Health Care

Everyone seems to have their say in how health care should be renovated, and I’m not about to let this opportunity pass up. Before I get into it too much, I’d like to just mention a couple of the points I am hearing more frequently.

1. Creating a public option will force health insurance companies to find ways to cut costs in order to compete.
2. Creating a public option will force health insurance companies to fold since they won’t be able to compete.

Where do I stand?

• I believe health insurance is a right, not a privilege.
• I believe that no person should ever have to declare bankruptcy or see their medical bills sent to collections because they cannot afford health insurance.
• I believe that “pre-existing condition” is just a cop out for health insurance companies to reduce their costs.
• I believe insurance companies have a long history of “the bad guy” in this country and I can’t quite figure out why everyone seems to forget that AIG has taken hundreds of billions of dollars from taxpayers because they are a poorly run business! How is that any different than telling me that Medicare is “going broke” and that we need more money to keep it going?

What troubles me the most about the conservative approach to health care reform is their willingness to protect private insurance companies while keeping the government’s hand out of their affairs, yet when these companies fail it becomes the responsibility of the taxpayers and the government to bail them out.

I find it ironic that health insurance companies will reject your claim to care because when you started your recent policy you were already sick (so that’s a pre-existing condition and they refuse to cover that).  Yet, when AIG was ready to fail and people wanted to let them fail, it was “un-American” to let so many people lose their jobs and suffer because the company was poorly managed.

It’s like a never-ending circle of irony when the very companies some are looking to protect are the same companies that have taken advantage of us for decades and continue to take our money and reject our claims.  I sit here with medical bills that were sent to collection years ago and have damaged my credit for years because I was a full-time student, working two to three jobs throughout college and couldn’t afford to pay for the cast to be put on my broken ankle or wrist.    When I had to choose between a meal plan for a semester, or to pay a hospital bill – I didn’t feel that I really had a choice.

I remember lying in a muddy field with paramedics working their magic on me in an attempt to get my breathing back in order (asthma).  They carted me into the closest residence hall to get me out of the rain and then asked if I wanted to be taken to the hospital.  I told them I had no insurance and I wouldn’t be able to pay for the bill.  They advised me to allow them to take me to the hospital and monitor me since I had no medication (asthma medication would cost me $150/month w/out insurance).  So here I am, unable to take a full breath without the oxygen mask and unable to pay the medical bill.

My situation would be considered a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “no big deal” and 10 is “tragic.” Millions of people in this country go every day without health insurance, doing everything they can to stay healthy so they can continue to work and provide for their families.  No person should have to choose between paying a medical bill and putting food on the table for their family.

Back to the wider discussion on health care reform.

1. The government can’t be responsible for health care because they’re inept, just look at how broke Medicare is.
2. The government is in a position to regulate the health care industry and help reduce/eliminate wasteful spending.

The government provides health care to all government employees, veterans and senior citizens.  I don’t see any Congresspersons complaining that their health insurance is terrible.  I don’t see any bail outs for Medicare like what we saw for private industry over the past year.

I am not as concerned about the government having their hand in health care because I think this is just the type of program we need to force accountability and action from our representatives. If we don’t like our current health insurance, there isn’t much we can do.  We choose from the plans our company offers or we pay out of pocket.  If we don’t like the public health care plans, we can go directly to our representatives and tell them why.  If we don’t see change, we simply elect another representative who will get the job done.

I’m also not as concerned about the government having their hand in health insurance because I’d rather have government run health insurance than no health insurance.

I’ve been watching these town hall recaps, you know the ones with some white guy jumping up and screaming, “My health insurance is just fine, mind your own business!”  If you interviewed that guy 5 years ago and asked him what he thought about the performance of insurance companies, I’m willing to bet that you’d hear him say something along the lines of, “They’re crooked,” and it may have been followed by a scoff.

We dumped billions of dollars into the laps of the terribly unethical executives at AIG and they went on vacation a week later.  Why haven’t we had a stimulus plan for Medicare if it’s broke? It boggles my mind.

1. Stephen Hawkings and Ted Kennedy would be left to die with a government run health care plan.
2. O_O

I’m not really sure where this came from, or how they continue to use this to justify their disapproval for the current drafts of health care reform.  They seem to believe that an elderly person who needs an expensive procedure to stay alive would be left to die because the government finds them to be useless to society. I had to find out for myself where they got this from.

