Rant on the World

While it has been awhile since my last post, and I do apologize for not being able to keep up with some news stories, I can not help but reflect on a nagging question which has seemingly been on my mind as of late: what is wrong with people? I ask this question in light of a number of stories that have come out in the news regarding world, political, and social events. In order to explain, I will break the next few paragraphs into those three areas.

World: As it was reported earlier, there have been cartoons printed about the Prophet Muhammad that has generated a high degree of violence. As people begin to wonder how much terrorism could be created as a result of all this, I cannot help but think that some folks have a hard time understanding that their decisions can have real consequences on the world around them. Europeans have had an arrogant sense that when it comes to the Middle East, the only ones who should care are Americans because the Arabs only hate them. Reality is the Arab terrorists hate everyone but themselves. While they might not outwardly go ahead and do something to a European nation, they might be planning something. A case and point scenario is what happened in London. We must never forget the fact that when it comes to the Middle East, many of the problems we have today in that region can be traced back to the British drawing lines on a map and placing long time tribal rivals into the same country.

Although this is something that is noteworthy, another aspect of the Middle East and countries that are ruled by nothing more than over confident bullies is the fact that Middle Eastern countries are politically designed to be countries that do not allow freedom of speech and/or dissent. In America, there are jovial references to religion, but that does not mean that someone is going to go out and fire bomb another religion’s church just because of it. In fact, it is our ability to say that maybe one method is not right and another could be which makes us tolerant of other ideas. Granted, not everyone can be tolerate, but the fact that we have this in place allows us to move on in our lives.

Political: In looking at politics, one must ask the proverbial question: where to begin? The Vice President shoots a lawyer in the face. I refer you to a previous post. The UAE is going to be running six of our ports. Ironic how there are some people who freak out over this. Perhaps logic needs to be considered. The UAE is Arab virtually in name only. According to folks I know who have been there, it is party time 24/7. For a religion that bans alcohol, the folks in the UAE have some of the largest wet bars you are ever going to find. The fear with the UAE is that with them in charge, terrorists will have a foothold into the country and then attack us. If this were to happen, the UAE might as well give up any hope of ever doing business with anyone again. It is in the best interest of the UAE to prevent terrorists from getting involved with their trade deals. In addition to this, it is not like there will be an influx of Arab workers in the ports that are in question. The day to day operations of the parts will be made by Americans. The problem people seem to have is that they feel this is the end of the world. Have we ever done something like this before? YES! Their called China and that particular country runs the port in a little old city called LOS ANGELES! So, perhaps it is time for some folks to take a time out, take a step back, and then look at the picture with a few moments rest.

Social: I read the social issues and can’t help but break this one down even further. There is education, entertainment, and judicial. We begin with the education department. Recently, there have been a number of articles dealing with the education of today’s youth which has caught my attention. First, there was the one which dealt with girls being smarter than boys in the classroom. In looking at my students now, who are taking a test, I can’t help but feel that the fifteen girls will do better than the seven boys taking the test simply by number alone. The problem isn’t necessarily that educating one gender is easier than another, but rather it all comes down to the way the teacher teaches the learning material and the student learns it. Education is a two way street. If one side gets jammed up, then the other side will be affected. Contemporary example: bottlenecking around an accident. How many of you do it? Another area that caught my attention is the rise of political correctness in the playground. It seems that the child’s self esteem needs to be considered and so some classic games are being shelved simply to help those who might not be so inclined to play sports. The game of tag seems to be on the list as of late, namely because the stronger and faster kids pick on the slower and weaker ones. How many people feel shocked about this? When I was kicked, I know I was tagged. I might not have been the fastest kid on the playground, but I was certainly one of the smartest around. Finally, the food kids eat are now being looked at. It seems some schools have food profiles on kids to make sure they don’t eat certain foods which will make them fat. Well, why not let the kid have the cookie, play a long game of tag, and then go back to class. The energy from the cookie will be burned up along with the extra calories.

In entertainment, I can’t help but feel celebrities are idiots. Most of the old actors don’t have an education that gets them out of high school. However, it seems their opinions mean more than anyone else’s. I can’t help but cite Scarlett Johansson, who said that stem cell research would be great because it could cure diseases like AIDS and polio. Time out. Polio? Sorry Miss Scarlett, but polio has been taken care of for quite some time now. In fact, everyone in the country gets a shot for it when they are a baby. Even worse with the celebrities is the fact that as role models, we can’t really rely on them for much of anything. Between the drugs and other indiscretions they get involved in, is it any wonder most of us come out as somewhat decent people?

Finally, judicial situations. I know this would fall under government, but I have to discuss some things that I have seen which makes me pretty upset. How big of a person are you is you shoot a nine month old baby in the stomach? We should ask Neil Entwistle about this. While he says he is innocent, innocent people do not flee the country and leave evidence on the computer of soliciting call girls and finding out ways to kill people. Tell me, do cutting the arms off a ten month old make you a big person? Well, when people say the mother was temporarily insane when she did it, then I got to wonder. A Texas woman places her daughter on her bed and cuts the baby’s arms off. Sounds a little to me like she knew what she was doing. Finally, are you a big person if you strangle a friend because of a boy. Well, seemingly that is the case considering that Illinois teens see it that way.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter on this is that people need to learn to relax and stop bugging everyone else with all of their problems. When it comes to politics, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Yes, we should be informed and know what is going on, but I don’t think we need to know every minute detail of a person. Entertainers need to remember their jobs and entertain, not discuss politics. As for people killing innocents, they deserve the highest punishment of the land, the death penalty. A parent killing a child, a baby no less, is just awful. The world is robbed of a person who could have done countless numbers of things and make the world a better place for all of us. Who knows what they could have done. That’s my opinion and unlike some folks, I am sticking with it.