I was looking through some old blog postings of mine from a site I hadn't used in years and found one of my notorious political rants from the 2000's or as I call it... the Bushwacked Decade. The World According to Me was written shortly after the Katrina incident in 2004. The same year I turned 30.
I still cannot believe that was 10 years ago... still getting used to turning 40!
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Okay. I'm going to do what I promised myself that I wouldn't do... share my personal opinions on this site... but since there is a blog option...
This will most likely be the ONLY non-sexual rant you'll read from me. But it's good to vent every now and then...
We all know that the world is just fucked up. But how did it get that way? Well... sadly, it's always been like that. We, as a society of multi-cultural differences, have not learned to embrace individuality... and I mean TRULY embrace it without prejudice (or simply tolerating it). We always seem to want to make others conform to our own way of thinking without considering what the other person wants and finding a way to incorporate or co-exist.
And what happens when you force someone to follow your beliefs and lifestyle? They rebel... they contribute to social decline... they become emotionally unstable... they kill out of anger because they are unhappy and oppressed. There are so many reactions that would be the result and all of them NEGATIVE.
Would it hurt society to simply accept a person's difference despite their own personal belief system? What do you accomplish by denying a person their right to live life the way they want as long as they do not harm another in the process? Nothing but subjugation... enslavement, if you will.
- Think of the Spanish Inquisition.
- Think of that stupid ass war between the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland.
- Think of why the Pilgrims left England to settle in America.
- Think of what the Pilgrims (Puritans) did once they settled in America.
- Think of the time when the world witnessed TWO POPES (the one appointed by a King in France to reside in Versailles... and the other in Italy).
- Think of ALL of the various denominations of the same damn faith.
- Think of what the Europeans did to every race of people who were unlike themselves.
- Think of the African American and Jewish holocausts (and yes, I said African American holocaust... there was one but not on the scale of what the Jewish people went through).
- Think of the current problem of fundamentalism in the world. Religious extremists who will use violence and create civil unrest without second thought to advance their cause and force their beliefs on the public.
Every social problem that I can think of has a religous root... in one form or another. And I've gotten tired of it. I grew up in a Southern Baptist/Catholic home. Went to a catholic parochial school (attending Mass twice a month) and my mom's baptist church on Sundays. This was all a compromise between my parents... note that I didn't have a say in the matter because it was for my own good.
Of course, I rebelled. I HATE going to church. It's boring, plain and simple. Although, the Baptists do make things lively... especially if you have a talented pastor and a few old women in the audience who get the "holy spirit" at appropriate intervals of the service.
I decided in the 5th grade to reprogram myself. This involved going beyond the classroom to learn about life and the world as we know it. I just refused to believe that one book has all the answers. A book written and rewritten, added and subtracted from numerous times by Man.
Only a fool would allow themselves to embrace a belief that someone else told them to believe in. It's the same as a child learning how to hate from their parents and having that learning bred into their consciousness instead of just allowing the child to form their own opinions and beliefs with just a little nudge and support here and there to keep them from getting overwhelmed.
Our everyday experiences shape who we are... and what we are to become. Maybe it's time mankind learned to pay better attention to how their words, actions, and beliefs affect others whether positively or negatively.
Let's talk about some of the issues that could be resolved with simple reasoning...
ABORTION
I'm pro-choice AND anti-abortion. How? Simple, I don't believe in ending a life no matter what stage it's in BUT at the same time, I have no business putting my beliefs on someone who has their own reasons for ending the pregnancy. Also, lets be real here... woman produce THOUSANDS of eggs during their lifetime. I would rather see planned pregnacies than seeing a bunch of women on welfare and assistance surrounded by 5 or more kids they can't give the right amount of attention to.
And let's not get me started on the problem of women getting pregnant on purpose just to get that welfare check.
Waiting until it's the right time to bring a child into this world is more humane than having a child you can't take care of. Some would say give the baby up for adoption. A nice alternative, yes... and that would work for some but not by all. Adoption only works if there's an immediate home for the child directly after birth. I know way too many screwed up people who got tossled around between sometimes loveless, abusive foster care situations or orphanages. I wouldn't wish that kind of existence on my worst enemy. It's like "sorry we couldn't find you a permanent home but you're 18 now and we don't give a shit about you anymore!"
This all goes back to embracing individuality. You must respect a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. All that you can do is offer alternatives in case she isn't aware of them. And then hope that she makes the right decision for herself. That's all we can do. That's all we SHOULD do.
ASSISTED SUICIDE
Ok, here's a touchier subject. Does everyone have the right to die regardless of the law? ABSOLUTELY! People die everyday without their consent so what's wrong with allowing someone to end it voluntarily. The Right-wingers will preach up and down about the sanctity of life yet if you say WAR, they will send them to die by the score! So is assisted suicide and euthanasia right or is it wrong? Not relevant here.
Remember that little thing about embracing individuality? We must respect the wishes of those who have made a conscious decision to end their life. I would hope that the person choosing to end their life would go over their decision with their loved ones prior to actually going through with it. Otherwise, there's no closure for the family, friends, and everyone else who are close to that person.
This is also an opportunity for those loved ones to try and convince the person to change their mind. But if that fails, then at least an attempt has been made by the ONLY people who matter and would be the most affected by a decision such as this one... their loved ones.
