Is it just me or does it seem that more and more of the American people are losing freedoms under the guise of protection. And it has only gotten worse. We the people of the United States of America have become so apathetic, lackadaisical, and down right stupid that we don’t even realize our freedoms are being chipped away. How long is it going to last? At what point do “We, The People” say enough is enough and take back the country that rightfully belongs to us, the governed?
I read a news story recently that stated that the President of the United States (and his cronies) have the right, without warrant to wiretap anyone they deem necessary. This all stems, of course from the illustrious Patriot Act. Patriot Act? The key word there being “Patriot”! IS ANYBODY HOME!? They wouldn’t know a patriot if it slapped them in the face! According to dictionary.com the definition of patriot is “…a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, esp. of individual rights, against presumed interference by the federal government…” If these people were so interested in individual rights, the Patriot Act would not exist! As far as I am concerned the President of this country may as well have taken the Constitution out of its protective case, thrown it on the floor, and pissed all over it, because that is essentially what he and his administration have done.
Of course the chipping away of our freedoms isn’t new. It started small. Now I am not going to get into environmentalism, nor am I necessarily for or against smokers rights (although personally, I am not a smoker), but it all started (at least this is as far back as I can recall being aware of legislation of how people should come and go as they please) with the here-and-there bans on smoking.
Next, it was seatbelts. Now this is a real pet peeve of mine. I wear a seatbelt in a car, but it isn’t because my legislators told me to do so. If I didn’t feel safe wearing a seatbelt, then, by god, I wouldn’t. And I would take it to the Supreme Court if I had to. Follow my logic, if you will, for a moment. You work for your money. At least twenty percent goes to the government already. You take what they leave you and you go buy a car, again giving the government their cut in taxes. Then you pay the government again for title fees; then again to get it licensed, a recurring yearly fee. Some states even require that you pay them to have your car (for which you have already paid) inspected by them, another recurring yearly fee. Finally, you have to pay them one more time to get your drivers license which has to be renewed every four to six years. And, yet, they are going to tell you what you can and can not do in your own vehicle even though it does not infringe on anyone else’s life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness. Does this make any sense? IS ANYBODY HOME!? As my father used to say, “You’re not going to get a spark in the ass in hell…” if I don’t wear my seatbelt!
Now, I am not gay. However, I am not going to get a spark in the ass in hell if someone else is gay! Why then does the religious right find it necessary to impose their false sense of morality and their personal preference on those that are gay. If they want to get married, live together, grow old and die together, (sound to me like life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to me) they should be allowed to do so. Once again, no skin off my nose or yours.
Although I have never flown on an airplane (because I think it’s crazy, but I will touch on that subject at another time), my sister and brother-in-law have done so several times since the whole 9-11 thing went down. From what she tells me, the security surpasses the ridiculous by encroaching on the privacy of people under the guise of safety. Now I am not racist or prejudice in any way form or fashion, but my sister has no criminal record, never hurt anyone, is a citizen of this country, yet was subjected to a search of her personal, private belongings by an employee of the airline who was clearly not a U.S. citizen. Is that not ridiculously ironic? IS ANYBODY HOME!?
Dr. Martin Luther King in his famous “I Have A Dream” speech longed for the day “…when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, [would] be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’” But “We, the People” have forgotten what freedom means and that freedom isn’t free. Is this false safety worth the freedom that we give up on a daily basis? Thomas Jefferson, a man whom I am not real fond of (again I will discuss that at another time), said (and I am paraphrasing) when a government stops governing in a way that is for the people that it governs, it is the right of the people to reform that government. I can not help but wonder if this nation has reached that point. I believe that we as a nation are at a fork in the road. One direction is socialism with complete lack of freedom. The other is…well…it is my sincere fear that if things do not drastically change for the better, that there may very well be another civil war in this country. And it will not be north against south, east against west, or black against white. No. It will be “We, the People” against an oppressive government that has lost its ability to govern fairly, justly, and with the people’s best interest at heart. Against a government that has forgotten what the word “Patriot” really means. That is my fear. My only hope is that the people of the United States of America will be just that, united. We need to be of one accord to heal the cancer of our nation. Of course, this is just my point of view ;-)
Copyright 2008 Daniel D. Domain
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Sprinkle Factor
OK. I have been noticing more and more that we as a people are…well…PIGS!!! This especially applies to us men, in general. Now I know you ladies out there are letting out a big, “Uh, YEAH!!”, right now, but, unless you have been in a men’s public restroom lately, you honestly have no idea. And if you have been going into the men’s restrooms, ladies, do you mind? We would like some privacy here!
Seriously, though. I can not tell you how irritated it makes me when I go into a restroom to relieve myself, walk into the stall, only to find that some inconsiderate, self absorbed, yard-ape loser who apparently was not taught the proper way to piss into a toilet, has apparently regressed in evolution and has been marking his territory. For god sake, man! AIM! AIM!! And if the proper technique of aiming eludes you, then please, for love of all that is good and pure, have the common courtesy to wipe up any droplets of spray that have managed to get away from you! I just don’t get it!! It isn’t rocket science! IT’S PEE!!! You should have had this down no later than the third grade! And that is if you were quite slow.