I read the referenced pages in the draft of the health care reform bill (Page 432) and the concern is summarized as:

The government is going to collect data on the cost and effectiveness of life prolonging procedures and medications.  If the government finds that a procedure costs more than the estimated value that you provide to society, then you’re shit out of luck buddy.

I tend to believe that the intention of this section was to help identify wasteful spending.  If a pharmaceutical company claims to have a pill that can delay a cancer and help you live an extra year, you may think, “I want it!” If you found out that the pill only helps 5% of people who take it live an extra year, you may still think, “I want it!”  If you found out that of the 5% who live an extra year, that 95% of those people end up spending all their time in hospitals on life support, barely hanging on to life and racking up medical bills that will get passed onto their families, you may take a second look at it.

The problem is, you don’t have access to that information, because data on these types of procedures is not consistent. I’d like to see a nationwide study to determine the cost effectiveness of these procedures and even identify where the waste occurs.  A conservative may choose to translate my statement of “waste” as people who are expendable.  I choose to translate “waste” as unnecessary costs (such as charging $20,000 to stay overnight in a hospital; what does it COST to keep someone overnight?).

1. Our health care needs improvement.

Hey! We finally agree! On that note I’m done for the night.  I’m sure I’ll be back soon to talk this over.

Easy there buddy – Racism is NOT dead!

Barack Hussein Obama is the President of the United States of America (Acceptance Speech: Goosebumps Galore).  But slow down there big fella!  Racism is not dead in America simply because we elected an African-American as President.

You don’t need me to tell you that you can win an election with less votes because your candidate has more electoral college votes (see 2000 Presidential Election Results).  This year, President-elect Obama received more votes than Senator McCain, and many more electoral college votes.  While I am not trying to cast a shadow on this tremendous achievement, and this monumental step forward in equality in America – I would find it naive for us to believe that racism is a thing of the past.  People still voted for McCain because he is White, just as people voted for Obama because he is black.  But when people vote for McCain because Obama is black; that’s when we have a problem.

Last night on CNN, their table of old white dudes said that many questions of racism have to be put behind us if Obama is elected President.  I could not disagree more.  While racism is not a way of life for the majority of Americans, racism is still quite prevalent in this country.  I don’t see the old white lady smiling and waving to a black man at night because Obama is President.  I don’t see the KKK and Al Sharpton sitting down at a table together and sharing a cup of coffee (guess who wants their coffee light and sweet?).

Far beyond the racist tendencies of the individuals and small racist organizations peppered throughout America, stands the ever powerful Institutionalized Racism.  This form of racism exists at the institutional level; education, corporations and other public/private organizations.  This type of racism is the strongest because the discriminatory acts against people of different color are not performed at the individual level, but are aimed at the roots of these people.

An example of Institutionalized Racism would be a requirement by an organization that all members of the board must be able to track their lineage back at least three (3) generations.  Or an organization that provides health benefits to all workers that are not in seasonal-work like agriculture.  Even the SAT’s have come under heavy scrutiny as a form of Institutionalized Racism as the test is written and designed by a generation of men who decide what children today should and should not have learned.

It is no secret that many African-Americans cannot track their lineage as many are descendants of slaves.  It is no secret that African-Americans and Hispanics make up the majority of seasonal workers, specifically agriculture.  It is no secret that public schools across this nature in the poorest neighborhoods suffer from low funding and are populated with more African-American and Hispanic students than White students.  These students from these poor school districts and poor homes are not meant to pass the SAT’s and receive grants to help them pay for school.

The social structure of this nation has already decided how far we may go and how much success we will have.  I am unable to count the privileges I’ve had in my life because I am a White Male, but I am certain that I have received leniency from some and favors from many.  The practices of Institutionalized Racism hardly come into question because to question the foundation of such long tenured institutions, to some, is to question the foundation of America.  The America that was founded through bloody wars and civil uprisings.  The America that was cultured by Western Europeans who initiated the Slave Trade and defended it as a right of “God’s Children.”

I could not be more excited for President Obama and the next four years (maybe eight?).  I believe he will lead America into a new era where having the most bombs doesn’t necessarily make you the most powerful nation.  This new era is a Global Era, because we cannot continue to act in our own self interest without regard for the other members of the Global Community.  A nation and its people cannot be successful in life by amassing wealth and property.

