publishes satirical comic. This becomes reasonable justification for the death of dozens, the injury of hundreds, the burning of embassies all over the world, and political sanctions linked with boycots.
wtf.
Denmark apologized, too. And here's the best part: to "get back" at the West, Iran is holding a contest for who can make the most offensive Holocaust cartoon. It will publish the 12 best. Does this not corrolate to playground tactics? Thats like calling someone a butt-head because he called you a stupid face. Its just as mature and logical, too. Fucking tards.
Will the sane Muslims of the world go to everyone else and promptly slap them in the face?! Or at LEAST explain to me why they can't understand why the entire west is kinda scared of them?
Sorry, I needed to get that out there. I love you Najva, don't hate me. I just can't believe that people do the things they do.
2. Israel/Palestine
(In summary)
"I want to live here"
"No, I want to live here."
"Well I dont want to share because YOUR invisible man isn't as cool as mine"
"Fuck you! LET US KUNG FU FIGHT (with tanks and suicide bombs)"
stfu. Both of you.
Seriously.
3. The Empire
No, not that awesome Death Star wielding, Vader loving, group of bumpkins from Star Wars. I mean the good 'ol USofA. The freedom loving United States is building an empire, whether it wants to admit it or not. This is a topic we discuss ad nauseum in my Geopolitics class, and I assure you its factual. Its just that lots of people don't hear much about it (but thats due to censored media, an entirely different topic that I won't get started on). Our economy since World War II cannot function without us being in a state of war. After the cold war, the US had invested so heavily in its military that it couldn't just chill - it needed to maintain its acceleration. After the fall of the Soviets, the world was no longer bi-polar, and there was no "evil empire" to contend with, thus giving birth to the "Rogue Nation" doctrine, a foreign policy strategy that dictates that the US will use any excuse to exploit making a villain and an enemy out of any state that it has a chance of conquering in order to gain power in a "justified" way. Don't believe me? Send me a message and I'll quote you the author and title of several interesting (and barely circulated) books and testimony from military officials of the past couple decades. Iraq, and soon Iran, fall under this category.
If the state of the union address didn't piss you off, you have a lot of catching up to do.
Of the 20billion dollars that Bush plans of appropriating to finding "alternatives to oil" (something he came up with AFTER invading Iraq. Suspicious much?), he declares, bombastically might I add, that not a PENNY of it will be drawn out of defense spending. In fact, more money is going into that for some reason, bringing the number up to $440+ billion something. No, all 20 Billion are coming out of "non-security discretionary" funds; aka, Healthcare, Education, Transportation, etc. Yes, because cutting that will help everyone out a whole lot. But at least we're getting a new Marine Corps commando unit! OMFG THATS UB3R!!! The fact that no one has really criticized this bothers me.
Oh, and New Orleans is still fucked. Much to the embarrassment of the current administration, the Mayor of said town has publically called for international aid to save the city, citing Bush's failure to act on his promise to "do whatever it takes, however long it takes." Wtf man. Come the fuck on.
Everyone in the administration is a crony from school. Lame.
Rove is SO CLEARLY evil. Can no one see that? I mean... look at him...
Bush is surrounded by yes-men. Remember the good old days when Lincoln surrounded himself with his greatest political enemies because he knew they would criticize his decisions the most, thus providing the best courses of action, that are closely scrutinized to perfection? If a highly decorated war hero and five star general says something relating to miliary strategy is a bad idea, he is publically defaced by the entire administration, fired, and called a Coward. By Cheney. Yeah, because you are SO badass. stfu I wish your heart died. For goodness sake, there is a DIFFERENCE between disagreement and disloyalty. For shame. For shame...
Ok, I could rant about this for hours, but I'll move on. But yeah, this is one of the biggest fuck ups of this millennium or any other (open to debate, I'm sure). Sorry to any/all Republicans, this is not a bash at you, just at the man in the office. Democrat or Republican, you have to admit he fucked up. Repeatedly. Ok, I'll stop, I promise.
