today's question/topic is "your best friend is in a car accident right after you fight. what do you do?" i think this is a lame-face question. i'd go straight to the hospital, emergency room, whatever. i'd be there. i'm not twelve. i could never be mad enough that i wouldn't be there for my friend and her family if something awful happened. we've never really been much for fighting, anyway. we had one fight when we were sixteen. about a boy. and we got over it really fast. that's why we're friends. i don't think there is a fight i couldn't forgive and forget. unless it's about my daughter. you hurt my child, i probably won't forgive and forget.
so, yeah, lame question. sorry, i didn't make 'em up. maybe tomorrow will be more interesting...
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
day 20: my views on drugs and alcohol
hey! this should be a fun one!
well, obviously, drugs and alcohol are bad, right? hm? obviously... here's the deal. i don't think that they should be illegal. up until they started passing laws about this stuff, it was widely recognized that our government didn't have the authority to dictate to us what we could and could not consume. drugs were bought and sold legally. the drugs laws that were passed generally had to do with having a permit to sell and paying taxes and all that. a few laws were passed against opium dens, but they were targeting the chinese specifically. then came prohibition. we all know how that turned out. prohibition could probably get credit for single-handedly organizing crime. but we didn't learn our lesson there. a while later, nixon declared war on drugs. and guess what happened? a dangerous black market grew.
now, i'm not saying drugs are good, but i don't think marijuana can be classed with other drugs. i think we're wasting jail-space if we're making criminals of a bunch of dirty hippies laughing at cartoons and eating captain crunch or whatever. and i'm not saying you should go try some cocaine, or start a nice little heroine habit. not what i'm saying at all. i'm saying that making these things illegal hasn't stopped people from getting them, and now violent groups are smuggling them into our country. maybe we should be looking closer at our methods for eradicating drug use.
i drink. not very often, and not very much. and i don't think there's anything wrong with that. however, i have seen alcohol destroy lives. obviously we should be moderate with anything we consume, french fries as well as beer. and if you're not capable of being moderate, cut that temptation out of your life. i'm sure that, even if you don't recognize that you have a problem, someone who loves you has tried to tell you that they're worried.
i feel like i rambled alot with this post. oh well, you got the general idea.
well, obviously, drugs and alcohol are bad, right? hm? obviously... here's the deal. i don't think that they should be illegal. up until they started passing laws about this stuff, it was widely recognized that our government didn't have the authority to dictate to us what we could and could not consume. drugs were bought and sold legally. the drugs laws that were passed generally had to do with having a permit to sell and paying taxes and all that. a few laws were passed against opium dens, but they were targeting the chinese specifically. then came prohibition. we all know how that turned out. prohibition could probably get credit for single-handedly organizing crime. but we didn't learn our lesson there. a while later, nixon declared war on drugs. and guess what happened? a dangerous black market grew.
now, i'm not saying drugs are good, but i don't think marijuana can be classed with other drugs. i think we're wasting jail-space if we're making criminals of a bunch of dirty hippies laughing at cartoons and eating captain crunch or whatever. and i'm not saying you should go try some cocaine, or start a nice little heroine habit. not what i'm saying at all. i'm saying that making these things illegal hasn't stopped people from getting them, and now violent groups are smuggling them into our country. maybe we should be looking closer at our methods for eradicating drug use.
i drink. not very often, and not very much. and i don't think there's anything wrong with that. however, i have seen alcohol destroy lives. obviously we should be moderate with anything we consume, french fries as well as beer. and if you're not capable of being moderate, cut that temptation out of your life. i'm sure that, even if you don't recognize that you have a problem, someone who loves you has tried to tell you that they're worried.
i feel like i rambled alot with this post. oh well, you got the general idea.
