Day One, Industriousness

By far this was the hardest virtue to implement, and that’s not because I am necessarily lazy, it’s just that if something doesn’t interest me I won’t do it. Today was about pushing aside all my likes and dislikes and getting things done. And getting things done I did. The day before I actually decided not to do my homework, so to counter that I decided to wake up at five am on my industriousness day and get it done. Luckily, I woke up with the right attitude and was ready to work as hard as I could.

School went fairly well. As opposed to goofing off whenever I could, I actually worked on any homework I had. I also brought a book to read whenever I had a moment of downtime so that I wasn’t just sitting there doing nothing. Yet, regardless of how hard I worked that day, I still had homework. That was kind of upsetting, especially because of how exhausted I was by the time I got home. But my industriousness didn’t stop there. I made plans to go running with a friend right after school, and by the time I was done with that, I was hardly looking forward to doing my homework.

And then things went a little sour. I managed to get a majority of my homework done. I managed to write a few blog entries. I managed to finish a good chunk of the book I was reading. But I lost it. I think I went a little overboard and was maybe a bit too industrious for my own good. I didn’t have much downtime for myself and I wasn’t happy. So I didn’t do my math homework. I knew I would have time the next day in class and I wasn’t going to worry about it. I may not have been 100% industrious, but I highly doubt anyone can be (unless you are Ben Franklin).

Day 2, Creativity

As I mentioned before, it is not that I’m not creative; it’s just that I don’t have time to be. At school I had an assembly to go to for the first three hours of the day for juniors who were not taking the PSAT. Instead of actually listening during the presentation, I decided that would be a great time to be creative. So during that time I sketched nearly the entire time. And let me tell you how good that felt. I haven’t sketched in quite a long time and I was so happy to finally be doing it again.

But my creativity didn’t stop there. I decided during my last three hours of the school day I would write a one haiku per hour. I figured that I would have enough time to write a simple haiku and would also allow me fulfill my virtue. A couple examples of these haiku’s are:

The sun beating down

Yellow Brightness burns my eyes

Shades are the answer

The young boy is born,

Blossoming Heartache will choke,

Falls away from us

These aren’t that great by any means, but these haiku’s kept the creative juices flowing.

After school I did a bit more sketching and then I felt like I was successful in having a creative day.

Day 3, Assertiveness

Certainly not something I am lacking in, but it wouldn’t hurt to fine-tune it a bit more. On this day I wanted to do my best not to second guess myself and say how I felt. Sometimes I ignore things that people say for no particular reason, but today if someone said something that offended me I was certainly not going to sit back and let it happen. My being assertive is not to offend people either, it is just to educate people. It really offends me when people use the word gay as a synonym for stupid and I catch myself not saying that to people at times because I don’t want to start an argument. I definitely think that not wanting to start an argument is a pretty stupid reason and I want to change that. So I did. I figured that this day would probably be my easiest, and it certainly was. I not only asserted myself whilst talking to people, but I also wrote a blog entry about same-sex marriage.

I had my ups and downs during these past few days, but I got a lot out of this project. Just the idea of improving on a virtue each day is something that I want to continue doing. Like it says in the Thoreau quote “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined”, I want to live life the way I want to. I want to be what I want to be and have confidence while I am at it. Refining and implementing these virtues can help me follow my dreams and live the life that I imagined.

Same-sex marriage. What a loaded topic, when actually it isn’t. 

First I’m going to touch on the religion argument, an argument easily refuted. Let’s keep the bible in context. It was written in a time when society’s were trying to grow, so why would they encourage homosexuality? Also, the bible condemns growing two crops on one farm, wearing clothes created from two different fabrics, pre-marital sex, divorce, etc. All things that our society doesn’t think twice about. Hell, slave-owners used the bible to justify slaves. The fact is, the bible is a very complex book who’s meanings are construed day in and day out. But most importantly, there is a separation of church and state. There is a separation for a reason and we need to uphold that. Not everyone is religious nor of the same religion. Our country prides itself in it’s diversity, but then discriminates against members of certain sexual orientations and tries to impose rules based on a certain faith that not everyone follows. Sound’s reasonable to me right?

Let’s also not forget how discriminatory not allowing same-sex marriage really is. Making marriage an exclusively heterosexual right immediately creates a divide between homosexuals and heterosexuals. It implies that homosexuals are lesser people, a second class, because they are not granted the same rights. Would you make it illegal for a man and a woman of African American descent to marry? The same idea applies in this situation. Even if you support giving homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals, but not calling the union a marriage creates a divide. The fact is separate but equal is never equal.

Also, how does a homosexual marriage affect a heterosexual marriage? It doesn’t. Well, not unless I came into your marriage and started messing with you…. Arguing that “marriage is sacred” and that allowing same-sex marriage will diminish what marriage means is pretty ridiculous nowadays. In a world where 51% of marriages end in divorce and Britney Spears can get a marriage that lasts all of two whole days, the sacredness of marriage is anything but.

