At the Vortex of Racism, Islamophobia, Bigotry, and Fear

I'm not going to link to any articles. I'm not going to embed any videos. I'm not going to quote any politician, talking head, or pundit. It's out there - it is, in fact, everywhere - and you can find it for yourself if you want to. But here is the point:

This new wave of breathless anti-Muslim sentiment is both deplorable and despicable, and I sincerely abhor everybody who is participating in it.

Creating a database in which all Muslims must register? Internment camps? Ending immigration from "Muslim" countries? Beginning a "Judaeo-Christian" government propaganda program? These are all ideas that have been suggested and discussed over the past week.

France, which, if you recall, was the country that was actually attacked, has responded to the attacks by reaffirming their stance that they will still accept their previously-declared quota of Syrian refugees. They have mourned, they have increased their military response to ISIS, and they have declared a temporary state of emergency.

America, which, if you recall, was not attacked last Friday, has responded hysterically, with politicians and pundits doing their best to stir up fear, hatred, and bloodlust among the general American population. The way that most news organizations have responded to the Paris attack has been particularly disgraceful. It is now obvious that the poorly-informed idiots that make up our media are incapable of learning lessons from their past behavior. After the way the American media cheered on and pushed the march to war in Iraq, one would have thought that they'd be more cautious before throwing aside the tattered remnants of their journalistic integrity and reverting to being the warmongerers they had been a decade ago.

Of course, if you thought this intellectual and moral growth was possible, you have been proven completely wrong.

What is happening right now is sick. It is pathetic. It is disgraceful. As Americans, we constantly tell ourselves all about our greatness, all about our exceptionalism, all about our brilliant commitment to human rights and the betterment of humanity.

It all seems like bullshit right now. What is happening is that the lowest common denominator is winning, and we are left with nothing but hatred and fear. A great country doesn't do this. An exceptional country doesn't engage in open bigotry and the tarring of an entire people because of the actions of a couple of murderous psychos. A country committed to human rights and the betterment of humanity doesn't offer policy prescriptions that hearken back to the Japanese internment camps of World War 2.

What is happening to this country?

Sometimes Public Transportation Can Remind You That People Aren't All That Bad After All

I love seeing stories like this. I need more personal focus on the good things that people do and less obsession with our negative and hurtful actions.

Sometimes Public Transportation Can Remind You That People Aren't All That Bad After All

A World of Difference

Your Corporatocracy and You

Shared without comment, because none should be needed...

Um and Ahem and Other Place Holders

So... if I had an audience of readers, I would apologize for being away for a couple of weeks, but, since I don't, who cares?

Over the past three weeks I have had a cold, a headache from trying to go cold turkey on coffee, and a brief relapse with alcohol. I had nearly twenty months sober and lost my way. I sometimes have to remind myself that it's not the end of the world, that I didn't just throw away twenty months of hard work and self-improvement. As long as I use the relapse as a means of strengthening my sobriety, then nothing was lost.

I attended the Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple last night for guided meditation, and found it quite... nice? That's such a useless word. I found it relaxing. I found it satisfying. I found it another important step in rebuilding the scaffolding around my sobriety. This is a work in progress, though it's not a project that will ever be complete.

May we be happy. May we be safe. May we be peaceful.

The Hurt Locker

I finally got around to watching The Hurt Locker yesterday, and I'll say that I was unimpressed. The story was long and meandering, the plot felt loose and flowing rather than tight and well-constructed. There were several tangents which didn't seem to contribute anything to the overall story arc, and Jeremy Renner's stellar acting skills were just kind of wasted on the production.

Bleh.

That said, towards the end of the movie, while speaking to his infant son, Renner's character said something that struck me as both true and important: as we humans get older, we grow to love fewer and fewer things.

When we're young, the world is a source of endless fascination and beauty, and we so easily fall in love with every shiny thing that catches our attention. By the time we're adults and have begun to sink roots into the earth, we are not quite as susceptible to the quick thrill of love anymore.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it's probably an important evolution that occurs within us.

I just wanted to share the line with you because it made me think, and thinking is a wonderful thing.