WARNING! THIS WILL MAKE YOU ANGRY
When will America ever mature? Our lack of civilized behavior is showing...
Who demanded we shift totally to HD television? We have clearer pictures and worse content. I sensed no public demand..
We criticize Moslems for stretching the Koran to fit certain beliefs and terrorist actions. At the same time the majority of U.S. citizens say they follow the Prince of Peace; where's the peaceful nature of the U.S.? We're the world's military brutes.
We like to "preach" about the humble nature of Jesus of Nazareth. We portray him in humble surroundings, serving among the social outcasts, living like a pauper, outside the bounds of materialism, etc. Have you noticed how elaborately dressed our clergy are in vestments, how the rich are served, how un-humble Christianity is in the U.S., how we treat outcasts?
No matter how many news stories and tragedies report the outlandish prevelance of guns in the U.S., far too many Americans feel that it is somehow a Constitutional right to own guns, even concealed weapons, even assault rifles, even the worship of guns, even allowing the NRA to influence elections, and dreaming up the most elaborate myths in support of guns. Why? Because an "armed militia" will protect us from the government? How absurd is that? Do you know the kind of weaponry the government has? How would your rifle look next to a tank? How would you use your rifle to defend yourself when put to sleep by government chemicals? A rifle and a jet plane? This is so absurd it defies intelligent life.
Have you noticed that the better and more sophisticated our sound systems have become, the worse the music is?
Do you notice who attacks the New York Times and Washington Post? Why, it is those bastions of accuracy and journalistic principle, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the like. Is there no end to our madness?
We will not truly get over our economic problems until we stop believing the mythology of greed-capitalism. We have been led to believe that rich people are smart people and that's why they are rich ...greed had nothing to do with it, I suppose, but when you look what the rich do with their wealth, I wonder??? We are a greedy people, we Americans, and we do not like to share what we have, and thus we have the most unfair economic-social-political system in the industrialized world...look at the condition of our schools, our health care, our infant mortality, the hungry, the homeless.
Capital punishment is a sad, sad consequence of misguided "Christians" and other religious fundamentalists who think that they can stand in for God in judgment. They see the world in absolutes. And they sometimes sugar-coat it with making silly references like "bringing closure" to the grieved families. That is pure nonsense. There is no closure in tragedies, there is only a compounding of the problem by killing another human being. There are many reasons for outlawing capital punishment, and even those for it would realize it is counterproductive if they took off their judgmental caps and looked at it carefully. People fleeing the law will never turn themselves in if they only face execution. Executing human beings makes the executioners [you and me] less than human, and certainly not humane. Just like the people who want to attack with military weapons any nation that does not do our bidding, these people want to kill in the name of justice. Huh? It should go without stating that many, many people in the U.S. have been wrongfully executed and found later to be innocent. Sad. The state should not be in the business of killing people in the name of twisted justice.
Every survey recently taken about who are the happiest people in the world, all come up with the nations of Scandinavia [Norway, Sweden, Denmark]. What distinguishes them from other democratic nations? Social democracy! Some here would call it socialism, but it is not. No matter. These are cultures/nations that share with each other. National health care is a most obvious example. But everyone has an equal chance at a higher education and the general welfare. The standard of living is higher than in the U.S. in the general population. Infant mortality is much, much lower than in the U.S. Life expectancy is longer. It is the opposite of greed-capitalism in the U.S. And that is why they are happy. I can hear the multitude of excuses and explanations from the laissez-faire capitalists. But it cannot be denied, sharing brings happiness. Greed makes one unhappy in the end. We could learn much from these countries, but we have been sold a bill of goods by greed-capitalists who own the media, our politicians, and control what we think or do not think.
While it is clear that religious fundamentalism, fanaticism, and judgmentalism are major causes of war and conflict in the world, the major religions have brought another cause: fear of women's rights. Choose any major religion and you will find elements that advocate doctrines and dogmas based on male leaders fear of women. And to a certain extent the more men express their manhood with guns and military might, the more they fear women and hold them down. Sad. Wimpy.
Still expecting the Cuban embargo to bring positive results? 50 years of failure. When will we ever learn?
Iraq will break apart when the U.S. leaves. We should never have invaded that country. Illegal and sad.
That's enough for one blog entry. We may have some hope with Obama as President. But we still have so many things that are embedded in our selfish, anti-intellectual fabric in the U.S. We need a deep, fundamental overhaul. Otherwise our greed will continue to grown like a malignant tumor and collapse again and again. As U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone put it:
"We all do better when we all do better." Not just some of us. Not just the rich. Not just conservatives or liberals. Share!