We can be successful in this Global Era under the guidance and leadership of Barack Obama.  The foundations of our racially biased institutions will no longer be able to compete and survive unless they change; drastically.  I don’t expect Obama to illegalize or investigate institutionalized racism, that task is nearly impossible.  I do expect Obama to encourage people to participate in the global community and to encourage people to help out in their own communities at home.  I expect people to change their way of life for the better because they will be faced with a growing trend, a trend that is calling us into action.   A trend that refuses to deny a Black Man a job simply because he is a Black Man.

The first step of many has been taken.  We cannot expect change to happen; we must be the catalyst for that change.  We cannot become complacent and put racism behind us because we have a Black President; we must work to better ourselves and in turn our neighbors and friends.  If I’ve learned one thing from this past election, it’s that when people really want something, when they really need it – they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it.  I hope others are as hungry for change as I am, because we’ll need that hunger to continue this tidal wave of change.

Do as I say, not as I do…

Here I am doing my due diligence and reading up on our candidates.  I do my best to read articles from around the political spectrum, so as not to be swayed by the propaganda.  The current hot topic is none other than the Revlon wearing pitbull herself, Sarah Palin.

Has she come under an unfair amount of scrutiny from the press?  No.  This is her first time in the national spotlight, and if we’re going to have anyone a single heartbeat from the Presidency of the most powerful (are we still?) nation in the world, then you can be sure they’re going to draw a lot of attention.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s focus on an article I recently read.  This very conservative source is deathly afraid of well-educated minorities running around the country involving themselves in organizing community affairs.  And to let you in on a secret, it scares me too!  People might actually find out that racism, sexism, ablism, and homophobic sentiments are running rampant throughout the GOP.  Yikes!

Focus.

Okay, so this organization known as Public Allies is getting government funding (how little or how much we’re not sure) to educate people aged 16-30 on social awareness.  Yes, this includes telling them that white dudes are privileged by birth, while black chicks are of the most discriminated against community within our heavily fenced borders.  The author of this article didn’t happen to leave their name anywhere I could find it, but they make it quite evident that they are morbidly afraid that this is going to breed a group of unruly and pissed off kids.  If he (oops… I think I just let the cat out of the bag, eh, whatever – lets run with it) had his way, this organization that develops community organizers and helps send them to college so they can live a life of public service.. should NOT be funded by the public.  And that uber-radical liberal guy running for President who had no “actual responsibility” as a community organizer in South Side Chicago is going to do his best to ensure that we all pay the bill for training and educating these blasted public servants and community organizers.

We can’t have that now, can we? 

However, the Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc. (a 527 Group) which is responsible for the boot camp-style training of the now globally (in?)famous Mac Pooch; Sarah Palin is a justifiable and acceptable organization… right?  Wrong.

Who says it’s wrong?  Try her running mate, John McCain for one.  Earlier in McCain’s bid for the Republican nomination, McCain was asked about the funding that so many “527’s” provide to campaigns.  McCain responded by saying, “The 527s need to be eliminated.” 

Ziiiing!

The independent 527 is a tax free group that is supported through corporate donations.  The donating corporations flood money into these 527’s who are loosely regulated, if at all, so they can hand that money over to the candidate that best supports the donating corporations best interests.  In fact, Ted Stevens was recently indicted on 7 Felony counts of failing to disclose the financial benefits he received from VECO – an oil company that has a steady record of “donating” monies to the 527 that Ted Stevens runs!

So what does this all mean?  Do as I say, not as I do.

The Doomed Generation

Shortly after arriving at work I found myself double-clicking Firefox and navigating directly to various news/media sites.  It didn’t take long for me to stumble upon an article that got my rusty gears cranking again.

My eyes wizzled through the article as my mind held its breath, hoping for that one profound statement that would send my spiraling thoughts overboard into the tumultuous sea of anger and frustration.  But as the article wound its way down and the advertisements beneath began to rise, I knew I had to be the one to make that profound statement.

Why is it so wrong for the people of a nation to want the government to help?  Upwards of 35% of my paycheck is taken away from me and I’m hard-pressed to tell you where all that money goes.  However, if the inability of the government to sustain and regulate its own economy has wreaked havoc on millions and millions of American families, then why, I ask you, is it so wrong to ask – no – EXPECT the government clean up their own mess?