All I am saying here is that cleanliness is a virtue to which we men should try to aspire. We aren’t apes. If I am not mistaken, I think apes are cleaner than that. I mean, really. Do you pull that crap at home? If I sprayed urine all over the place at home the way that I have seen evidence of in some public restrooms, I don’t think that my wife (or any of your significant others) would allow me back in the bathroom. She may as well put me in the back yard to do my business like the damn dog.
Like the old adage goes, “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be neat and wipe the seat”…and the wall…and the toilet handle…and the paper dispenser. It’s ridiculous that we as a people have come so far in technology and etiquette, and, yet, we can’t even pee into a large bowl without spraying it all over the place. Like I said, we are pigs. Of course, this is just my point of view ;-)
Copyright 2008 Daniel D. Domain
Seriously, though. I can not tell you how irritated it makes me when I go into a restroom to relieve myself, walk into the stall, only to find that some inconsiderate, self absorbed, yard-ape loser who apparently was not taught the proper way to piss into a toilet, has apparently regressed in evolution and has been marking his territory. For god sake, man! AIM! AIM!! And if the proper technique of aiming eludes you, then please, for love of all that is good and pure, have the common courtesy to wipe up any droplets of spray that have managed to get away from you! I just don’t get it!! It isn’t rocket science! IT’S PEE!!! You should have had this down no later than the third grade! And that is if you were quite slow.
All I am saying here is that cleanliness is a virtue to which we men should try to aspire. We aren’t apes. If I am not mistaken, I think apes are cleaner than that. I mean, really. Do you pull that crap at home? If I sprayed urine all over the place at home the way that I have seen evidence of in some public restrooms, I don’t think that my wife (or any of your significant others) would allow me back in the bathroom. She may as well put me in the back yard to do my business like the damn dog.
Like the old adage goes, “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be neat and wipe the seat”…and the wall…and the toilet handle…and the paper dispenser. It’s ridiculous that we as a people have come so far in technology and etiquette, and, yet, we can’t even pee into a large bowl without spraying it all over the place. Like I said, we are pigs. Of course, this is just my point of view ;-)
Copyright 2008 Daniel D. Domain
Poison or Preference
Imagine, if you will, the largest oak tree you can possibly conceive in your mind, and at the base of this tree is spread a blanket on which is strewn with careful decadence the tastiest picnic ever dreamed. Now imagine that you are an ant on the farthest leaf on the farthest right side of that giant oak tree. I, also an ant, am on the farthest leaf that I can possibly be from you. Is it possible for us to take the same path to the picnic?
A short time ago I read a blog entry of someone whom I have admired from before the time that I could walk. Through the years of our lives our friendship has grown and blossomed into a monolithic icon of what I interpret friendship to be. Although we have not always seen things in the same light or from the same point of view, I hold this person in the highest of regard for her insight and intuition. However, after reading her short essay entitled, “Faith at Forty”, I felt compelled to write a few lines in response to a comment that has been somewhat troubling to me, yet non-offensive, as I do not believe that she meant it that way.
She writes, “People need faith, it seems, but I think that religious faith is a poison, an armor, a chemical weapon that destroys everything and everyone in its path, even its perpetrators.” Now, while I understand her point of view because I have known her all of my life, I can not agree with her on this subject.
First, I would like to comment on the first statement. I do feel that people need faith. Faith, no matter what the object of it is, is essential to human existence. Now, while I am not a believer in the Bible as the inerrant word of God, I do feel that it, as many other religious and non-religious texts, has wisdom that can be applied to everyday world knowledge. One of my favorite definitions of the word faith comes, unfortunately as some may feel, from the Bible. It states that, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.” The overdone analogy of the chair is probably my favorite, although my take on it may be a bit different. When one looks at a chair, it is his or her hope that the chair will assuredly hold them up. When one sits in the chair, one puts his or her faith in the idea (the unseen or the conviction thereof) that the chair will hold him or her up not necessarily the chair itself, for it is a common ideology that chairs, when sat upon will most assuredly hold one up. While it is easy to have faith in something that you can see, it is much more difficult to have faith in the things that can not be seen. Furthermore, it matters not in what one chooses to put one’s faith; faith must abound regardless, even if one chooses not to believe in anything at all, it still requires being assured of the non-existence of that nothing or that something.
As far as religious faith being a poison, I must say that I feel that this, although it may not have been meant this way, is somewhat of a blanketed statement that should not be blatantly applied to everyone, which, of course, is how I perceived it, for what may be considered poison to some may very well be preference to others. I would like to indulge two examples, if I may. And since I am the one writing this…well.
First, look at the animal kingdom. Sheep, an otherwise dumb animal in my humble opinion, can not eat clover, for if they do, it is poison to their system and they may die. However, a donkey or mule, a much underestimated animal in my humble opinion, can eat clover all day and considers it a tasty treat. Poison for some, preference for others.
