Terrorism and other global threats

I hate politics. I'm going to say that right off the bat. This post has nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with politics all at the same time.

I mainly wanted to just say a few words about the war. Remember, the one that's going on right now in the east? You forgot? You mean going to your job or school or staying at home in your peaceful suburban homes with your peaceful suburban families and your peaceful suburban dog doesn't remind you that there is terrible war going on right now?

I never had much of an opinion when it came to the war before today. I went to my job, came home, hung out with friends. All the while, there is fight like none the world has ever experienced going on. That's because in today's fight, we're fighting against an idea, rather than a group of people dressed in the same pajamas. The idea is terrorism. I don't know how many of you realize how awful and disgusting the concept of terrorism is. It preys on your fears. The terrorist wants to kill the country slowly, making it suffer. They want to see this economy go bad. Why do you think we have a bad economy right now? It's the repercussions of the events that began to transpire after the 9-11 attack in New York that fateful tuesday morning. You're probably wondering how all of this fits together. Before you can begin to understand the War, you have to understand the ideas and the things that the people fighting are fighting for. You have to understand what motivates them enough to hop in the pilot seat of a 747 and proceed to ram it into a building killing thousands of people in less than an hour. Every single one of us forgets how scary that day was. It could happen again anytime, anywhere.

As I mentioned before, you have to understand where these people are coming from. We already know what the Americans are fighting for (or at least most Americans) which are things like freedom (which really isn't the case over here but whatever) and other commodities that you and I take for granted every single day. Point being, it's very different for the Muslims. Most of you probably don't realize this, but Islam is an extremely conservative religion. Even more so than Catholicism or even Baptist Bible thumpin' Christians. In Islam, if you mess up, you get killed. No questions asked. If you're a women, you're not a person. You have little to no 'rights' and you accept this because this is just the way things are. In Islam, life is hard and for some miserable. These are not you're every day muslims. These are the ones from the fatherland, the ones that take it and practice it to the letter. These are the religious and political LEADERS in Islam. 

If the people in charge are the corrupt ones, then everyone suffers.  My point is, Islam is only fun for those running the show. Otherwise, there are a lot of morals to stand by.

Enter America. One day, a country called America crossed the giant ocean because of the oil found in the east. We have oil here, but there are just too many cute little snow bunnies in Alaska, and drilling up there, well, that would just be mean to the little bunnies. Anyway, we start giving lots and lots of money to the east for their oil. Lots and lots of Money. Now, before we went and started emptying our wallets in to their turbans, the east was relatively poor. Guess who had all the money in the east? If you said 'the people running the show' I will give you a high five next time I see you. Yes, the people with the fat wallets are the ones making all the rules. Well all of the sudden, the eastern economy booms because of all the money they got from us. Money. Something that was severely lacking until we started using their land as our own little grocery store. 

Now lets fast forward a few years and see what happened. You now have a thriving economy where there was once only money for some. With money, people can live how they want to. They started getting nightclubs. Just like America. They started having bars. Just like America. They started to divert from their strictly held morals. Just like America. They wanted to be just like the people they saw on their new TV sets that they could now afford to buy.

Sounds like a cool thing right? Everyone wants to be like America. Not really, but some people did. This did not make the leaders of Islam happy one bit. They were quickly losing control of the people they had ruled with an iron fist over for centuries. They were infuriated, insulted, and disgusted at what the people who called themselves 'Muslim' were acting like. Who to blame for all this immorality? Who brought all these ideas of freedom over to our people? Who instilled these repulsive and vile urges in the minds of the people of Islam. The Americans. The Americans turned our once moral and righteous nation into a mockery of what it used to be. Someone has to pay for this. The Americans will pay for this.

And now we are. The subsequent events changed the East forever. The youth were brought up and trained to loath America and western civilization. Western Civilization is evil. Western civilization is immoral. Western civilization is an abomination to our god. Pretty soon, the leaders were (and are) back in control, ruling over their people with the same tactic their using over here. Terrorism. It wasn't bad enough that you had to die when you broke the law. Now anyone, anytime, can die. 

On 9-11, the war was made known to the public. The people of the world saw far the very first time the hatred these people have for us in broad daylight, and broadcast thousands of times on every news channel. They hate us enough to take their own lives, as long as it leaves behind a wave of destruction over their enemies. Who are their enemies? Everyone who doesn't believe what they do. It's that simple. If you're not a Muslim, you are doomed to die.