Predatory lending practices.    Unsanctioned military actions.  Trillions spent on false wars.  Oil speculation.

Who has benefited from all of this?  Banks are failing miserably and desperately trying to pass off their costs of foreclosures onto new borrowers, so they certainly aren’t aided by this.  Thousands of our troops and countless more families and friends have been devastated by the losses and injuries sustained by those sent to fight in a war veiled by “our need to protect our way of life.”  Meanwhile, our way of life has come under attack from within our own borders with skyrocketing energy prices and an economy that can’t sustain itself let alone grow.

Oil speculation.  Big energy companies and the oil futures market has become grossly wealthy since this began – and it truly began when the government decided it wasn’t necessary to regulate the oil futures market to ensure speculation didn’t falsely drive up the cost of oil.  As we typically do in America, we saw an opening, a loophole and we took advantage – even if it meant sabotaging the American Dream in the process.

And in the midst of all of this we have a government with no accountability and one that accepts no responsibility for the current state of life in America.  The government can claim it needs to spy on its own citizens to protect our way of life, but they hesitate to pay Medicare doctors fair wages.  The government can argue we need to attack the Iraqi’s and Iranians because they pose a threat to our safety, but with hundreds of thousands losing their jobs – who is going to protect their families?

The cost of a house in the past decade has risen to astronomical values, but when those unrealistic home prices drop 5% in a couple years, the housing market begins to self implode – who is going to protect the average citizen from losing their home?

This administration, our current government has stressed time in and time out, “If you are not with us, you are against us.”  The cowboy mentality of guns blazing and riding into town to save the day is nothing more than a farce; a cruel prank played on us all.

Government has assumed the right to impose laws that “protect ourselves from ourselves” and to protect the innocent.  Abortion has come under heavy fire in recent years, but not a peep about the death penalty.  Recently, the current administration has been trying to persuade law makers that contraceptive pills, birth control, are a form of abortion and should be regulated as such.  Two people who share a life, a home and a family are told by the government they cannot be married in the eyes of the government, and this is done “to protect the sanctity of marriage.”

I see so much that has changed in the past 8 years of this once great nation.  I feel beaten, battered and worn down.  I feel cheated, robbed and scarred.  I see so many of my fellow people struggling to just survive.  These people aren’t concerned with the “American Dream” they just want to feed their families and put a roof over their head.  They just want to wake up and have a job to go to, a meaning in life.

In a nation that has put so much focus on working towards success, towards a unified goal of freedom – we’ve fallen terribly short.  Owning a home is truly a dream in today’s economy.  Earning a fair wage out of college is becoming an endangered practice.  And it’s not just the salaries that are bias, it’s the cost of living.  In 1962, the mean annual household income was just over $50,000.  In 2007, the mean annual household income was just over $75,000 – that’s a 50% increase in salaries over a 45 year period.

In 1962 the average cost of a home was $20,000.  In 2007 the average cost of a home is just over $200,000 – that’s a 1,000% increase.  If the cost of a home were to remain on par or close to the mean annual household income, homes would cost on average, $30,000 (a 50% increase over 45 years).  If the mean annual household income were to remain on par or close to the average cost of a home, salaries would average over $500,000.

But I digress.  My point is going to become lost in these numbers, in my ramblings.  Our focus has been so heavily on one matter that we so easily forget to focus on the others.  I’ve illustrated this in my writing and we’ve experienced this in our lives.

We’ve put trillions into protecting our way of life while our way of life has suffered because of the lack of focus on ourselves.  Our focus is guided by those in power who tell us what our focus should be.  For 8 years our focus has been safety and security for the future.  I hope we can spend just one of the next few years focusing on ourselves for a little bit, to secure our personal futures in our personal lives.

The Ignorance is Astounding

Recently, I have been paying a lot of attention to the small battle brewing between the Congress and the White House.  As it stands now, the White House is claiming “executive privilege” over every shred of information that may (or may not) reveal their ineptitude to lead this country effectively and honestly (as if we need evidence for that; or maybe we do).  Behind every political quarrel are masses of ill informed and well informed individuals speaking out against or in support of the United States Government and the parties involved.  However, I have begun to notice a most disturbing trend among the “ignorant” population who are screaming things like, “Impeach Bush!” and “Impeach Gonzales!” and even “Impeach Cheney!”

