I made a few lists out of boredom. Let me know what you think…
Top 10 Films of All Time
1. Memento
2. Rear Window
3. Casablanca
4. It’s A Wonderful Life
5. Braveheart
6. The Usual Suspects
7. Saving Private Ryan
8. The Godfather: Part II
9. Gone With the Wind
10. Unbreakable
Top 10 Films of 2006
1. United 93
2. Half Nelson
3. The Departed
4. Little Miss Sunshine
5. The Queen
6. Deliver Us from Evil
7. Babel
8. The Prestige
9. Casino Royale
10. Thank You for Smoking
Categories: movies
***DISCLAIMER: The following blog contains opinion and commentary that are not substantiated by any scientific research or backed up by any reliable source. Take this as one man’s opinion in a sea of many.****
Of all the things we can discuss together, politics, race, and religion seem to give us the most rage. As those issues are so divisive, anyone who claims to be right cannot in fact be right simply by believing they are. The discussion of truth, however, is a different topic for a different day. I’m so glad the recent Congressional election is over, but I am now dreading the fast approach of the 2008 President race. I claim to be a political and religious moderate, so in that way I can see both sides without bias or resentment towards another faction. I can appreciate aspects of each sides platform and agendas, but I also get annoyed and upset with people like Bill O’Reilly, Al Franken, and other political pundits. They accomplish nothing with their constant bickering and controversial statements because no matter how much you think you are right, there will always ALWAYS be someone there to counter your opinion. This is why it seems futile to make claims on either radical end of the political spectrum. You’re too busy spitting on the other side and the moderates get soaked.
The point of this rant is this: I think my generation, (the Internet Generation, Gen. Y, whatever) has such a great opportunity to step up politically and right a lot of the wrongs our parents and grandparents committed. I’m not necessarily talking about the social injustices that plague our world today (though we do need to fix those); I’m talking about the way we go about getting things done politically, religiously, socially, etc. I see Baby Boomers, our parents peers, in Congress and in churches and businesses and realize that they have been tainted all their lives. They grew up in the 60s and witnessed assassinations of JFK (and gained a distrust towards the government with the resulting conspiracy), RFK, and MLK Jr., they saw the turmoil surrounding the war in Vietnam, they lived through Watergate and learned not to trust their political leaders. And arcing all of that was the Cold War, where the US got really full of itself and tried to force itself on others. Our parents also learned from their parents, who survived the Great Depression, fought a world war, ended up fueling the racism that would be violently debated through the Civil Rights Movement.
I don’t want to have to experience all of those things. While that is out of our control, the way we handle our future is not. We are smarter, more resourceful, more cooperative with each other, and better equipped than our parents were. We are also less cynical, more progressive, and more able in many ways. The number of college students today compared to 20 years ago is substantially higher. A 2001 Atlantic Monthly article called us the “Backpack Generation”, referring the big backpacks we wear to school. “Today’s teenagers are twice as likely to do volunteer work as teens 20 years ago, they are drinking less, driving drunk less, having far fewer babies and fewer abortions, and committing considerably less violence.” We sound pretty good. Obviously there are people who are negatively affecting these stats by driving drunk, having promiscuous sex, etc. The world will never be perfect. But I think we have the best opportunity to make it a little better. There are a few things we can do that will help us get on the right track. I am no expert, but I have my own blog which you are currently reading, so you will read what I have to say…
Politically, we need to get along. I have very liberal friends and very conservative friends. They are all decent human beings like most of us are, so why are we trying to kill each other with words? Being brought up in a healthy Christian home, I naturally felt that God wanted George W. Bush to be president and that Bill Clinton is a filthy, lying sinner. At the time, I assume this to be true. But in the last few years, I’ve had a spiritual renewal of sorts. It’s not something from a cult or a Wicca board. It was more of a gradual understanding of what God really is. I learned that God is not: a stained glass window, the latest Republican leader, what those Catholic priests did to those kids (more on that later), and a list of rules to be followed so you can get into heaven. GOD IS NOT RELIGION.
I’ve blended religion with politics because I think they are intertwined. The Religious Right pushes their agenda of anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage and homosexuality. If they, the vocal leaders of the agendas and their followers, claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible, then they are greatly mistaken. If we’re using the Bible for an example, the political leaders would take the form of the Pharisees, the very group that Jesus spoke out against. This contradicts any claims the “religious” politicians make to following Jesus’ teachings. The Democrats have long been branded amoral and too radical for the country’s good. I believed this for a long time and can now see the reasons why I believed this. They oppose the Republican stances on gay marriage and abortion and therefore, as any good Christian boy would think, they oppose God. As I claim to being part of the Internet Generation, which I said earlier is really awesome, I want to be open-minded. I will vote according to what I believe in my heart and what I believe is right, but that doesn’t mean I will vote Republican.
I heard someone say once that “remember, the only time in the Bible that Jesus got angry was when he went to church.” That is so awesome and so true. If we as Christians insist we are following Jesus, then we need to get out of our church buildings and into the streets and being ourselves with the people. I don’t tell people that I’m a Christian anymore; it has a lot of negative connotations. Plus, I don’t think we should have to tell people what we are; we should be acting like it. A Billy Joel lyric I like goes like this: “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. the sinners are much more fun.” I want to laugh and hang out with the sinners and not waste my time lying to myself in a church building, believing that I’m doing good by going nowhere. WE ARE ALL SINNERS. Who are we as Christ followers to think we’re better than anyone else in this world?