So now America, no longer able to effectively hide terrorism under the covers, sends troops over to the east to find those responsible for the deaths of innocent (hmm...) civilians and put a bullet in their perverted brains. But see that's the thing. These people could be anyone. Anyone who decides they want to go make a bomb can do it. Terrorism, is an ugly thing. It preys on humanities weakness, rather than physical weakness. Everyone has fear, and these filthy sand bags want to use it to their complete advantage to take their misguided righteous revenge on our asses. When we can't find the enemy, we have to start killing everyone. 

That upsets some people. Well, don't kill innocent people. Anyone who has any information regarding terrorist activity and does not expose them are just as bad as the terrorists. But do you wanna know why no one exposes the Terrorists??? FEAR! If an individual or group of individuals wants to do the right thing and let our troops know what's going on, they get bumped to the top of the hit list. They will be hunted down and slaughtered by their own people. 

As bad as that sounds, not saying anything makes them scum just like the terrorists. If you're too scared to die to save many, then you don't value life nearly enough. At least the terrorists are willing to make sacrifices what they believe to be true. To me, if you're too chicken shit to go to the authorities with information regarding terrorist activity, then you have two strikes and no balls in my book.

So now, here we are. A bunch of ignorant idiots sitting on our lazy asses voting people into office who we know nothing about. Like I said, I hate politics, but....here we go. Do any of you realize that president elect Obama has heavy Muslim ties (He wasn't born in America, don't let anyone tell you otherwise) and although I'm not making any sort of judgement on him, I find it weird that he wants to pull out of Iraq so quickly. To the East, that is saying, "Yes, we are the most powerful nation in the world, and you guys have us stumped. We'll leave you alone now."

That's what scares me. If we take our troops out of Iraq, then their just going to take the War over here. Over here, there are lots and lots of civilians, all of them possible targets. If you take the troops out of Iraq, the radical Muslims WILL find their way over here and start killing people by the thousands. You saw for yourself on September 11th what these people are capable of. 

And still people whine when they hear that 3,000 of our boys lost their lives in Iraq this year. Yes, war is a terrible thing. All life is valuable, and it's a shame that people have to die for what we believe in. But in WWII, 3,000 lives were lost before lunch. America has a very weak stomach for war. It's uncomfortable, not to mention I can't watch the news without hearing someone else losing their life. How awful. Seriously? Grow a pair.

I think that all these misinformed pacifist swine need to remember that there is still a War going on. As long as we are America, they will hate us. As long as we are America, they will hunt us. As long as we are America, they will kill us.

So go ahead. Tell the boys to c'mon home. 

(/)2008

In a few hours, 2008 will be over. It was an interesting year I must say.

Normally I would go into some deep speech about the end of one chapter and the opening of another and blah blah blah. Not this year. This year, I'm simply going to say that everything happens for a reason, but that is no excuse to let the bad things get you down. No, this year, just be yourself. Stand for what you believe in, but also be open to hear what others are saying. Listen before you speak, and put others before yourself, but take care of yourself to.

Blah. I don' even know what to say. Just have a good new years and be safe.

Seeking: Vampire Age: Somewhere around 108

I don't claim to have many people that follow my blog, yet I still feel a slight sense of guilt when I neglect to post something. So over my "break" I have been doing much research into our modern culture. Specifically, the Twilight craze, and by craze, I mean this is a turning point in literary history whether people would like to admit it or not. Don't believe me? A few minutes on google and you'll realize how big this is. Now I know that most of you are used to me being AGAINST mainstream society, but in the name of journalism, I had to see for myself what this was all about.

It all began when I went to go see the movie (on opening night nonetheless) with a very good friend of mine. At that point, curiosity was already sinking it's fangs into my neck. So there we sat, and to be honest, I was absolutely blown away. Not by the movie itself, with it's mediocre effects and things like that. But the story, now that's a different....uh, situation. A few days later, I went to the bookstore on my lunch break and bought the book and finished it in the week. What can I say? It was really good. It wasn't perfect, but for some reason, it sticks with you.

Especially Edward Cullen. 

You wonder why all the girls are in love with him? You wonder why everyone wants to be a member of the Cullen family? Then read about Edward, and you understand.

Here's the really cool thing. The very first time Edward meets Bella, he is overcome by her scent, and has to go to extreme measures just to keep himself from killing her and drinking her blood. Sounds wonderful right? It gets better. It gets to the point where he has to stop himself from breathing just to be around her. I'm not gonna spoil anything, because maybe some of you will also read it for yourself. All this to say, it IS a very moving love story. It is loaded with undertones of Lust, Temptation, Courage, Valor, Restraint, Internal Struggle, and most of all, Love. It's true.