Normally, these suddens bursts of outrage would just blend in with the rest of the quarrelling, but it came to my attention that the majority of these ill informed individuals have no real idea what impeachment is.   After reading the articles and the forums, it is clear that many people believe “to impeach” is “to fire” or “to remove from office.”  Sadly, this is far from the truth, and if their memory served them well, they would recall the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton for allegations of lying under testimony.

Allow me to clarify what it means “to impeach.”

 In our country we have two sectors, the public sector and the private sector.  The public sector is in place to serve the public and includes government officials, police officers, social workers and so on.  The private sector is the everyday Joe Schmoe who goes to work for Initech each day and battles a sketchy fax machine.  The private sector and the public sector are treated differently in the eyes of the government.  The same laws are applied to both sectors, but special consideration is often given to the public sector. 

For instance:  You’re driving down a major highway when you suddenly see the blue and red lights flashing behind you.  You pull off to the side of the road and are greeted with, “License and registration please.”  The officer then tells you that you are being stopped for driving over the speed limit.  As a citizen of the United States, you have the right to defend yourself, and in our Judicial System, you are “innocent until proven guilty.”  However, most citizens do not fight the speeding ticket (outside of the standard “not guilty” plee that results in the officer lowering the charges of the ticket).  Why is it that the officer’s word is held in higher respect than your own?  Why is it that you are made to feel guilty simply because the officer has told you that you are guilty? 

Sure, you can plead not guilty and request the radar gun’s calibration records as well as any documents and data supporting the officer’s claim; but if it turns out you’re wrong – you’re fucked.  The court and the officer will be so pissed that you made them jump through hoops for a $200 speeding ticket that they will make sure they nail your ass to the wall and throw a few points on your license for good measure, even though you are well within your rights to request this information.  Or, you could walk away nearly unharmed if you just cowtow to the officer and ask him to lower the ticket to a non-moving violation. 

So again I ask you, why do we feel so inferior to those who serve the public?  Why is our word less honorable than their word?

Back to what it means to impeach.  The reason I went on that seemingly off-topic discussion is to illustrate the point that the public sector is treated differently than the private sector.  To impeach means to indict a government official with a charges of a crime.  So why the fancy word?  Why can we not just say we’re indicting the Attorney General on charges of perjury?  The reason is perception, a perception that the public sector must be held to a higher standard, therefore must be treated as a higher authority.  Also, it is important to note the Constitution is not 100% clear on what constitues impeachment.  “High crimes” is the term used in the Constitution, but it was a 1970’s Gerald Ford that said the House should be allowed to determine what is an impeachable offense based on the context of the situation in it’s own history. 

This means that the term “high crimes” does not only apply to treason and bribery, but to whatever the House considers a “high crime” based on the current events.  This begs the question, what was Clinton’s “high crime?”  Adultery?  Sexual misconduct with a consenting adult? 

Anyways, if you’re reading this and you come across some ill informed citizen who is screaming for the impeachment of Bush or Gonzales or Cheney, make sure they know exactly what that means, and also, if you have the time, inform them that if we are to impeach Cheney or Gonzales, Cheney would preside over the impeachment trial.  You read correctly.  Cheney would oversee his own impeachment trial.  The Constitution makes it clear that the President of the Senate, The Vice President himself would preside over the trial (dissention exists that a temporary President of the Senate would have to preside, however, in the current trend of things, the VP would likely claim executive privilege and find a way around the Constitution).  If the President were impeached, his very own nominated Chief Justice Roberts would preside over his trial. 

Either way, it’s not looking good.  The Senate can impeach these individuals much like they impeached Bill Clinton, but what would that really accomplish?  Another frown upon an administration full of frowns?  Do we really think 2/3 of the Senate will find either of the three guilty of any crime?  Or are they more concerned with serving (not the whole public) their constituents.

Which brings me to my next point, why do elected officials seemingly serve only those who voted for them?  We’ll talk about that later…….

The Insanity of Sanity

One of the most interesting aspects of studying Sociology in a very liberal environment is the difference of opinions even amongst those who claim to be “liberal.”  The essence liberalism is the ability to adapt to a changing society and to adapt policy as such.  This does not simply mean that a “conservative” is exactly the opposite in that the essence would be a strict application of laws and policy across the board.  However, this is exactly how most arguments are started between the “liberal left” and the “uptight right.”

