Today I am happy that I am sad
I don’t read the news, because I know that anything actually important will make its way to me. I read my friend Ian’s blog today. After finishing it, and the connected articles, I felt sad and sick to my gut. I experienced overwhelming sadness for these events and all people involved, which reaches well beyond the borders of my country and Iraq and Afghanistan. After a few minutes, I felt happiness mixed in with my other emotions.
You see, I love being an American. Growing up in this country has ingrained the rights scribed in the first 10 Amendments into my core. I am also old enough to know that the Constitution is just a piece of paper. But really, it is just a piece of paper with words on it. Someone wrote the words a long time ago. We are all free to interpret the words as we wish, because that is what being an American is all about: being free.
The most beautiful thing about being American is that I have a choice. I’m the one who gets to choose whether or not I adhere to, love, obey, and stand for the rights prescribed to all citizens of this great nation. I’m the one who gets to grant someone the right to speak freely, the right to love who they wish, the right to practice whatever religion they wish, the right to stand up for something or someone. Someone else might have a different interpretation of those rights. Someone else might not agree with me. But I say that does not matter! For even if someone wants to believe they can revoke my rights as an American, even if someone destroys the Constitution and every copy of it, I say let them! I, and anyone else who holds the values as their own values, will always be free. We are born free, that is our birthright as Americans, and as Human Beings.
I understand that there is a lot of hate, and a lot of anger. We’ve all lost people we love. The planes crashing into the World Trade Center, destroying the World Trade Center, killing thousands of people on September 11, 2001 almost got me. I wish I was immune from hate, but I’m not. For a while I was upset, but then I realized that hate, retribution and wrath were what the terrorists wanted. They wanted to get my attention. They wanted me to be afraid. They wanted me to hate. I have this to say to each and every so called terrorist out there: you did get my attention, but I do not hate you. I will not hate you, and I will not be afraid. I still believe in the freedoms granted in the US Constitution, I even believe in those same freedoms for you, whoever you are and whatever your connections are. The war on terror has already ended with me. I forgive you, all of you.
- Jeremy Wayne Osborne, American
Late Wednesday Humor
It’s not really Wednesday, but I’m not finished yet. Time for another episode of the Whitest Kids U Know. (This is totally not work appropriate. You’ve been warned.)
Cats
In an attempt to attract a larger female readership to my blog, I’ll post pictures of my mom’s new cats. Meet Calvin and Hobbes, my new step-brothers.
Next week, to repair the rift between me and the more mature generation, I will knit doilies.
Wednesday Humor
Regular posting to return. Until then, I’ll just plagiarize borrow from someone else’s work on Youtube. (Warning, this is probably not work appropriate. You’ve been warned.)
Monday Humour
click to enlarge
Writing and Programming
Better late at night, after consuming alcohol.
Collecting Data
All questions can be answered with sufficient data. And sufficient data can answer the right questions. I’ve been collecting a list of movies that I’ve watched throughout my life. The list on my movies page is a set of pretty useless data as far as I can see. Perhaps I just don’t know the questions to ask.
Here’s what the data shows (as of 2007 July 14):
- 475 = number of movies watched (and I’m watching movie 476 right now)
- 712.5 = estimated number of hours spent watching movies (at estimated 1.5 hours per movie; 712.5 hours = 29.7 days). These calculations are highly inaccurate.
- I have records of movies watched from 7/10/1994 through 7/14/2007.
- I have watched a number of movies (that I have counted) that I don’t have a date reference to.
- It can be assumed I’ve watched movies throughout my life.
Someday, I might be able to answer some cool questions with the data I collect. Until then, I’ll just keep watching movies, some good, some bad.
And my vote for 2008…
A great president is only great when they truly represent the will of the people. If you have never heard of Ron Paul, I invite you to watch this clip and educate yourself. Educate yourself not so much on Ron Paul. Educate yourself on the issues that he discusses.
It’s more important my nation of America wakes up and that we stop kidding ourselves about what is really going on in our homeland and around the world. That we, the people, begin to do what’s right and not wait for our leaders to tells us what we should be doing. That we, the people, stop following passively and begin to act within our rights, for the good of all.
I’m proud that someone like Ron Paul is running for president for our country. I am currently a member of the Democratic party, and I will be voting for Ron Paul in 2008.
For those that want to hear his stance, the clip below montages his debate responses from the Republican debate in May 2007.
Monday Humor
Conflict = human nature, not human right
I’ve been thinking a lot about the benefits of conflict, the current train of thoughts spurred on by Gandhi. A key line of Gandhi’s can be found from the movie script:
Gandhi has removed his sandals and is sitting cross-legged on a fine upholstered chair. Jinnah’s eyes rake him with anger and distaste.
JINNAH (coldly): I too have read Mr. Gandhi’s writings, but I’d rather be ruled by an Indian terrorist than an English one. And I don’t want to submit to that kind of law.
PATEL (to Nehru – diplomatically – but with trace of condescension): I must say, Panditji, it seems to me it’s gone beyond remedies like passive resistance.
GANDHI (in the silence): If I may – I, for one, have never advocated passive anything.
The definition of conflict, according to The Free Dictionary:
con-flict (noun)
- A state of open, often prolonged fighting; a battle or war.
- A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash.
- Psychology A psychic struggle, often unconscious, resulting from the opposition or simultaneous functioning of mutually exclusive impulses, desires, or tendencies.
- Opposition between characters or forces in a work of drama or fiction, especially opposition that motivates or shapes the action of the plot.
con-flict (intransitive verb)
- To be in or come into opposition; differ.
- Archaic To engage in warfare.
And the etymology of the word (gathered from the Online Etymology Dictionary):
Origin of conflict (verb)
circa 1430, from Latin conflictus, past participle of confligere “to strike together,” from com- “together” + fligere “to strike”
And then last Saturday I see a logo on a shirt:
Terrorism is a Poor Man’s WAR is a Rich Man’s Terrorism
And even a monkey, taking a break from writing Shakespeare, would have no problem blundering along the Google search engine to find modern conflict after conflict after conflict after conflict after conflict… and I could go on and on. Feel upset that I might have missed a conflict out there, or in particular your conflict? If so, you should read this article and digest it more than anyone else.
My assertion: conflict isn’t bad, it’s natural. Jesus used principles of conflict, so did Gandhi, so did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beyond this, so have all the many war chiefs (my general term for any army leader that condones violence). But no one was right. Jesus wasn’t right, Gandhi wasn’t right, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t right, and neither were/are the war chiefs. They just have all had an idea, and they were willing to die for their ideas.
But I ask every person to just think about the following numbers, the numbers that I’m a part of by being an American and paying taxes to the American War machine, by purchasing American products, and by continuing to work and live in America:
Number of confirmed “Coalition” lives lost in the Iraq Conflict: 3,893
Number of recorded “Insurgent” lives lost in the Iraq Conflict: 4,895 to 6,370
Estimated number of Iraq Civilian in the Iraq Conflict (various sources (1) (2)): Between 65,000 and 655,000
Even though neither group, the violent or non-violent group, is right (righteousness is another giant topic), which side would you really support? Are you really a “kill kill kill” supporter? Would you really kill another human being, were that human being not “the enemy?” Could you move beyond treating other humans as enemies?
Given all the various conflicts out there, and their awful results, you can count me out of wars. I’m willing to fight, but I have never seen a war worth fighting, not in my lifetime. Not even after the events on 9/11. That is not an excuse to go invade another country. And it’s the opposite of what a so called Christian nation should do. Those stupid religious zealots had best be happy they haven’t caused Armageddon yet, because when Jesus comes back, he’s going to quite pissed at them for all the shit they’ve done.