Friday, December 10, 2010
day 19: my views on religion and politics
geez louisa, this could be a long one. i could keep it simple and say that i'm a Christian, and a conservative, but that leaves so much room to be misunderstood.
first things first: i believe in G-d. not some scary big guy in the sky who wants to punish us all for being bad-- a G-d that loves me and created me for a purpose. One that loves you, too. no matter what kind of fuck up you think you are. i think the evidence that He's there is all around us, like music on the air. people wonder why the world is full of pain and suffering if there is really a G-d... i think it's my fault the world is crappy, not G-d's. it's your fault, too. we don't do right by eachother, we pass the buck on our obligation to love our neighbor. to love our enemies. to turn the other cheek. we see the poor or the suffering, and we turn away, and say there must be no G-d. if there is no G-d in this world, it's because we are not being a window to Him. i read a story about a guy who used to be a Christian, and is now an atheist, because of a picture he saw of a woman in a land having a drought. she was holding her dead child, and he thought, where is G-d, when all she needed was rain? i think the real question is where were WE? where was I? why was i not there, representing a G-d of grace to that woman?
something i'm sick and tired of is Christianity getting bashed all the time. if you listen to jon stewart or bill maher (who are very funny guys) you'd think that you have to be an idiot to believe in anything. they are very clever, and very condescending, and act as though it's been scientifcally proven that there is no G-d, and all believers are just un-educated, backwoods fanatics, clinging to our outdated superstitions and mythology. seriously? as if there were no intelligent people, no scientists, or doctors, or philosophers, who believe in G-d? we're not all racists, bigots, and members of the NRA. guess what! i'm not a racist! i don't hate gay people! i think the environment matters, and i don't drive a hummer. since when did mocking other people's beliefs become cool? and this loony idea that Christianity was invented to control people, a moral measure that we will always being struggling in futility to live up to, out of fear of being punished.... i have to wonder if these people actually know much about the Bible. the one major thing that distinguishes Christianity from other religions is the concept of grace. grace means unearned forgiveness. yeah, knowing there is a G-d makes us aware of our shortcomings. but He loves us, and forgives us. i don't attempt to live a good and moral life because i'm afraid of being sent to hell. i've been forgiven, and not because i earned it in any way. i don't get to be smug about it. people that are being smug are missing the point.
which leads us into politics. i'm a conservative. i relate most closely with the libertarian party. i think the government was never meant to solve our problems. it was meant to safeguard our freedom. i think that ayn rand was right when she said, "Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others." now, this doesn't mean i don't want to help people. i just don't think charity can ever be a mandatory thing funded by the tax system. i also thing the government is the wrong machine to distribute aid. non-profit organizations are more efficient, and get more aid directly to the people who need it. there are too many administrators, managers, and red-tape in the government. i also think that it's laziness to wait for the government to "fix" things. as i said above, if we started acting with true loving kindness to our neighbors, we wouldn't even need aid from the government. the more we expect help from the government, the more it will interfere in our lives. is it really constitutional that the government regulates what we can and can't consume? and i'm not just talking about our stupid "war on drugs," i'm talking about food. not just unhealthy food, either ( as if the government is qualified to decide what is healthy or unhealthy) but they regulate how we buy fresh foods, too. it is easier to buy over-processed pseudo-food products than it is to go to a farmer and buy milk and meat directly from him. read ron paul's book the revolution: a manifesto.
this may have ended up being a rant. but i find that it's harder and harder to defend the things i believe in without being misunderstood. pop-culture would call me a fanatic, or paranoid, or part of the "religious right." i don't think i fit into any of those boxes. i feel pretty rational... but hey, why listen to me? i'm just one of those crazy gun-toting, Christian-mythology-believing, poor-hating, homophobic, racist, un-educated, TEABAGGERS?!
first things first: i believe in G-d. not some scary big guy in the sky who wants to punish us all for being bad-- a G-d that loves me and created me for a purpose. One that loves you, too. no matter what kind of fuck up you think you are. i think the evidence that He's there is all around us, like music on the air. people wonder why the world is full of pain and suffering if there is really a G-d... i think it's my fault the world is crappy, not G-d's. it's your fault, too. we don't do right by eachother, we pass the buck on our obligation to love our neighbor. to love our enemies. to turn the other cheek. we see the poor or the suffering, and we turn away, and say there must be no G-d. if there is no G-d in this world, it's because we are not being a window to Him. i read a story about a guy who used to be a Christian, and is now an atheist, because of a picture he saw of a woman in a land having a drought. she was holding her dead child, and he thought, where is G-d, when all she needed was rain? i think the real question is where were WE? where was I? why was i not there, representing a G-d of grace to that woman?