4. MTV
When did it stray from its delightful Daria days? When did Room Raiders and Flava Flav take over?
5. Superbowl
Terrible game. I have yet to talk to anyone who had any strong convictions for either team.
Ok, now I'm just bitching to bitch. But the first three points I really meant. I just had to get that out there somehow.
In conclusion, I don't hate Islam, Republicans, Israeli's/Palestinians, or even the Steelers. (Note, I didn't mention MTV) I just think a lot of people in charge, and a significant number of people following them, have completely lost sight of things. When I was younger, maybe it was due to naivety, but the world just seemed to get along better. Why can't we live in a secular world where religious fundamentalism doesn't claim thousands of lives every year? Why can't we have a leader that we all believe in, that we can all rally behind, and who can actually lead a country (See: FDR)? Why can't people's of different backgrounds coexist? Is it really that hard? Am I really more aware of the big picture than every other world leader? WHY CANT COLLEGE STUDENTS RUN THE WORLD?!
I just feel so powerless. I watch CNN and just yell at the screen sometimes. I used to be such a happy positive person, and the world is all of a sudden pissing me off.
What will it take for the world to change? What will it take to set us as a species back on the right track?
This question, I leave to you.
Thank you and goodnight.
-Ross "The Yellow Dart" Godwin
P.S. - Its good to be back, LJ. Its good to be back...
HAS THE WORLD GONE FUCKING NUTS?!!
I googled that question, and was rather disappointed in the results. I suggest trying it, as they were rather entertaining in their own right. But this isn't about google, this is about the WORLD GOING FUCKING NUTS.
I really don't know what happened. When did it all go wrong? Who wasn't at the helm? Do I really need to step up and save the day in a dramatic Jack-Bauer-esque way or something? Let us recap the utter chaos in this world around us that (until recently) I had a little bit of faith left in:
1. The Muslim World
Now, I feel that I should preface this part by saying that I understand that the particular case study in which I will be exploring is NOT a fair representation of Islam as a faith. I have many Islamic friends, and from what I know about the faith, it is a very peacful religion that stresses non-violence as much -- if not more -- than most other major religions. That said, I'm getting absoloutly fed up with the ignorent immaturity of the Middle East as a whole. A cartoon -- a fucking comic strip -- was published by some no-name newspaper in Denmark, and people are offended. Yeah, I get it, very mean and racist. A debate of words would be 110% understandable, I mean, I'd be upset if someone defaced Tommy Trojan for Pete's sake (Pete and Pete is an awesome show, I strongly recommend it), but this is not in fact what happened. I will now put it in perspective for those of you playing along at home.
Denmark publishes satirical comic. This becomes reasonable justification for the death of dozens, the injury of hundreds, the burning of embassies all over the world, and political sanctions linked with boycots.
wtf.
Denmark apologized, too. And here's the best part: to "get back" at the West, Iran is holding a contest for who can make the most offensive Holocaust cartoon. It will publish the 12 best. Does this not corrolate to playground tactics? Thats like calling someone a butt-head because he called you a stupid face. Its just as mature and logical, too. Fucking tards.
Will the sane Muslims of the world go to everyone else and promptly slap them in the face?! Or at LEAST explain to me why they can't understand why the entire west is kinda scared of them?
Sorry, I needed to get that out there. I love you Najva, don't hate me. I just can't believe that people do the things they do.
2. Israel/Palestine
(In summary)
"I want to live here"
"No, I want to live here."
"Well I dont want to share because YOUR invisible man isn't as cool as mine"
"Fuck you! LET US KUNG FU FIGHT (with tanks and suicide bombs)"
stfu. Both of you.
Seriously.