Second, there are many people who have certain food allergies. Now, I happen to love most shell fish such as lobster, shrimp, and crab. However, there are those with an allergy to shell fish so severe, if they eat just one bite, it can literally kill them. Once again, preference for some, poison to others.
One of the greatest pieces of wisdom that I have ever heard is this. Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view. Now I am not saying that my point of view is right and another’s is wrong. But the realization I believe that this world needs to come to is to understand that while one thing works for some, it may not work for others. We are not cookie cutter beings in a giant bakery. We are each unique in our own individual ways. Blanket statements such as, “All people should become a Christian” or “…religious faith is a poison…that damages everything and everyone in its path…” are both, in my opinion, the same in stature and in nature only from different sides of the pendulum swing. Furthermore, statements of this kind have the potential to be toxic, if one allows.
Many of the truths we cling to do depend greatly on our point of view. In my sister’s point of view, religious faith is a poison, for someone else it may be preference, and yet for another it may be benign. One thing is for certain, each one is true…from a certain point of view. And perhaps that is all she meant by her statement, was her point of view. It was not my intent to disqualify her feelings or statements in any way.
In closing, I would like to reflect back to the beginning of this essay, for lack of a better term, to my question. Here is the answer…from my point of view, of course. We are all different ants on different leaves, and though our paths may cross, we can not take the same route to the picnic. Of course, this is just my point of view ;-)
Copyright 2008 Daniel D. Domain
A short time ago I read a blog entry of someone whom I have admired from before the time that I could walk. Through the years of our lives our friendship has grown and blossomed into a monolithic icon of what I interpret friendship to be. Although we have not always seen things in the same light or from the same point of view, I hold this person in the highest of regard for her insight and intuition. However, after reading her short essay entitled, “Faith at Forty”, I felt compelled to write a few lines in response to a comment that has been somewhat troubling to me, yet non-offensive, as I do not believe that she meant it that way.
She writes, “People need faith, it seems, but I think that religious faith is a poison, an armor, a chemical weapon that destroys everything and everyone in its path, even its perpetrators.” Now, while I understand her point of view because I have known her all of my life, I can not agree with her on this subject.
First, I would like to comment on the first statement. I do feel that people need faith. Faith, no matter what the object of it is, is essential to human existence. Now, while I am not a believer in the Bible as the inerrant word of God, I do feel that it, as many other religious and non-religious texts, has wisdom that can be applied to everyday world knowledge. One of my favorite definitions of the word faith comes, unfortunately as some may feel, from the Bible. It states that, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.” The overdone analogy of the chair is probably my favorite, although my take on it may be a bit different. When one looks at a chair, it is his or her hope that the chair will assuredly hold them up. When one sits in the chair, one puts his or her faith in the idea (the unseen or the conviction thereof) that the chair will hold him or her up not necessarily the chair itself, for it is a common ideology that chairs, when sat upon will most assuredly hold one up. While it is easy to have faith in something that you can see, it is much more difficult to have faith in the things that can not be seen. Furthermore, it matters not in what one chooses to put one’s faith; faith must abound regardless, even if one chooses not to believe in anything at all, it still requires being assured of the non-existence of that nothing or that something.
As far as religious faith being a poison, I must say that I feel that this, although it may not have been meant this way, is somewhat of a blanketed statement that should not be blatantly applied to everyone, which, of course, is how I perceived it, for what may be considered poison to some may very well be preference to others. I would like to indulge two examples, if I may. And since I am the one writing this…well.
First, look at the animal kingdom. Sheep, an otherwise dumb animal in my humble opinion, can not eat clover, for if they do, it is poison to their system and they may die. However, a donkey or mule, a much underestimated animal in my humble opinion, can eat clover all day and considers it a tasty treat. Poison for some, preference for others.
Second, there are many people who have certain food allergies. Now, I happen to love most shell fish such as lobster, shrimp, and crab. However, there are those with an allergy to shell fish so severe, if they eat just one bite, it can literally kill them. Once again, preference for some, poison to others.
One of the greatest pieces of wisdom that I have ever heard is this. Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view. Now I am not saying that my point of view is right and another’s is wrong. But the realization I believe that this world needs to come to is to understand that while one thing works for some, it may not work for others. We are not cookie cutter beings in a giant bakery. We are each unique in our own individual ways. Blanket statements such as, “All people should become a Christian” or “…religious faith is a poison…that damages everything and everyone in its path…” are both, in my opinion, the same in stature and in nature only from different sides of the pendulum swing. Furthermore, statements of this kind have the potential to be toxic, if one allows.
Many of the truths we cling to do depend greatly on our point of view. In my sister’s point of view, religious faith is a poison, for someone else it may be preference, and yet for another it may be benign. One thing is for certain, each one is true…from a certain point of view. And perhaps that is all she meant by her statement, was her point of view. It was not my intent to disqualify her feelings or statements in any way.
In closing, I would like to reflect back to the beginning of this essay, for lack of a better term, to my question. Here is the answer…from my point of view, of course. We are all different ants on different leaves, and though our paths may cross, we can not take the same route to the picnic. Of course, this is just my point of view ;-)
Copyright 2008 Daniel D. Domain
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
