Ok, so I'm starting this therapeutic rant session to get off my chest shit that I've been thinking but don't care to write on Facebook and can't fit into 140 characters for Twitter. I don't get Instagram, and Tumbler seems to be the ranting and ravings of TEENAGE Americans, so no to that.
I'm 46, I've lived in America my whole life, have three kids, a mortgage and a middle management job in a company that makes money off of making other people money. I've got a two car garage, three dogs, a cat, and am about as middle-class white bread as you can get.
I don't go to church, I think religion is the work of misogynistic men who wanted power and control over their countrymen and especially women. My kids don't go to church, although they might because while I've never expressed any kind of interest myself, I would never infringe on their freedom to worship as they please. Although 'worship' is such a derogatory word. It implies you're something MUCH less than the thing you're 'worshiping'.
I believe America could be the greatest country on Earth. I believe it needs to be, because it's the only one that can truly claim to be built by all the other countries on Earth. It is a microcosm of the possibilities of the entire planet. Which is why it's so fucked up.
I believe Americans worship money, which is to say if you don't have as much as the next guy, you're worth LESS than the next guy. And to some extent that's to be expected, because our cultural backgrounds are so diverse that money is really the only thing we all have in common. The question is "how do we get past that"?
I vote, usually democrat, although I used to be independent. I hated the thought of a collective group of individuals telling me how to vote. I thought the option for voting straight party lines should be illegal. You should have to THINK about who you're voting for. Both sides of the aisle are corrupt, fucked up, and strive only to be re-elected, whatever the cost may be. The reason I vote democratic nowadays is because if both sides are corrupt and fucked up, at least the democrats are fucked up in a way that helps other people (see: gay rights, medicare, the ACA, Pro-Choice, etc.). The republicans have given up trying to be the fiscally responsible party, they're just the "Bring back the 50's" party. Progress is a four letter word to them.
Speaking of politics, I own a bolt-action .22 rifle, and while I appreciate the capability to "defend myself", quotes intended, I certainly don't think I'll ever use it for self-defense. If anything, after we've destroyed the planet, it may help me hunt. But then I'll have to figure out how to gut something and eat it without throwing up. I think Americans should have a right to own guns, hell they can own a small armory for all I give a shit. But there should be a cost for that - a price to pay to ensure you're not gonna be some whackjob fucked-up psycho that gets pissed at his girlfriend and takes out a shopping mall. Training, for example. There are hillbillies and rednecks with more firepower than a Chicago Swat team, who, because they've been to the range and hit a target at 15 yards think they're aces with armaments, then act surprised when they "forgot" to lock up their shotgun and a kid blows his brains out.
See, we're basically all stupid in America. That's our problem. If you don't believe me, watch TV. Fox News, if you REALLY want to see stupid. Read some postings on the internet - just pick an article, read it, then read the comments. See what we're debating about. See what we care about. Talk to someone in middle management who knows just enough to see how executives run their company. Guaranteed you'd be hard pressed to find one who thinks their executives are brilliant visionaries. Honey Boo Boo. Really? I mean, do you need more? How many millions of Americans watch Pat Robertson attribute hurricanes to God's wrath on gays? And BELIEVE it! How can 20 some percent of Americans believe the sun revolves around the Earth?
We're stupid. Not uneducated or unintelligent. That's different. We're stupid. We were founded in the height of the Age of Enlightenment, carried the banner through the Industrial Revolution, kick started the world into the digital age, and then.............got stupid.
So I'm starting this blog to point that out. Where are we stupid? Why? How can we get better?
If no one listens or cares, no biggie. I understand. Who am I to talk anyway? I don't host a Fox News show, I don't have a PhD. All I have is observational skills, life experience, and an internet connection. Doesn't matter to me. In the end, at least I can say I tried.
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