Home of the Free?

As children growing up in the United States we are taught that we live in the freest and greatest country in the world. For years many of us do not even question this fact. Yet if you ask a class of high school students to explain why the above statement is true, most of them can’t even find a place to start. While others get offended at the very nature of the question. Believe me I’ve tried it.

So if you have not already begun to question this ideology I have yet another instance of the hypocrisies of our country. A law that dates back to 1915 could soon have gay and lesbian couples from Wisconsin facing prosecution and possible jail time. As some of you may know California is now the only state in our fair Union that will issue a marriage license to out of state gay couples. For what I can only guess is hundreds if not thousands of couples from Wisconsin this would appear to be the culmination of long held dream. Yet there are now some people trying to have these seemingly law abiding citizens arrested. The aforementioned law states that any person who is a Wisconsin resident that leaves the state to get married with the intention of returning is subject to arrest.

Now this almost has to go without saying, but I seriously doubt anyone has been arrested for this offense in at least four decades if not more. I can also all but guarantee that the state is also not going to go arrest John and Jane Doe after they get back from their destination wedding. You as well I know that the only people with so called “law” will be used against is same sex couples. While you can argue the merits of gay marriage all you want, enforcing a law solely against one specific group is discrimination.

This is even more ridiculous when you consider the fact that the California marriage license on its face is worthless in Wisconsin since gay marriage is not legal in the state. Now the proponents of bigotry and ignorance will argue that letting same sex couples marry and return to the state will lay the ground work for gay marriage in Wisconsin. To this I have the prefect counter argument. Who Cares? Seriously that’s it. I mean ask yourself if John and Jane go get married how does it influence your life at all. In all reality it doesn’t. So if John and Steve or Jane and Sara go get married how does it influence your life. Again in reality it doesn’t.

People are way too concerned with how other people live their lives. Before you can go around and dictate how others should live, why don’t you first figure out how to live your own life? I am sure if we really perform an honest self evaluation most people will realize they have much more pressing issues in their life than two people they don’t even know getting married. For those of you who would argue that if states allow same sex couples to marry it would force churches to perform the ceremonies, I can tell you with a bare amount of research you will find out you are wrong. As any who has been married or has considered getting married can tell you, any church can refuse to marry any couple gay or straight. Most churches required membership to the church for a minimal amount of time along with further restrictions. When it comes down to it at most churches it is up to the discretion of the priest if the two individuals are ready to be married. But don’t be mistaken I am no whole heartedly placing my trust in the judgement of the church. I merely pointing out the idiocy of yet another hate filled and baseless argument.

Gay, straight, black, or white in the end you need to live your life and let others live theirs. Love one another, be kind, and respect others choices and we will all be better off.

Remember a Revolution does not take place overnight

Keep of the Fight

Che

“Remember…there’s room at the top…”

Some say music will lead the revolution, and while I will have more on this issue later for now lets say music has provided inspiration. Last weekend I went so see Pearl Jam with the Redbeard and the Big Guy. As many of you already know Pearl Jam has been one of the most politically active bands over the past couple decades. In fact the Redbeard basically went just to hear what Eddie Vedder had to say. To his credit Eddie did not disappoint. If you have ever been to a Pearl Jam concert you will know that Eddie will always speak about what is going on in the country and give his point of view. Even though you may not always agree with him, you have to give him credit for being so open and honest with his viewpoints.

While Eddie did talk about the war and the impending end of the Bush regime what inspired me was one sentence. As if we were all at one giant book club Eddie recommend the crowd read a book by a local legend. The book was Howard Zinn’s “You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train,” and from what I hear it is a very good book. But then Eddie began to ponder aloud the loss of George Carlin, and the others we will soon lose like Zinn. To him these men, and men like them have led the revolution with ideas and ideals, but many of them are now gone and the rest will not be far behind. So this brings us back to the inspiration of this entry. Just before entering into the next song, almost as a second thought he said “Remember… there’s room at the top…”

While it is such a simple and somewhat obvious statement, it has been on my mind since I first heard it. I mean when you think about it many of the books, essays, and documentaries that I and many people who think like me are so passionate about are written by men and and women who are well our senior. Many of these outstanding people are even from the generation of that before our own parents. It is easy to argue that they share the same thoughts and ideas of the younger generation, the difference is they are actually doing something to spread the ideas. So what is going to happen when these men are gone? Who will take their place?

As Eddie said there is room at the top. More people of our generation need to get out there and do some of the work ourselves. Reading and studying is all well and good, but if all you ever do is read cookbooks but never actually cook eventually you will starve. To clarify I am not delusional enough to think that my writing this is making a huge impact toward this goal, if anything it is only a drop in the bucket. We all need to do our part. We should not be afraid to voice our ideas or even to be brave enough to actually act on them. We all need to do more to improve our society. I mean having one conversation with a person on the bus, or the guy standing next to you in the bookstore could lead them or you to think and act in new ways. Not everyone will change the world or write a book, but if we all try to make a small impact eventually we could cause a tidal wave. Remember there is room at the top.

Keep up the Fight

Che

Life is a Competiton?

So I told you this blog would not be solely about politics but about life in general. So here it goes, my first non-political entry. But don’t worry the politics will return just as soon as I can find the time to do a little research. I once heard a saying that I am sure many of you are familiar with. The gist of saying goes “Life is a competition.” While I do agree that competition is healthy part of every day life, does it mean that everything is one large competition?

At work you are forced to compete in order to advance, so will gladly concede that point. However, for the majority of us work is not everything. Now I know most of you would immediately then jump to the realm of sports to disprove my argument, but surprisingly this is where my argument really beings. I like most of you enjoy being able to compete against my friends in athletic events, and enjoy it even more when I can beat my best friends and enjoy the victory. But when I started to work out with the Big Guy something donned on me. Life is a competition but its not against other people its really against yourself.

When we started to lift together I kinda wanted to prove to my brother that he is not mat much stronger than me. Unfortunately reality did not really meet my expectations. Because not only is the Big Guy stronger than, but he is much stronger than me and knows a lot more about lifting. The idea of self competition is reaffirmed everyday when I get on the treadmill . And it turns out I would quite literally die if I tried to keep up with cute girl who usually runs beside me. She is about 3 inches shorter than me, runs considerably faster than me, and for a much longer distance. So if life is really a competition shouldn’t I try to beat her everyday. I mean she is a girl after all.

What I have come to realize is that the competition is with yourself. Everyday I try to run a little faster or lift a little more than the day before. Without realizing it many other people do the exact same thing. This is because most logical people have come to realize that they do no have the same physical abilities as some other people are luck enough to have. So why then do we insist on making the rest of life a competitive event, only to feel bad about ourselves if we don’t win and therefor “fail”. I mean if we have limits to our physical abilities wouldn’t simple logic tell us we have limits in other areas of our lives.

This is not to say you should just give up because you will never be as strong as your friend, as smart your brother or sister, or as fast as the cute girl at the gym. No far from it. You should try to beat yourself everyday. Run faster, work harder, and love stronger. Just realize if you always try to compete against everyone else instead of trying to improve yourself in the end you will always come in last place.

Remember

No Revolution Takes Place Over Night

Keep up the Fight

Che