I watched a rerun of the X-Files last night and one particular scene got me wondering. I came into the episode late so I am not sure what caused the animosity between the two characters but a woman was at a funeral for her brother and a man wandered in to pay his respects and the woman threw a fit. It makes me wonder why people can’t allow other people, who aren’t hurting anyone else, to just exist.
Why are we so worried about what other people do with their own lives? Why can’t we just exist inside our own lives and let others exist in their’s and be happy with that? I don’t mean we should not pay attention to the world around us. I am not suggesting we should confine ourselves to bubbles and stick our heads in the proverbial sand. I am saying that we need to not be so concerned with the personal lives of people who are not part of our personal lives. It is one thing to be concerned about a friend or relative but it is another to trouble ourselves with the behaviors of people who are no more than our acquaintances. Or, more importantly, people who aren’t even that much.
It’s not just about being angry that someone we (we being me or you or Joe Smith) don’t like has come to a funeral to pay respects to someone we (we being Joe Smith and the person he doesn’t like) both love. It’s about Pro-life fanatics and Truth.com. It’s about the National Enquirer and TMZ and all of the other tabloid magazines at the newsstand and on television inundating us with the intoxicated antics of Paris and Lindsey and Britney or with Love and Mischa’s cellulite. It’s about The Real World and Big Brother.
Interfering with lives that aren’t ours to interfere with is not a new concept; people have been doing it for centuries. But just because people have been doing it for centuries doesn’t mean we should still be doing it. We are enlightened, industrialized, rational, logical human beings. We are also the only members of the animal kingdom who indulge in the pain and suffering of our fellow creatures. Other animals inflict pain on each other in their fight for domination of the pride or pack or murder but they do it to survive. Humans are possibly the most animalistic of animals (by colloquial definition of the word “animal”) because we not only inflict pain on each other for our own enjoyment but we enjoy watching other people inflict pain upon each other (or in the case of Parindsney, upon themselves). We relish it, thrive on it, live for it.
This is a short rant today because, like I said, this has been going on for as long as man has been walking erect. Complaining about it isn’t going to make it change. The best I can do is try to lead by example and change the channel when the Truth.com commercials come on because they are no better in their approach than the tobacco corporations they are speaking out against. I will live my life in my way and not allow the way I choose to live to interfere with the way others around me have chosen to live. I will make a concentrated effort to not give a flying fig about which gutter Parindsney found herself floundering in this morning or about what the cast of the Real World: the Moon is going to do for their collective job or which one of them is sleeping with which other one this week. And hopefully, through my example (or these words) I will be able to inspire at least one other person to exist solely within his own life as well.
Until next time, I will be minding my own business -
Crimson
Well. It’s almost done. I have migrated BeShameless to a brand spakin’ new server full of shiny things that make us (at least me anyway) happy. Most of the kinks have been worked out…well, enough that I could turn the site back on. We will still be making adjustments in the next day or two, so bear with us.
If you see anything a bit odd or something broken, just let me know by emailing me at beshameless.ethan (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll fix it.
Oh by the way, I moved the site for you. Yes, you. No doubt you’ve noticed performance issues when viewing BeShameless. Those problems have been banished from our world. Enjoy!
“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” - Harold Wilson
So the time has come to clean this place up a little bit. By cleaning I mean moving; We are switching servers. I’m not sure how long it will end up taking. Actually I’m not sure what all is involved. Ethan, our great and wonderful tech god, will keep me updated. And one of us will keep you updated.
And now that you’ve been updated, I’ll let Ethan work his magic. This is the last post until it’s done with. I’m sure we will all be back soon.
“All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.” ~Albert Einstein
So it’s obviously campaigning time. I know this because of the thousands of signs in yards, the barrage of TV commercials telling me that the Democratic or Republican nominee for county seat is actually the nephew of Satan, hot men knocking on the door while I’m doing yoga with a friend telling me that Dem. John Smith will fix all my problems, and the rush of typo filled ignorant email forwards swearing that Obama is the Anti-Christ. (One of these days I will make a list of the supposed anti-christs and see what number we are up to now.)
If you haven’t received these emails count yourself lucky. That or take all your friends and contacts out for drinks. They deserve it for not spreading this smut. But for those of you that haven’t read it, let me sum them up by saying they attack his Muslim heritage, his families history, quote his book (but I’ll get to that in a minute), and spout bible verses.
Just so you know I’ve read the book that the writers take their quotes from and they are extremely out of context. Yes those are his quotes, but there are other things added with it that have been magically left out. I mean that just shocks me that an anti-Obama email would leave out positive things or cut short the point that he makes. But all that aside, I just want to mention that the quotes used are things he said are in past tense. He’s speaking of previous times in his life. Goddess knows that we all use to believe things and think things that we no longer agree with now.
More over I don’t care which person you vote for they both have encouraging, and damning records. They both have ugly things they shy away from. I won’t argue with you on the fact that Obama has little experience. I won’t argue when you tell me that McCain has no idea what human equality should be. I won’t argue with you on the fact that they both have pitiful ideals on energy conservation, the war in Iraq, and fixing our economy. I won’t even blink an eye when you all try to sway what my vote will be.