Now here's what I have to say to the girls. Although it would be great if every girl met their Edward. But what they fail to realize is that their are people in the world with the same exact character attributes. Especially lust. I don't know if you girls realize it, but sometimes, we go to extreme measures just to keep ourselves from doing things we might regret later. Well, some guys do. Most people now just give in to their every whim and do whatever it is they want. Is that what Edward Cullen would do? No. Ladies? You wanna know how to meet your Edward? Look for the guy that wants to get to know you, and not what's in your pants. The ones who look you in the eye when they talk to you. The ones who laugh with you, listen to you, and love you for who you are. That, my friends, is your Edward. He may not want to suck your blood, but don't underestimate how cruel guy's intentions can be for you.

Wow. Didn't mean to rant. Anyway, my final thought is that I think there is an Edward out there for every Bella. Ladies, if you want your man to be an Edward, then you should try being a Bella. Seriously, I was in love with the girl by the time I finished.

Too tired, troubled, torn, and taken down.

This one is going to be a bit more personal.

I woke up this morning feeling like complete shit. Not in the physical sense, but more in the emotional / mental department. It seems mornings like these are becoming more and more frequent. I wake up hating everything. I wake up feeling trapped, miserable, empty, misguided, confused, and apathetic, and it sucks.

I know, I know. I have got to start eating breakfast. Most important meal of the day people say. Although I don't think that this state of being is from mal-nutrition, at least in the physical way. Something else that used to be there is gone. My get up and go, got up and left, so to speak.

I've never felt like this before. Like I'm at a dead end. Like some invisible walls are closing in. The end of my short rope. Fuse is getting shorter. My anxiety is off the charts, and I feel like at any minute, I could have a nervous break-down at ninteen years old. I feel as though I am a ticking time bomb, an unstable bridge just waiting ever so patiently for that one moron to tread where he should not go. I feel sorry for whoever sets me off, becasue I do not know what I will do. The weight of the world is on my shoulders, or at least, a good half of the world. I can't get rid of that feeling.

Most of you who know me pretty well have never seen me angry. Upset, annoyed, grumpy, and frustrated, yes. But Angry? No one's ever seen me angry. I think I might have been once, and it wasn't pretty.

So now that I feel that there is nothing left I can do, I choose to write about it. Maybe putting all these things into words will make them less of a mystery. I find that by giving my feelings faces and names, they tend to be less scary. Still there, but just not as frightening.

Even now, starting to calm down. Good. Won't be like this for long though. Never is. Whenever it comes back, it's always worse too. I need something. I fucking hate this job. I hate this routine of get up, go to work, come home, go to bed. That's not me. I don't do that shit. I was meant for better, and I feel my soul rotting to nothing every minute I spend in these goddamned walls.

I just need something....

It hurts that this doesn't surprise me

I was cruising the web this morning and I stumbled across this post on Geekologie. Normally, it's a fun site, discussing various topics that would be interessting to people with a nerd side.

One of the posts this morning, was not very fun at all. In fact, I found it rather (not)shocking. You know that feeling, the whole, "Oh my lanta, I'm so (not) shocked!" It's becaue of this awful world. Anyway, a 19 year old from Florida killed himself on the internet with an audience of about 1500 people. Abraham Biggs intentionally overdosed on pills in front of over a thousand people watching on their computer screens. Justin.tv is an open network of hundreds of streaming chanels, and is a medium for students (or anyone) to use streaming media.

Abraham had posted suicide notes on forums prior to him taking the pills. In fact, he had done things like this so many times before, the moderators of these sites didn't take it seriously enough to do anything when he decided to do it for real. His note read:

"I am an asshole. I have let everyone down and I feel as though I will
never change or never improve. I am in love with a girl and I know that I am not good enough for her. Please forgive me all for taking my own life so early. I tried so hard to fight against this strong battle. I have reached out for help so many times, and yet I believe, I was turned away because of the things I did, that it is a punishment I am willing to take, for I know that being who I am has only brought myself and others pain."

If that isn't bad enough, they were people online who were egging him on to do it. They WANTED to see him kill himself. Still there were those who even after his body lay there completely lifeless, continued to mock and jeer at him and acusing him of staging the whole thing.

This is so saddening to me, and yet the sadder part is that most of me is not phased by this at all. I'm sad because I know it happened. I'm sad because of his confusion, his anger, his self-loathing, his feeling of worthlessness. I am also quite shocked at how much people change when they're posting in public forums, but that'll be for a different entry.