Rather than viewing political views on a straight line; where conservatives are on one end, and the liberals are on the exact opposite;  you should try to view the varying political views as a circle.  Little do we all know how closely related the conservatives are to the liberals, but the reality is exactly that.  The reason we can make this assertion is the simple truth that both political views have a very similar if not identical end result in mind; prosperity.  How can two opposing views with the same goal be considered complete opposites?  They can’t.  Period.

Anyways, let’s get back to the interesting points of views that I started this on.  Within the liberal society, you can accurately divide the group into two individual circles, with slight overlay of course (nothing is black and white, there will always be a gray area).  The one circle is constructed by the Utopians while the others are the Realists.  The Utopians have a view of a (blank) society – any guesses as to the word?  Utopian society.  Their ideas are primarily that of eliminating racial and sexual bias, centralized health care and fair and free education for anyone who wants it.  The Realists have pondered these ideas, and have come to a (blank) – any guesses on the word? Realization.  The world will never be completely rid of racial and sexual bias, so we must enact realistic policy that can best address this.

After hearing the two sides duke it out, and rather aggressively at times, I firmly believe that there is more animosity between these two sides than between the “left” and “right.”  For example, currently the news is hot on the Iraq War budget which is nearing $500 Billion.  People have come out and tried to put this into perspective and lined out exactly what you could buy with $500 Billion.  I’m sure the numbers are ridiculous and one could buy a 3 bedroom house for every person in this country and put a 7 passenger hybrid in all of their parking lots as well as full college scholarships for up to 2.5 children per household.

If you step outside of these gaudy numbers,  and look through the lens of a Utopian, you will likely see a scary reality.

$500 Billion is more than enough money to modernize every single school in this country.  Children would no longer need to sit in dilapidated classrooms with outdated books and unmotivated teachers.  Children from all neighborhoods could receive a safe and equal education.  Whether or not they use that education to become doctors and lawyers is completely up to them, but studies have shown that kids who go to nicer schools, tend to get better jobs and live overall happier lives.

So why is all the outrage focused on how much money we are spending on this war, and why is the outrage not focused on how much money we have taken from developing our own country?  Our leader speaks of bringing democracy to Iraq and building new, safe schools for the children to learn in.  But why does our leader not speak of bringing equality to his own country?  Why does our leader not speak of building new, safe schools for our own children to learn it.  The last time our fearless leader spoke to us about our education system he proposed one of the most outrageous acts of government policy to date.  Our leader did nothing to strengthen our current system, instead he attempted to create a completely irresponsible process by which Catholic Schools could get more students and more money and where public schools would lose students and likely lose funding.

The pure essence of this country is the “escape of persecution” and the freedom to lead one’s own life without fear.  Yet, this leader who has spent $500 Billion  to “liberate” a country that sits on one of the world’s largest petroleum respositories , and has effectively ignored his own people.  This country was built by immigrants and on the backs of immigrants, however unjust and brutal it may have been.  Yet, this leader has proposed the atrocious idea of building a wall to “protect our borders” much like the Chinese did to slow the invasion of the Mongols nearly 1,500 years ago.  This country has put out advertisements of the “American Dream” and drawn the world’s brightest into it’s grasp.  Yet, this leader has done everything he can to segregate this country from the rest of the world and has done his best to destroy the image of this country; which wasn’t atop the polls to begin with.

But we curse those radical leftists who speak out against our leader during a time of war; and whose war is this?  All signs say that the “war” we fight in Iraq is a civil war that was created by the absence of a governing body.  And this wouldn’t be the first time war broke out when the government broke down either. Yet, we laugh at the Utopians when they speak of the schools and the children we can save.  We tell them to be “realistic” and stop being so childish.  Who is the real child here?

Sadly, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.  This is our country and our responsibility.  Sure, you can tell me that one person cannot have any significant impact; and I may agree with you.  But there is nothing stopping us from speaking up and speaking out.  It is our right to do exactly that, despite what many say.   Some may even say that the elections are bought and sold on the campaign trail and by enormous corporate support, and I may agree with you.  But there is nothing stopping us from speaking up and speaking out against these companies.  In the end, it is they who need us.  It is they who need us to buy their gasoline, their lamps, their couches and their automobiles.  It is they who need us to give them money to invest, to save and to spend.  If this country really felt a change was necessary, then this country would do what they had to do to ensure that change.