something i'm sick and tired of is Christianity getting bashed all the time. if you listen to jon stewart or bill maher (who are very funny guys) you'd think that you have to be an idiot to believe in anything. they are very clever, and very condescending, and act as though it's been scientifcally proven that there is no G-d, and all believers are just un-educated, backwoods fanatics, clinging to our outdated superstitions and mythology. seriously? as if there were no intelligent people, no scientists, or doctors, or philosophers, who believe in G-d? we're not all racists, bigots, and members of the NRA. guess what! i'm not a racist! i don't hate gay people! i think the environment matters, and i don't drive a hummer. since when did mocking other people's beliefs become cool? and this loony idea that Christianity was invented to control people, a moral measure that we will always being struggling in futility to live up to, out of fear of being punished.... i have to wonder if these people actually know much about the Bible. the one major thing that distinguishes Christianity from other religions is the concept of grace. grace means unearned forgiveness. yeah, knowing there is a G-d makes us aware of our shortcomings. but He loves us, and forgives us. i don't attempt to live a good and moral life because i'm afraid of being sent to hell. i've been forgiven, and not because i earned it in any way. i don't get to be smug about it. people that are being smug are missing the point.
which leads us into politics. i'm a conservative. i relate most closely with the libertarian party. i think the government was never meant to solve our problems. it was meant to safeguard our freedom. i think that ayn rand was right when she said, "Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others." now, this doesn't mean i don't want to help people. i just don't think charity can ever be a mandatory thing funded by the tax system. i also thing the government is the wrong machine to distribute aid. non-profit organizations are more efficient, and get more aid directly to the people who need it. there are too many administrators, managers, and red-tape in the government. i also think that it's laziness to wait for the government to "fix" things. as i said above, if we started acting with true loving kindness to our neighbors, we wouldn't even need aid from the government. the more we expect help from the government, the more it will interfere in our lives. is it really constitutional that the government regulates what we can and can't consume? and i'm not just talking about our stupid "war on drugs," i'm talking about food. not just unhealthy food, either ( as if the government is qualified to decide what is healthy or unhealthy) but they regulate how we buy fresh foods, too. it is easier to buy over-processed pseudo-food products than it is to go to a farmer and buy milk and meat directly from him. read ron paul's book the revolution: a manifesto.
this may have ended up being a rant. but i find that it's harder and harder to defend the things i believe in without being misunderstood. pop-culture would call me a fanatic, or paranoid, or part of the "religious right." i don't think i fit into any of those boxes. i feel pretty rational... but hey, why listen to me? i'm just one of those crazy gun-toting, Christian-mythology-believing, poor-hating, homophobic, racist, un-educated, TEABAGGERS?!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
day 18: my views on gay marriage :/
i live in america. the land of the free, the home of the brave. and right now there's this big stupid debate about gay marriage, and whether or not it should be legal, whether it's right or wrong, blah blah blah. i'm not going to discuss whether it's right or wrong. i'm going to discuss whether or not it should be legal.
here's the deal: i don't think it should be up to the government to decide what marriage is or is not. that is a blade that can cut both ways. all you need is a few crazy people in charge to start saying inter-racial marriage is illegal, or getting re-married after divorce, or marrying jews, or whatever, and then where are we? aside from protecting minors, the law should stay out of it. i think it should be civil unions for everyone. i think that if you want your union recognized by a separate moral/religious authority, you can easily find a church or some kind of officiant that will do that. of course, there will be churches that say it's wrong. so don't go to that church. not everyone is going to agree with your lifestyle, and you can't force people to say that what you're doing is alright. part of living in a free society is freedom to disagree, right? there are plenty of churches that would say that i'm the whore of babylon. i'm a single mom, i live with my boyfriend, i have tattoos, i smoke, drink, and swear...
from a religious standpoint, the Bible makes it pretty clear that we all go astray. (it also talks about fornication and adultery alot more than it talks about homosexuality, and pride even more than that.) and what is G-d's response to our unfaithful selves? grace. i wish more people would imitate that response.