I saw a documentary recently entitled “Deliver Us From Evil.” It recounts the story of 3 specific victims of molestation by Father Oliver O’Grady in the 60s and 70s. The film also serves as a platform for O’Grady himself to confess and explain why exactly he did what he did. It never really does either and instead seems to defend his actions and serve his own denial-driven ego. The point is that Catholic church puts so much weight of their religion on their priests, who are, in the end, fallen men. The victims say that, to them, their local priest was God reincarnate. So when “God reincarnate” rapes you and threatens to kill your parents if you ever tell anyone, it’s safe to say that they will obtain the wrong image of God. It makes me angry that men, sinners and slaves to weakness, have this power over others. No wonder so many people lose their faith. What’s even more angering is that the Vatican turned the 3 survivors away when they came to deliver their letter of grievances to the Pope. To them, that is God slamming heaven’s door in their face. Again. We must stop this cycle of brokenness and pride that we throw on to each other.
It starts with a decision to love unconditionally. I sound like a Baptist preacher trying to convert the “sinners” in the congregation. But I’m being real. Love is all you need. If we Love God and Love People, everything else will come into place in its time. Even if you don’t believe in God, all you have to do is love other people. This basically means that you put others first and yourself last. Think Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Jesus. I think Jesus is the best example because he got everything right. If you’re curious to figure out how Jesus got it right, read the New Testament. It’s not a bunch of history lessons; it’s relevant, useful how-to’s for today’s generation. Let’s make a big effort to be good to each other. There will be wars and poverty and disagreement, but that’s just because we’re all broken people trying to break others. All we can do is try to push through all that. Thanks for sticking with me and feel free to voice your own opinion. Be well.
The beginning of the end of “trendy” fashion has started with the inauguration of UGLY SHIRT DAY. At a currently unspecified day during the year, possibly every couple of months or so, everyone will wear the ugliest shirt they own for the entire day. They will forget about what the Hollisters and Abercrombies tell them to wear and wear what the Goodwills and Dig-n-Saves offer so willingly. There is joy in ugly. There is victory in ugly. Just look at ABC’s Ugly Betty.
Starting now, ugly is the new hot. Let’s spread the word as fast and as often as a politician deflects hard questions. For more info, go to www.myspace.com/uglyshirtday and join the revolution.
Categories: etc.
Nobody likes 8-hour shifts. Especially me. Especially Peter Gibbons. But since I have to work to get earn some money, I had no choice. But today’s 8-hour shift wasn’t that bad. In fact, I sort of enjoyed it. Not because of the work I have to do or the people I have to do it with, but because of what I thought about during the shift to make it go by faster. I thought about my awesome experience this summer as a camp counselor, I thought about the awesome times I had on tour with the band, I thought about how cool a girl I like is (no I’m not telling and no I’m not dating anyone). When I thought about stuff like that, I kept smiling and having a positive attitude throughout the day. That sounds so saccharine but it totally worked. The fact that my legs were killing me and the work I was doing truly sucked didn’t phase me because I was thinking about sliding through a tunnel lined with oatmeal, mud, and old milk surrounded by dozens of screaming elementary school kids.
The point is that if you try to find something positive in every thing you do, every thing you do will become positive. Whenever I think of it, I ask God to teach me something I need to learn whether it be small and subtle or huge and obvious. A lot of times I don’t figure out exactly what I’ve learned until way after the incident. It just smacks me in the back of the head saying “Listen up you oblivious buffoon!” The things I’ve learned from these very experiences have completely rocked my world and everything I know about it. I’d highly recommend it.
In thinking about positivity, divorce came to mind. The current divorce rate sickens me. People get married out of lust or just on a whim, and because of that, they see no need to fight for their marriage because there is nothing of intrinsic value holding it together. Why fight for something you don’t really care about? The positive thing I take from seeing divorce happen around me is that I know I will fight against it with everything I’ve got. I’ve been thinking of my future wife since I was fifteen and started writing her love letters just a few years after that. I want to fight for her and her dignity. That means that I cannot divorce her once I get annoyed or bored with her. I know I will get annoyed and bored at times, but those times are perfect for strengthening any relationship. I can’t wait to get annoyed and bored because I will know then that my marriage will only get stronger and deeper as long as I try. I hope this isn’t too sprawling. I’ve had these thoughts in mind for awhile and have plenty more to get out. Thanks for reading.
Categories: life
It’s fall outside, of orange and red
there’s a chill on the air
winter’s biting at my front door
and I’ve plunged into despair
The sun is setting, the wind’s suspending
on the golden horizon
the leaves crunch to my ears
the colors are souvenirs
and they’re saying ‘come home son’
This is the life
this is the listening
of words we miss
of songs we’re singing
Tonight’s the night
winter’s finally here
accompanied by the flakes of white
it’s a new beginning, a new song we’re singing
that’s better than before
Categories: poetry