Amendment 14 of the U.S Constitution states that

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process. of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

So, according to the U.S constitution, same-sex marriage should be allowed, and this Federal Marriage Amendment proposed by conservative groups is unconstitutional. 

The point is, marriage is not a union between a man and a woman. Marriage is a union between two individuals who love each other. A same-sex marriage doesn’t effect a heterosexual marriage, nor does it detract from the meaning of marriage. This issue is anything but. I’m sorry that homophobia is so rampant in today’s society, but we need to step it up as Americans and realize the injustice of granting specific priviliges to heterosexual couples and not those of homosexual couples.

For all intents and purposes, I fall into the Left-libertarianism category. ^That’s where the quiz puts me, I tend to think I’m a bit more libertarian than it gives me credit for.

I definitely believe in a government with quite a bit control of the economy, but not so much control over people. In my opinion, the government has a purpose. That is to make sure the economy is running the way it should and that each citizen is supported. I believe in a negative income tax which would establish an income above the poverty line for everyone who is below it. Basically, this negative income tax will push everyone above the poverty line which will help fuel the economy and allow desperately needed economic growth. Of course something like this negative income tax won’t happen anytime soon because it’s much to socialistic for the current society. Nobody would agree with it because everyone against it would say we are turning into a communist country. Of course everyone thinks that communism is a bad way to run a society, though you need to understand that there has never actually been a communist society. 

But I digress, my leftist economic views are not so radical that they abolish a capitalistic society, if anything I believe they can improve a capitalistic society. I cannot possibly explain all this in a blog post though, so now I’ll move onto my social political stance.

You know I support labor unions and I am anti-war. And I realize that a Leftist Libertarian may sound like an oxymoron to you, but it isn’t. Government needs to have a firm hold on the economy and should definitely have some power over the people and should make some very important decisions. Which now sounds like a fascist point of view but it’s merely me feeling like most of the United States is incapable of making a decision and is completely ambivalent about everything. But when it comes to civil rights and social concerns, I’m all about individual freedom. I believe anyone can do whatever the hell they want and the government has no right to say anything about it. I don’t think I can explain it in any simpler terms, but that’s the fact. I believe in individual freedom for everyone. Free will should not be controlled by the government. All of these anti-discrimination laws would be unneeded in a society like mine. I’m being generous by saying there would be nothing bad about a society in the way I want it to be, but the pros outweigh the cons.

I like to use the 4 way social-economic political compass when talking about political views. The political compass consists of a Left and Right for the economic spectrum and an Anarchist and Libertarian for the social spectrum. An example of the political spectrum is shown below.

[Pictures from www.politicalcompass.org]

These diagrams should help give you a basis to what each political affiliation means, but let me elaborate.

First let’s touch on the economic part of the grid. There are two distince sides, a left side and a right side. The far left is Communism and the far right is Libertarianism, but most people will never go that far. If we are going to tie this into the current two major U.S political parties then Democrats lean left and Republicans lean right. The left is defined as a more socialist view on the economy, with the idea that a collective agency should run it. On the other hand, the right is saying that the economy should be controlled by competing organizations and individuals.

Now on to the social spectrum. The authoritarian point of view is akin to the fascist point of view, while the same can be said about libertarianism and anarchism. In a nutshell, authoritarians believe that tradition and authority should be obeyed while libertarians believe that a persons personal freedom should be maximised. Examples of both the social and economic views can be seen in the charts above.

Understanding this compass should give you a general idea as to where you stand. I highly doubt many of you stand for left or far right, or for the sake of the matter far high or far low. Most people stray towards the middle of a particular quadrant. For example, I fall into the Left-libertarianism ideals.

You can see for yourself where you stand at http://www.politicalcompass.org/test

I’ll touch on my own personal views in an upcoming blog post.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a law from the George H.W Bush administration that basically says you can not be open about your sexuality in the military and you cannot ask anyone about their sexuality. In fact, the bill was drafted by the wonderful Colin Powell.

First, it is completely ridiculous to ask me to die for my country, but not let me be who I am. How the heck does anyones sexual orientation affect their military output. You don’t need to be straight, you just need to shoot straight.

Also, I believe it was at one the Republican Primary Debates where a homosexual Veteran asked each of the candidates about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. As you can imagine the Democrats were fine with him being out and the Republicans weren’t. Actually, the Republicans actually took it a step farther and implied that he should not have military recognition(he had quite a few medals) because he was open about his sexuality. 

I like to believe that our country is becoming more and more progressive everyday, but this policy was outdated when it came into affect in 1993. It’s so discriminatory and hateful, treating the GLBT community like they are second class citizens(as we are so often treated). And don’t be stupid, we never would have won a war without lesbians!

It’s an indie film with Julianne Moore as the lead. Starring as a voluptuous Barbara Baekeland, this story follows the triumphs and downfalls of the Baekeland family. A story that ends with murder and mystery.