I will however judge you to be a myopic, unaware human being when you try to sway me using racial issues, religious belief, or the history of someones family. Are you the exact thing that your brother, sister, father, mother, or aunts and uncles are? Or would you rather tell me that you’re family is perfect? Or that you would disown them if what they did hurt your chances to be a leader of some sort? Despite my family’s history I wouldn’t do such a thing.
Perhaps we should judge him because he’s a Muslim? Never mind the fact that he has converted to Christianity. Because once you start with a religion that’s all you can be. That’s why I’m still a God fearing Bible thumping Baptist with no idea of what any other religion entails. But back to the Muslim thing, I mean everyone knows that Muslims are responsible for all the bad things in the world, it isn’t a secular group of over the top psychotic people or just singular bad people that do horrible things. Nope not at all. I mean if that was the case there would be Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Pagans in prison too or being executed and since that never in the history of the world has happened it must be all the Muslims.
Despite the fact that people are so against Obama because they think he’s going to destroy the world as we know it, how many of them voted in the primaries? The excuse that they don’t matter is invalid. Because they are just as valid as the election in November.
So all I’m saying is think about the things you are reading and sending before you press the forward button, pick up his books and read them, Read news sources other than Fox or MSNBC, Read foreign newspapers about the state in the world, Look at the candidates voting records and where they stand on the issues. Try to verify things being said in the forwards if you just have to send them all. Most of all try to remember that your negativity does nothing but breed more negativity and ask yourself is that what we really need in the United States or anywhere else in the world?
“Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right.” ~H.L. Mencken, 1956
Well, I suppose my time of silliness is finished. American Idol is over, and I can’t stand So You Think You Can Dance. That means I actually have to pay attention to the news, and that also means you all get to read my political rants.
I don’t have a rant now, though. I’m just stopping in to let you know the latest little tidbit. The New York Times is reporting that Obama claimed the Democratic Nomination tonight. At the time of this post Clinton has not withdrew herself from running. However, since Obama is over the threshold of needed delegates, I imagine that she soon will. (Hell what do I know, I’m just a hag who sits and writes blogs at midnight with a Miller Lite in hand.)
So that, my dear readers, brings us up to date. You can look forward to my bitching as we proceed to November.
Until next time, Do I really really have to start reading the news again?
autumn
“You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.” ~James Matthew Barrie
So, um, hi there! It looks like I have officially broken my resolutions again. I am so super slamming at that. I’m not going to make excuses or try to talk my way out of it. I’m not even going to try to charm you all into forgiving me. I mean after all intelligent, beautiful, understanding readers such as yourself would never fall for something that cheap… heh.
Anyways, lets get back on track. There are three things that I want to talk about today. One having to do with a special meaning of today, and another is a little bit of religion news (that’s fitting since it’s Sunday). I’ll will get to those in just one minute.
First, I have to say something. A couple weeks ago important votes were cast. We were given the opportunity to make an important decision. We made the right one. Congratulations America, you have restored my faith in you. For you picked David Cook as your next American Idol! ::cheers, and fan-girls out::
Ok, ok that was horrible of me. I know, I should have been talking about how gay Californians were allowed the right to wed, or how the Democratic fucking primaries are still going on. Trust me, before its over with I’m sure I will. But I needed a little silliness. I’m happy about the decision made in California, but how can I talk about that without writing about all the negative backlash that followed? How can I mention that without saying that ignorant assholes are already trying to get the decision changed? I just wouldn’t have been able to. Likewise, I don’t have anything positive to say about the Democratic primaries. In fact, I am so disgusted with everything going on there, that I probably shouldn’t speak of it at all. So, I’m ignoring all of that for as long as I can. I’m taking this moment to enjoy the fact that a man whose music I love received the recognition he deserved. So HOORAY for David Cook.
Moving on, Friday the Vatican issued the statement that any Catholic women who attempted to become ordained as a priest, or anyone who ordained the women would be immediately and eternally excommunicated from the Church. Do I really need to tell you how much this pisses me off? I mean I know the reasoning behind it. Christ only had men as his Apostles. Therefore Catholicism decided, since J-dawg, only hung with the boys, that women couldn’t be spiritual leaders. I’ll never understand how a church that holds such respect and praise for one woman can ignore all the needs of other women. Granted, the only thing useful that woman did was bear a child. But, if nothing else this is reaffirming my disbelief and outrage of sexism in the church.
Finally, today is First Sale Day. It’s a day that affects all of us without most ever knowing. As a little proof, did you ever check out a book at the library? Accept a friend’s cast off of a book or CD? Shop at a used book or music store? I’m sure you have said yes to at least one of those. If not, what the hell is the matter with you? Stop reading this and go to the library right now. At any rate it’s thanks to First Sale Day that we can do this legally.
You see 100 years ago today there was a Supreme Court case. This case was Bobbs-Merrill v. Straus and became known as the first sale doctrine. This wonderful wonderful doctrine says that the owners of books or other copyrighted items have the right to dispose of them as they see fit. Which means I can sell them, donate them, lend them out, give them away to friends, rip out each page individually paper my wall, or what ever the hell I want. Guess what else? Even if there are notices saying that buyer that the item is conditionally licensed, that little doctrine is still in effect. It is still part of the Copyright laws. If you want to read about First Sale Day a little, ok a lot, more in depth go read this wonderful article at Everybody’s Libraries.