here's the deal: i don't think it should be up to the government to decide what marriage is or is not. that is a blade that can cut both ways. all you need is a few crazy people in charge to start saying inter-racial marriage is illegal, or getting re-married after divorce, or marrying jews, or whatever, and then where are we? aside from protecting minors, the law should stay out of it. i think it should be civil unions for everyone. i think that if you want your union recognized by a separate moral/religious authority, you can easily find a church or some kind of officiant that will do that. of course, there will be churches that say it's wrong. so don't go to that church. not everyone is going to agree with your lifestyle, and you can't force people to say that what you're doing is alright. part of living in a free society is freedom to disagree, right? there are plenty of churches that would say that i'm the whore of babylon. i'm a single mom, i live with my boyfriend, i have tattoos, i smoke, drink, and swear...
from a religious standpoint, the Bible makes it pretty clear that we all go astray. (it also talks about fornication and adultery alot more than it talks about homosexuality, and pride even more than that.) and what is G-d's response to our unfaithful selves? grace. i wish more people would imitate that response.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
day 17: books are awesome and good for your brain.
today's topic is supposed to be about a book that changed my life. really? this is a daily happening. i read all the time. so here's a top 5:
1. the Bible. but i'll save this topic for the religious and politcal views day.
2. tie between hobbit/lotr and the chronicles of narnia. these books instilled in me the sense of living life on an epic scale, of life being an adventure, of battles between good and evil, and the nobility of fighting in them.
3. nancy drew books. laugh if you will, but these books got me hooked on reading. also, nancy was a bad ass, especially in the original books. she was classy, too.
4. fahrenheit 451 and 1984. everyone should read these books. this is why books represent liberty and autonomy and e-readers are scary. sure, that sounds nutty. think about it awhile, though.
5. the alchemist. it's probably the most beautiful story since Jesus, and ridiculously easy to read.
i'd go into more detail about why these books changed my life, but you should probably just go read them. dig in, mull it around, think your own thoughts. books are like the fertilizer for growing your own ideas. quit watching the daily show and that teen mom show on mtv. books are good for you, promise. book reports due next friday.
1. the Bible. but i'll save this topic for the religious and politcal views day.
2. tie between hobbit/lotr and the chronicles of narnia. these books instilled in me the sense of living life on an epic scale, of life being an adventure, of battles between good and evil, and the nobility of fighting in them.
3. nancy drew books. laugh if you will, but these books got me hooked on reading. also, nancy was a bad ass, especially in the original books. she was classy, too.
4. fahrenheit 451 and 1984. everyone should read these books. this is why books represent liberty and autonomy and e-readers are scary. sure, that sounds nutty. think about it awhile, though.
5. the alchemist. it's probably the most beautiful story since Jesus, and ridiculously easy to read.
i'd go into more detail about why these books changed my life, but you should probably just go read them. dig in, mull it around, think your own thoughts. books are like the fertilizer for growing your own ideas. quit watching the daily show and that teen mom show on mtv. books are good for you, promise. book reports due next friday.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
day 16: someone or something i could definitely live without
i could live without meat. pork specifically. i'd like to live kosher. i've lived a vegetarian life before, and i'm not a huge carnivore now, but i really just want to cut the pig out of my life. all i have to do is decide. of course, this would mean eating at home more. i love to cook, and i shouldn't be buying lunch at work anyway... that's it. no more pig. good thing i already ate breakfast... oh, bacon! i miss you already.
sorry, not a long post. but i have good news! we're pretty much moved in to our new house! we've already painted the living room, and i have colors picked out for the bathroom and bedroom, too. i need to be careful or logan will dump me for being a project-a-holic.
best thing about moving (besides a nicer house and no lousy neighbors) is that i get to indulge my ocd book craziness, and reorganize and catalogue my books.
i know. i'm a nerd.
sorry, not a long post. but i have good news! we're pretty much moved in to our new house! we've already painted the living room, and i have colors picked out for the bathroom and bedroom, too. i need to be careful or logan will dump me for being a project-a-holic.
best thing about moving (besides a nicer house and no lousy neighbors) is that i get to indulge my ocd book craziness, and reorganize and catalogue my books.
i know. i'm a nerd.
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