I’m actually currently reading the novel on which this film was based. Of course there are differences, but the film is a beast of its own. The film has flaws no doubt about that, but it makes up for it with superb performances and an absolutely brilliant style.

The score sets the mood and complements the visual style of the film so well. The visual style itself is quite remarkable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful film. The shots are so different and out of the norm and the whole setting is so very well done. This movie has class. A sense of style and beauty. It may not have an amazing script or a story that manages to flow together, but it is still fantastic. Call me shallow talking about this films beauty, but the beauty is that of an English Aristocrat. And while now a days so many films are trying so hard, too hard, to spew out a message, Savage Grace doesn’t. It merely tells a story in a visually stunning way.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. He was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where he was in charge of a few counties and Castro Street where he owned a shop. Castro Street is infamous for being the gay capital of San Francisco.

What I love about Milk is how outspoken he was. He never ever gave up and always held his head up high. He served for about 11 months leading an iniative for equal rights and equal education. And, while his accomplishments as the “Mayor of Castro Street” may seem a bit dull, what he stands for is so much more. His speeches were so passionate and empowering. His attitude was always avante-garde. 

But all good things must come to an end. In this case, an unjust one. Dan White assassinated Harvey Milk and Mayor of Sanfrancisco George Moscone on November 27, 1978. Dan was bitter and angry for having a homosexual holding a political office and in his angst murdered Milk and Moscone. Pleading to what is now called the “twinkie defense”, he got away with merely a slap on the wrist compared to what he had done. The twinkie defense was White saying that his judgment was impaired because he ate too much sugar. This sounds completely ridiculous I know, but it get’s worse. White had a loaded gun with extra rounds and came through a side window, but then said he wasn’t planning on killing them!

But what we must focus on is the good. The hope that one can do anything in this country. That, no matter who you are, you can stand for something. You can make a change.

Harvey Milk said something in a tape he made in case he did get murdered that says, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”. I merely wish for the same.

Then the bailout didn’t pass in the House and the stock market crashed again.

And then the bailout did pass a week later, causing once again, the stock market to crash.

First, I’m against the bailout. I consider myself a Democrat, but when it comes to certain economic decisions, I tend to be fairly conservative. This $700 billion bailout is not really $700 billion. That is just a number that someone pulled out of their asses. The ‘real’ bailout could easily go over $1 trillion. And that enormous amount of money, money that we do not have, is going to be paid by me and you, the taxpayers, and our children and their children and so on and so forth. This bailout is merely a political ploy. There is no way in hell that it would have been passed if it wasn’t an election year.

We have bankruptcy for a reason and it is in cases like these where bankruptcy is not a bad option. The reason that our economy right now is doing so poorly is because of these investors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac specifically. The government made a deal with Fannie and Freddie that said hey, we’ll back you make al the loans you want, so they did. They gave loans to absolutely everyone and anyone, regardless of whether or not they could pay them off. So these corrupt CEO’s drilled our country into an economic pit, and we bail them out? It was just reported a few days ago that the CEO’s of AIG, a company that was bailed out with $300 billion, went on a $400,000 vacation.

So we are bailing out these corrupt owners instead of pushing them out with bankruptcy?

Sound’s like a decision only the U.S government could make.

I’m not going to touch on the issue of same-sex marriage specifically quite yet(more like tomorrow ;]), but I am so grateful for Connecticut’s Supreme Court decision.

It’s something like this that justifies that I am not fighting for nothing. That we do have a ways to go and I can help change what needs to be changed. I’m so very thankful that another state has joined in ending discrimination and furthering equality. 

I also hope that this may stop proponents for California’s proposition 8, which would effectively ban same-sex marriage, in their tracks. It’s only a matter of time before the country steps up to the plate and gets on with the times.

3 down, 47 to go, ready to fight forever.

I can imagine a world with Sarah Palin at the helm, and all I see is a world full of opression and hatred. An abuse of power at it’s finest. Her radical beliefs are so blatantly unnerving and I could never allow her to become the Vice President of the United States of America.

Sarah Palin is a woman but not a feminist.

A mother who is pro-war.

She majored in Journalism but can’t name a periodical or newspaper she reads.

She’s a politician who can’t name a supreme court decision she disagrees with.

She asked a Librarian in Alaska how she would feel about banning books, and when the Librarian said that would be ridiculous, Palin fired her the next day.

The Chief Police Officer of Wasilla had opposing views to Palin’s, so she fired him.

She’s under investigation in Alaska for her abuse of power!

It frightens me so much that someone who supports those Gay to Straight “conversion” centers and “praying the gay away” could be a heartbeat away from the most important job in America.

Sarah Palin and the GOP are marketing her as this plain jain or Joe Six-Pack. But I pose you with this question. Do you want an ordinary person running this country or do you want someone who understand the ordinary person running it?

Note: I’m trying to stay away from petty arguments but the fact that she belonged to a political party that wanted to secede Alaska from the United States. This is PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE. Nobody is hiding this information. If anything, Palin is the one “palling around with terrorists”.