truthful lies

Feb. 5, 2006

Can't sleep tonight.

I tossed and turned for a good forty-five minutes before deciding that something inside me just needs to get some venting out. So here it goes. You will either agree or disagree very strongly, but I am unapologetic, regardless. Not out of arrogance, but out of steadfast faith in what I place my beliefs in. (this does not take away my interest in your comments and opinions however, whether they are the same as mine or different)

I am sick of the crap this world feeds us. I was deeply disturbed by my class yesterday, Multicultural Communications. I just can't shake it from my mind. So many things were flippantly said, and so many people are so closed minded, while declaring their 'open mindedness.' Bull.

Just like Republicans can give conservatives like me a bad name by being thoughtless and blurting out random comments, Democrats in my class are slowly eating away at me.. not because of their beliefs, or the fact that those beliefs differ from mine, but because of the way they present those beliefs. In my class right now we're talking about current events, and about what's going on in the media, and I am usually the only one to speak up, mostly because I'm one of the few who pays attention to news and media and such.

"Well there's the NSA scandal.. if you can call it that." I stated, and as I was getting ready to add some truth to the situation, my teacher (who gets riled up about just about anything) startes flailing her arms and announcing to the class, "Yes, have we heard about what this dictatorship - oh, I mean our Presidential Administration - has decided lately? That it's okay now to go against our constitution and invade peoples' privacy? To tap lines without warrants to do so?"

Stupidity at its finest is being shown in the people that our taxes pay to educate our youth.

First of all, just because the president isn't on your half of the political spectrum, if you will, doesn't mean he's a dictator. Just because we don't have time to issue an entire flipping election to decide one thing doesn't mean that Bush is trying to control our lives. Think we're a dictatorship?

Why don't you whine to people in North Korea, whose government refuses to feed them and give them the aid that countries, like ourselves, send them by the millions. The food we send them gets sold to merchants on the black market so that the rich people can buy them,and the poor stay hungry. Tell that to their starving children who won't ever get to see past the age of 11 because their parents were beaten to death for disagreeing with their government. Or better yet, whine to people in Communist China who are being thrown in jail by the thousands for believing in anything other than their state religion... which ironically, is actually a branch of anti-religion... it isn't just Christians getting thrown in jail, it's anyone who has any faith in anything but their government at all. As soon as you want to whine about American being a dictatorship, you automatically assume the position of the self-serving, self-concerned, self-seeking nation that the world perceives us to be. Way to go ace.

And another thing... NSA scandal? What scandal? Do warantless wiretaps violate our constitution? Yes... so does killing people. Does that mean we won't ever go to war to defend our country? No. (this is not a reference to the war in Iraq... my opinion is undecided... merely an example) When you think about it, wartime procedures, especially after 9/11, call for desperate measures. If my neighbor is planning to bomb my neighborhood, I would rather the government listen in on my conversation (since I'm innocent anyway) and save my family, then have them succeed when my government could have intervened. It's a means of protection, not of violation. No one in the White House sat around thinking, 'Gee, what can we do to piss off our citizens today? That's it!! I think we should invade their privacy!' While I admit whole heartedly that I can see the other side of the argument completely - the violation of our rights, and the denial by Bush that this was even occuring - if you look at the facts, the situation isn't as 'scandalous' as it might first appear.

Off my soapbox.

To be honest, I don't have a problem with liberals. In fact, most of my friends are liberals, and I love them dearly. To be honest again, I don't vote a straight ticket - whoever does the best job wins my vote. Opinions can differ, and debates can be productive. When I debate with my friends, we gain a stronger friendship, as well as stronger roots in what we believe in. No, liberals are not the problem. That is not what this is about. This is about me feeling unfairly discriminated against in a class that is meant to educate us on discrimination.

I feel offended and uncomfortable when my teacher says things like, "This is what those righty's are doing in the Supreme Court now"... or "Well, the conservatives think that this is not okay..." It's like, lady, I love you and know you have good intentions, but treat us all like equals, regardless of what side you're on. If it were a Republican up there, I would expect the same from them. Don't diss on Bush... I voted for him... and I am not ashamed to say it. If you want to prove your side of the story (which trust me, isn't really that hard since the guy has, like all of us, made his fair share of mistakes) then just tell us the facts.

Facts. Not opinions.

If they are opinions, then let everyone voice them freely. No, I don't agree with homosexuality. Do I hate them? Am I a gay-hating person? No. Do I think they are less than human? Of course not. Do I think that me disagreeing with their lifestyle justifies discriminatory behavior against them? Absolutely not. Should the government decide for them if their marriage is legitimate? Probably not. So don't get up there and tell me that because I don't agree with something that I am 'closed minded' or 'backward' or 'a little too far right.' I have friends that are gay, and I love them. They're people for goodness sake. They have lives, just like everyone else... they snowboard, or play music, or are doctors... they live life. If this is a class based on my ability to communicate with them, then why are you trying to change my views, if I communicate just fine?

I want to learn. I want to have friends from all religions, races, orientations, and genders. I want to visit other cultures and see how people live. I want to make a difference, no matter how small it seems. I want to debate, and to form opinions of my own, and to see life from a perspective that is completely mine. All of the events in my class that have offended me aren't listed here... those are a few, but definitely not all of them. I'm not just freaking out about an isolated incident.

I want to be real. Not some person who takes in everything they hear as truth... not everything is as it seems. I want to question things legitimately before admitting their truth... I want to make sure that I don't fall into the role of the mindless consumer who believes everything they hear. I want to be educated. If anything, I'm discovering that an education - even while presented from a differing point of view - is so valuable. It teaches you to overcome obstacles, to think for yourself, and to be more than just a bump on a log.

I'm excited for this journey of mine. To see where God takes me in life, and the adventures that I will have. To have faith in someone bigger than myself. To change things for the better.

I hope I can. Somehow.