Being Politically Correct is Incorrect

                Society expects politeness to the point of ridiculousness. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Don’t belittle something.   We can argue forever on the crudity of toilet paper versus bathroom tissue but they are the same thing. The difference is the tone. An honest tone, or a politically correct tone.

                Euphemisms make English sound dry, and flaky. It sounds like a lie, like something is being covered up, which in essence, it is. Don’t worry Walmart; my delicate maiden ears can handle toilet paper. We must protect innocent minds right? Ignorance is bliss. Why can’t we tell it like it is?

Don’t censor Huckleberry Finn, that’s the way that things were and by covering up history we never prevent it from happening again. If children don’t know how Black people were treated before the Civil Rights Movement how will they be able to prevent that happening to another race? Some things are horrible, yes, but that doesn’t mean we should turn away.  

The world is beautiful, but it is also very ugly. How will we ever understand it, however, if we don’t look at both aspects? Nothing is ever just black and white. There is no truly good and there is no truly evil. Even Hitler, perhaps the foulest creature to ever walk this Earth, gained some sympathy from me about his past. I could not forgive the man he was, but I felt some sorrow for his plight.

He had a hard childhood, filled with pitfalls that led him to the angry man he was. I understand the process, and look to troubled families of today. Could not one of those children become something so awful? It makes all the difference doesn’t it? How can a problem be prevented without first understanding it?

So be honest about things and don’t try to cover something up because ignorance is perhaps the most dangerous state of all.

Equal Opportunity

                America is the land of opportunity; opportunities which are supposed to benefit all who live here and all who come here. All minorities are given a chance to excel here, but does this go too far? I think that it does with our current affirmative action policies. Ideally, affirmative action isn’t a bad idea. Making sure that schools aren’t biased against any minority is a wonderful idea, but affirmative action goes too far.

                Instead of merely looking after a minority it takes away the equal opportunity for everyone. One person’s opportunities should not outweigh another’s, they should be the same as another’s. The Government should not be telling schools which students to enroll or who businesses should hire. They should be ensuring that these places are free from discrimination. It is not fair to a minority to be turned down because they’re a minority but it is also not fair to turn down a majority because they’re a majority.

                By giving minorities an edge for getting into college or getting a job you are also belittling their skills because the playing field was not the same for them. Is it truly a sense of accomplishment to receive benefits for something you were born into? (or a religion you might choose?) I have a friend who is half African American who was offered a scholarship based on her race. The thought sickened her that that was why she was being given a scholarship. She works hard in school and gets good grades but she knows that these have little to do with her scholarship opportunities. They will help her maintain the scholarship, but they are not why she really was chosen.

                The government has no right to decide who gets into a school or who gets a certain job. They’re job is to punish discrimination, not demand a quota. They have no right to give any minority extra money for simply being a minority. If the minority is in a low income situation they should receive the same benefits that the majority would.

                I think that eventually the affirmative action will dissolve with most of the prejudice as our world begins to move forward. I think that my generation is the least prejudice of them all so far, and that the younger generations will even surpass us. America is about opportunity, which shouldn’t be kept or favored toward anyone.

Travel Essay Attempt 1: Coffeesmiths

The light lull of jazz lures you in as you are embraced by a warm orange glow and a comfortable atmosphere. The air smells lightly of coffee and cream and the temperature is a sort of lukewarm, cool, but not cold, warm, but not hot. From the ceiling hangs about a dozen lights, some curved glass sculptures and others discs, reminiscent of UFOs. Above the counter there is a curved sort of overhang, below which all-black dressed workers scurry about, taking orders, making drinks, and preparing desserts and small lunches.

I approach the counter, knowing exactly what I want. What I want is called 20 Degrees Below, and it is a chocolate sort of smoothie meant to taste like hot chocolate if it were cold. I ask for whipped cream with it, of course, because it is absurd to refuse whipped cream on any sort of coffee shop beverage. I also order a small cup of cookie dough, an exquisite sort of creamy cookie tasting dough with lightly sweet chocolate chips sprinkled within it. I swipe my card, and accept the little plastic cup of cookie dough, complete with spoon, and walk into the dining area.

I almost never get to sit where I’d like to; booths lining either side of the dining room, slightly above the rest of the area. People with laptops almost always beat me to them. Instead, I end up sitting at one of the tables lining the back wall, each one with a small silk flower arrangement. In front of the tables, perfect for a cold day, there are cushy chairs and a fireplace, beside which is a rack of news papers. Small tables sit beside each chair and each is adorned with a small lamp.

The dining area is quiet, with only hushed murmurs, or small talk between the customers. It is similar to a library, where no one is loud, but none are silent. The counter is loud, the near constant roar of coffee making machinery.  One of the workers brings me my beverage in a clear plastic cup, save for the Coffeesmiths logo and a small marking that says “20◦”. The straw tip is covered by part of the wrapper, a nice but small touch, much like hotels where the toilet paper is folded in a triangle at the end.

It is as though time stands still in the Coffeesmiths, you could stay the whole day and not be kicked out until close. It is a sort of peace, knowing that there is a place where the world moves slowly and there is no sense of rush, no need to return to your life until you decide you should do so. It is the same feeling as a free Saturday, where you wake up late, and breakfast lasts all of the morning, until you decide to go out for exploration and later lunch. Life is easy there, and slow. There isn’t a waiter or waitress who will check on you, waiting for you to ask for your check and leave. There is only you, and when you decide to leave.