But then again, maybe we already are moving in that direction.  I say, what good does it do to move away from one clearly wrong path, if only to move into another?  I sure hope that those who can influence policy, do.  And those who have a voice, speak out.  I know that I won’t stop talking about these things with friends and family.  I know that I won’t stop reading and educating myself on current events, and educating others in turn.  I just hope that I can change one person, and in turn watch that person affect another.  In time, true change will be made.  In time, this country will see another revolution from within it’s own borders.  It is inevitable.  And this is not a threat, this is just reality, from the point of view of a Utopian.   Or am I a realist?

Doubling the Standards

I can openly speak about my frustration with those who apply double standards and persecute on those beliefs. Nothing is more angering than a flawed set of rules that carry unfair and unjust responsibilities. One of the most prevalent examples is the double standard of sex lives between men and woman.

Example…

A group of college students are going out on Thursday night to the local bar. They all shower for the first time all week and take a number of shots of vodka before they storm out of the dorm. They march towards the bar and start puffing their chests as they recall recent conquests and the last girl they screwed (literally and figuratively). As they enter the bar they flip out their fake ID’s and start scoping out the scene. One guy notices a large-breasted woman drinking in the corner with her friends. The guys look at each other and make bets to see who can sleep with her first. After a couple of hours of chattering, one guy begins whispering into her ear; telling her how pretty and nice she is. This guy puts on the whole disguise and starts to tell her everything she wants to hear until they two go home.

The other side…

A group of college students are going out on Thursday night to the local bar. The girls start getting ready around 6pm and help each other put on makeup as they try different outfits on. The girls all take one shot of vodka before they call a cab to bring them to the bar. On their way to the bar the girls speak of a cute boy in a class they they hope is at the bar tonight. The girls all laugh and chuckle as they exit the cab and enter the bar without having to show ID. The girls get a couple drinks and start to talk and recall past memories from high school. At one point a girl notices a group of guys walk in, and one of them is the cute boy she likes from her class. She tells her friends that she hopes he notices her as she begins to straighten her posture and throw some flirty looks his way. Eventually the boy comes over and the two dance and talk for a little while. Just like the girl hoped, the boy is really nice and sweet and is making her feel very good about herself with all of the compliments he is throwing her way. The two finish their drinks and head home.

The stories converge…

The next morning the girl wakes up to an empty bed and sees the guy she just slept with getting dressed. He tells her he has class as he runs out of the dorm and back to his suite to brag to all his friends. The girl lies back down and begins to cry. She gave herself to this boy she thought was a sweet and nice guy, and now she feels used. He never liked her to begin with and all he wanted was sex. The girl jumps out of bed and showers before she heads to brunch. On her way she sees the boy she just slept with walking and laughing with his friends. He never went to class and she never saw it coming.

The confusion…

From the guys perspective, he just “bagged” a cute chick and slept with her – he’s the man.
From the girls perspective, she just got played by a cute boy – she’s a slut.

The reason I bring up this now is because the former Mayor of New York City is now officially running for President of the United States of America. In a recent article on Reuters, mention was made that while Giuliani is a favorite amongst voters, he may be seeing some resistance from his own party since he stands for rights of gays and abortion. God forbid the man have a soul and wants people to live their own lives!

But here is where the real double standard comes into play. The GOP is well known for their faith based initiatives. They often appeal to the Catholic population as they vehemently oppose abortion and gay marriage. It appears that the GOP is attempting to literally translate the Bible word for word and apply it to modern politics in a society that was founded on the beliefs that religion and government should be separated.

The twist…

The same party that literally translates the Bible is attempting to obscurely define the constitution, a document that is about 1500 years younger. The GOP often throws out catch phrases like, “The fore-fathers never anticipated…” and “We live in a different world now…” These catchy little phrases are very powerful and often succeed in their intent to sway the vote their way. These phrases get people saying, “They are right, the world is different now and we must treat it that way.”

However, when the issue of gay marriage comes up, the GOP is very clear in stating, “The Bible never intended for this. Marriage is to be between a man and a woman and is a sacred institution.” Now you may remember my post previously on this topic so I won’t get into it. The point is this, why is the GOP allowed to literally translate one text and apply that as policy but they are basing their entire platform on the modern world and the need to loosely translate the constitution?

This topic could get me going all day so for now I’ll break…Before I break.