I think for this to hit home for most of us, we need to think about the point he was driven to, rather than the actual act of killing himself. Think of the times where life has seemed so hopeless and dark. We've all been there.

Think about the time where you were most hurt, scared, angry, or confused. This poor kid had it so bad, that the only way in his mind to get it to go away, was to kill himself. We are so quick to judge and say "Oh, suicide is selfish," blah blah blah. I'm not condoning suicide, but I really do hate it when people have no sympathy for them. That's a dangerous place to be at.

Didn't mean to get all preachy. Just wanted to point a few things. Things that I found, thought-worthy, I guess. My goal wasn't to ruin anyone's day, but like always, to get you to think about things in a different way.

RIP Abraham Biggs

Stress, Writers block, and everything in between

Blogging, for me, is probably one of the most stress relieving things. It's a chance for me to sit down, get my thoughts in order, and then write them out. But even something as simple as that, I turn stressful. It's not easy, but somehow I manage.

Here is what I mean. I don't know if I've ever gone into any detail about how my mind works, but although it doesn't necesarily present itself outwardly, inwardly, I try to be a very organized person. Meaning everything has it's "place" and when something is out of it's "place" (I use quotes beacuse the place is in my head) it drives me nuts.

How this relates to my blogging is this. For media related things, I have the media blog. And up until this point, I was only going to use this blog for spiritual and deep profound things. The trouble with that, is where do I put all my other thoughts? They have no place. So instead of starting an individual blog for every different train of thought I have, I just decided to put all "thought" related things into this blog. Hence, the name change and everything. I just needed to finalize it in my head. I don't know if any of you think like that, but I think some of you get what I'm saying. My head is messy and disorganized, while at the same time, everything has it's place. I think by trying to explain myself, I'm just confusing you more. Sorry. I usually consider myself pretty good at communicating what I'm trying to say. Just goes to show you how confusing we as humans can be. Love it?

I don't know why I decided to write about this. There is nothing too particularly meaningful about this entry, but hey! That's the great thing about the web. You don't need a reason to ramble. Ugh. Just had something that needed to get out I suppose.

I guess if there is a point to any of this, it would be as follows. I think people over-complicate a lot of things, even if it's just in the mind. The mind is where stress begins and ends, and I think we have a lot more control over it than we realize. I think I'll start with this whole blog thing. I need to free myeself of the restraints. Restraints, that I subconsciencely put there in the first place. It may be freeing to try the same.

A big idea on a small scale

Generally, I notice most of the things I choose to write serisouly about tend to be about the human condition. Not only that, but I also make some fairly accurate generalizations about, well, everyone that is human I suppose. I just have a strong core belief that no two people are really that different. Of course, even I don't practice what I preach sometimes, but I don't think that just because one is imperfect, doesn't mean that he or she cannot point out the imperfection that has devided us into our own seperate cultures, cliques, and communities. While none of these things are in themselves, bad, I think like anything else, they can be twisted and manupilated by the powers that be, into something rather wrong and disgusting.

First of all, think of the irony. Community is the idea that people who live in a similar loaction, share the same ideas, and have common goals should unite. Community is everywhere, and no one would say that community as a concept is a bad idea. However, whether we realize it or not, this thing that is supposed to bring us together does a pretty good job at tearing us apart. I'm talking about when worlds collide.

Community (I'm really going to use that word a lot it looks like) has been, for the most part, reduced to a small scale, and because of that, the idea has been defeated. If we keep the idea of community on a small scale, we never get to fully enjoy it on a large scale. The global community. The human population. In small groups, (I'm avoiding using the c-word) people share what makes them the same, and why they should be in community with each other. Quite often, the ideals of one community are in conflict with another. This leads to exclusion, and often times, it can lead to the despising of the other.

This presents a problem. If we shoot people in other groups down, we make our group exclusive, and thereby killing the whole communal concept. I think TRUE community happens on a world wide scale, when people look past the things that seperate them and instead, focus on the things that bring us together. This is an age-old idea, and it has almost been beaten to death, but as many times as this concept has been regurgitated NO ONE SEEMS TO GET IT. Nobody has said anything that makes it stick. Sure there have been those revolutionarys who make themselves known at the peak of their generation, but over time they fade into the background, and are soon just more names in history books that no one really gives a second thought to.

I'm not even trying to be the person that makes it stick with people. I can't even make it stick with myself, much less influence the whole world into this sort of "Peace and Love" trip. Alls I am trying to do is alert people of the irony and hypocrasy that leads us down our paths. We are mastered by our fears and our depravity. The person who learns to control his fear, no matter what it is, will truly be the great one among us.