(As The Beatles Would Say) When I'm Sixty-Four

                When I’m sixty-four, it doesn’t look as though there will be much hope for my retirement. The Social Security system is failing fast as the baby boomers are slowly retiring. The main problems are these:  the population increase rate has declined in comparison the baby boomer generation. The baby boomers are also expected to live longer lifetimes overall, and so shall we, by the time we are sixty four. All of these added up will leave us with next to no money for retirement. Now, there are other plans for retirement such as 401Ks and our regular savings but can they possibly cover the projected need for elderly citizens? On the upside, there are still medical programs such as Medicaid which can cover medical costs but food, clothes, and taxes are still bills we’ll have to face. Some tax breaks that would go to retirement funds are one suggestion, but I feel that the social security system should only benefit citizens who need it. Some people retire rich, and don’t need that extra help.  

                The elderly took care of us, so we need to take care of them. They’ve paid for our educations, they’ve raised us and loved us and we owe it to them to help pay for them. But how can we do that if we don’t have enough money to do so?

                I think we should cut their taxes down extensively. We’re paying them wages with Social Security, some of which they give back in taxes, so why not cut the taxes down so we don’t need to pay them quite so much? If we can cut their costs we can cut ours. Hopefully the new medical bills will help lower the living costs for the elderly so they won’t need as much social security as they do. We need to start spending wiser, and cut costs so we don’t have to spend as much to live on. If taxes weren’t so expensive people wouldn’t need as many government benefits. If they could pay less on one necessity they will need less aid overall. We can make this work; we need a team of experts to diverse a system, which will then be handed over to the lawmakers to be translated, then brought to the Congress’s attention to be reviewed, then through the Court and the President. Something needs to be done, and someone in this country can figure it out, preferably not an actual politician to begin with. We’ve been in worse spots and survived. Let’s do it again, fight against a problem and win. America could use some more hope to wave our flag with.

                It almost makes me wonder if our Mexican immigrants aren’t the worst idea in some respects. If we could get them legalized they could bring in more revenue toward our generations retirement. We need to bring more industry back to America so we can create more jobs and generate more revenue toward state projects. This period of unemployment is costing us way more than we can afford in state funded programs and a general loss in revenue and taxes. We’ve crippled our economy bad, so bad it affects the future funds as well as the current. We could well be in a worse place when I’m sixty-four and I may jolly well hike myself up into Canada and start living there if we can’t ever fix it.
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=17582

Music Enchantment

Music is simply amazing. There are so many varieties of music, and everyone likes some kind of music, maybe even many kinds. I love blues, blues rock, rock, hard rock, punk rock, metal (to some extent), classic, jazz, Jrock, Jpop, pop, alternative, and many more. Music is one of the most important parts of my day. I get up in the morning, and switch on my iPod as I get ready for school or work. I’m listening to music right now. Music is indescribable. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once said that “music is proof that God exists”. Nearly every human being on Earth can sing, whether they’re talented or not, and the vast majority can play some kind of music. The Beatles were a sensation across the world; women fawned and fainted over Elvis Presley. Musicians are regarded like gateways into Heaven, capturing the soul behind every moment, and appealing to hearts around the world. There is something truly magical about music.

                I went to a Black Keys concert last year and was blown away. Words cannot describe how incredible they were. The whole area was alive, people dancing, raw energy pouring from the stage. We all screamed and shouted as one, united by pure love that floated through the air. The musicians were as gods, on a pedestal above us, as we roared and danced in their honor. We were simply taken away by the energy of it.

                When you really get into a song it’s like a trance, you’re fire, energy, and sexiness all wrapped up into one. Nothing can stop you then, and nothing will, save for the music ending. You twirl and twist until you’re out of breath and your heart is running like a freight train. When you come down off that high, it’s like the rain after a muggy summer day. It’s beautiful; you’re not sure what happened to you, but it was so amazing you don’t care.

Terrorists

Lately there have been a lot of terrorist attacks in the news, and as disturbing as that is, there is something else disturbing about them too. If they weren’t committed by a Muslim they’re simply “attacks” or “shootings” or even “suicide bomber” at the closest. That makes me sick. Terrorists come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Yes, the current terrorist organization we’re worried about is a radical Islamic organization but that doesn’t make all Muslims evil any more than it makes white suicide bombers not terrorists. When will people learn? Stereotyping has never proven to be the norm for any group of people. In fact, there is no norm. People are like snowflakes, not any two are the same, so when you’re sitting on an airplane, and you see a Muslim person sitting a few rows down, don’t start panicking and wondering if the plastic fork they gave you for your meal will save you. Calm down, most likely they’re just like you and they have somewhere they need to go.

                It’s happened before, the Internment Camps in the Forties are a good example of old fashioned American panic. Did those Japanese-American citizens really spy on the United States? No, they didn’t. American-Muslims are the same way. They are not the radicals we should be worried about; they just want to practice their religion in peace.

                Not too long ago, a boy shot 20 some people, including a senator, down in Arizona. That was a tragedy, and a terrorist attack as we would know them today. It wasn’t called that because it wasn’t a Muslim who attacked them. This makes me sad because it wasn’t the Muslims who attacked us. It was Al Qaeda and it has always been. Don’t judge a religion based on one small group.