3. The Empire
No, not that awesome Death Star wielding, Vader loving, group of bumpkins from Star Wars. I mean the good 'ol USofA. The freedom loving United States is building an empire, whether it wants to admit it or not. This is a topic we discuss ad nauseum in my Geopolitics class, and I assure you its factual. Its just that lots of people don't hear much about it (but thats due to censored media, an entirely different topic that I won't get started on). Our economy since World War II cannot function without us being in a state of war. After the cold war, the US had invested so heavily in its military that it couldn't just chill - it needed to maintain its acceleration. After the fall of the Soviets, the world was no longer bi-polar, and there was no "evil empire" to contend with, thus giving birth to the "Rogue Nation" doctrine, a foreign policy strategy that dictates that the US will use any excuse to exploit making a villain and an enemy out of any state that it has a chance of conquering in order to gain power in a "justified" way. Don't believe me? Send me a message and I'll quote you the author and title of several interesting (and barely circulated) books and testimony from military officials of the past couple decades. Iraq, and soon Iran, fall under this category.
If the state of the union address didn't piss you off, you have a lot of catching up to do.
Of the 20billion dollars that Bush plans of appropriating to finding "alternatives to oil" (something he came up with AFTER invading Iraq. Suspicious much?), he declares, bombastically might I add, that not a PENNY of it will be drawn out of defense spending. In fact, more money is going into that for some reason, bringing the number up to $440+ billion something. No, all 20 Billion are coming out of "non-security discretionary" funds; aka, Healthcare, Education, Transportation, etc. Yes, because cutting that will help everyone out a whole lot. But at least we're getting a new Marine Corps commando unit! OMFG THATS UB3R!!! The fact that no one has really criticized this bothers me.
Oh, and New Orleans is still fucked. Much to the embarrassment of the current administration, the Mayor of said town has publically called for international aid to save the city, citing Bush's failure to act on his promise to "do whatever it takes, however long it takes." Wtf man. Come the fuck on.
Everyone in the administration is a crony from school. Lame.
Rove is SO CLEARLY evil. Can no one see that? I mean... look at him...
Bush is surrounded by yes-men. Remember the good old days when Lincoln surrounded himself with his greatest political enemies because he knew they would criticize his decisions the most, thus providing the best courses of action, that are closely scrutinized to perfection? If a highly decorated war hero and five star general says something relating to miliary strategy is a bad idea, he is publically defaced by the entire administration, fired, and called a Coward. By Cheney. Yeah, because you are SO badass. stfu I wish your heart died. For goodness sake, there is a DIFFERENCE between disagreement and disloyalty. For shame. For shame...
Ok, I could rant about this for hours, but I'll move on. But yeah, this is one of the biggest fuck ups of this millennium or any other (open to debate, I'm sure). Sorry to any/all Republicans, this is not a bash at you, just at the man in the office. Democrat or Republican, you have to admit he fucked up. Repeatedly. Ok, I'll stop, I promise.
4. MTV
When did it stray from its delightful Daria days? When did Room Raiders and Flava Flav take over?
5. Superbowl
Terrible game. I have yet to talk to anyone who had any strong convictions for either team.
Ok, now I'm just bitching to bitch. But the first three points I really meant. I just had to get that out there somehow.
In conclusion, I don't hate Islam, Republicans, Israeli's/Palestinians, or even the Steelers. (Note, I didn't mention MTV) I just think a lot of people in charge, and a significant number of people following them, have completely lost sight of things. When I was younger, maybe it was due to naivety, but the world just seemed to get along better. Why can't we live in a secular world where religious fundamentalism doesn't claim thousands of lives every year? Why can't we have a leader that we all believe in, that we can all rally behind, and who can actually lead a country (See: FDR)? Why can't people's of different backgrounds coexist? Is it really that hard? Am I really more aware of the big picture than every other world leader? WHY CANT COLLEGE STUDENTS RUN THE WORLD?!
I just feel so powerless. I watch CNN and just yell at the screen sometimes. I used to be such a happy positive person, and the world is all of a sudden pissing me off.
What will it take for the world to change? What will it take to set us as a species back on the right track?
This question, I leave to you.
Thank you and goodnight.
-Ross "The Yellow Dart" Godwin
P.S. - Its good to be back, LJ. Its good to be back...