GAY MARRIAGE
I don't know what the big deal is about this subject. Even though marriage is supposed to be a sacred blessing from "God"... why in the hell aren't people more concerned about the high rate of divorce??? Isn't that breaking that sacred oath you made to "God" to stay together through THICK AND THIN... until DEATH do you part?
Let's get real here and historical for a moment... through the ages, marriage has been a business arrangement between two families usually for financial gain. Rarely has a marriage been formed out of love. Hell, even some families betrothed their offspring the moment they were born!!! Also keep in mind that women didn't have the same rights as we do today. In many common situations, they were nothing more than vessals to continue a blood line or a man's personal slave.
Forgot about that, didn't you?
Marriage is a crock, in my view, simply because of the novelty of it. People have forgotten what marriage is really supposed to be about. Many marriages are those of convenience. My parents marriage only because they were pregnant with me. Very little love was there at the beginning. Luckily, they became the closest of friends over time.
Some couples aren't that lucky. Think Britney Spears.
In my view, gay marriage is just a way for those men and women to be able to legally support their loved ones in life and most importantly in death. How would you feel if your significant other was sick and you were denied access to see them? Think about that the next time you object to legalizing gay marriage. It has nothing to do with religion and everything to do about love and recognition of that special bond.
Admit it... conservatives simply don't want their precious tax breaks going to people who are objectable to the foundation of their faith. Grow up and pay attention to what's going on in your own bedroom.
Stop with the whole marriage is sacred crap. If it's so sacred, then ban divorce. Show us that marriage really is as big of a deal as you make it. Preserve it for Christ sake! Get rid of divorce and make marriage a one-time PERMANENT situation and I'll have alot more respect for the institution.
... and it will solve your gay's wanting to marry issue too. How? Simple, it will force them to look at their lives a little harder so that they don't end up with someone they may hate for the rest of their lives... after the novelty and lust wears off.
ABSTINANCE vs. SEX EDUCATION
In a perfect world, all young people would not have sex until they were married. That would be ideal. Hell, even I was a virgin until I was 19. But it wasn't easy keeping it from the 8th grade on. Peer pressure at school is the common denominator in adolescent sexual activity. That and not enough parents educating their kids on what sex is and why to hold off until adulthood. I remember getting the whole "birds and the bees" story from my mom. After she was done, I thanked her for her time and hugged her to show that I did appreciate what she tried to do... then I made a beeline for my dad, got him to take me out for ice cream and during the trips to and fro, got the unedited truth about sex. My dad could always be counted on to be blunt as hell.
Anyway, because of my dad's moral code of never lying about anything, I knew what sex was about. I wasn't old enough to get horny at that time so didn't fully understand why guys wanted to even get that close to girls but when puberty hit... whoa buddy!!! My hand certainly WAS my best friend... and I have no shame in admitting that.
When my dad found out about my extracirricular activities, he further told me about the risks of having sex and that kept me from making some dumb mistakes. If it wasn't for those open talks about sex with my dad, I would have been a teenage father like many of my other classmates were.
But that was the kind of upbringing that I had. Not everyone is lucky enough to have parents that are that open with their children about the facts of life. Many choose to keep their offspring in ignorance and then bemoan the fact that their kid is now having a kid or has some nasty STD... or worse.
Stupidity breeds stupidity. Stop pushing abstinance as the ONLY form of birth control and start educating the children about the dangers of not being abstinant. No matter what you do though, kids will do what they want regardless of your intentions for them. So you might as well arm them with enough knowledge to protect themselves and make the right decision when the situation calls for it. With the public now becoming more knowledgable about child molestation/rape, teen pregnancies and child sex offenders, it's time to take this problem by the hand and guide it where it needs to go... history.
Awareness is a powerful thing once you look at the big picture and just do what is right by the child and not what you feel is right. Would you send your child (who doesn't know how to swim)into a pool without some sort of floatation device?
Exactly.
FEDERAL MONEY - STARRING... YOUR MONEY!
Is it me or does it seem like we spend billions of dollars funding programs in other countries when the government is constantly cutting BACK on domestic programs and services for it's own people??? As callous as this sounds, I have a right to be selfish with my money but... keep OUR dollars in the United States and fucking FUND the programs to help the very people whose hard earned money pays for it all. Yes, we have a role in helping developing countries but we have a bigger responsibility right here at home... to ourselves. Why do teachers have to purchase their own supplies? Why have so many programs been cut because of the lack of funding?
And let's not even get me started on the failure that was the Katrina Disaster Rescue effort.
There should be NO REASON why any social program for citizens PAID BY citizens should be cut. If money is lacking, then cut aid to other foreign initiatives until the very country you live in has had it's fill. It's like the golden rule in the guide to becoming a millionaire, you always PAY YOURSELF FIRST. Before paying for anything else.
I hope the next president has the sense to make domestic security their main focus because America is ready for a change. America is starving for a little affection from it's government. Because quite frankly, we are all tired of being continually put in the "later" pile of things to do.
These are my personal opinions. Not seeking to change the world... just to give a different point of view for those who see them differently as well.
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The Black Sovereign Journal | The World According to Black Sovereign
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