Thoughts on Political Polarization and Apathy

Well, needless to say (living in the very conservative south), I have friends and aquaintances on both sides of the asle. And I like them and respect them all equally. You have to. A "true" liberal by one's defintion of one is 1 in a million down here. Meaning they're really fucking hard, if not impossible to come by. And most of the time, they don't even stay down here, leaving for the more progressive cities up north. So you gotta make do with what you got. And I try to do that well. I don't discuss politics with alot of my friends simply because kids my age are just not interested in that kind of stuff (and I would think it would get obnoxious to keep bringing stuff like this up). Yeah, yeah, we all know it's horrible for teenagers to be apathedic and that they should all rise up against Bush and all, but that's not gonna happen. I know. The kids in my class know who the president and the vice president are. That's it (and I go to a private school with a HUGE emphasis on academics and smarts). They don't know who the Atty. General is nor do they care. And I doubt they care about the president and the vice president either, democratic or republican. Most parrot what their parents believe (I admit--when I was younger, I did this also. I used to not have a mind of my own ).

That being said, I don't hold it against some of my friends that their parents are Republicans. And I don't love the friends who's parents are Democrats either. I judge people by the content of their character, not party affiliation or disaffiliation. Period. They will grow up and become more informed, which is all that people can do.

In general, it saddens me how polarized we are today. The venom spewed from both sides is incredibly disheartening. And I do mean both sides (I won't pin this all on the Republicans). And notice how I didn't say "Repuke" or "Rethug". I don't like it when the other side calls us "Democraps" or "Demoncrats", so I won't call them the above names. Nor will I call Bush "Chimporor" or Ann Coulter "Mann Coulter" or any of those, quite frankly, immature polarizing nicknames. The film "This Divided State" (I haven't seen it, though I really want to--it's in my Netflix que) really shows the amount of polarization that is going on today in America. And it sounds infantile, but it makes me sad. It's like we're on the verge of another American Civil War (yeah, I know hyperbole---but I'm making a point)--the "elitist Blue States" vs. the "uneducated Red States"

Sorry if it sounds like an english essay, but for real. Polarization sucks. Love your neighbor, Democratic or Republican.

i guess i should update this.

9th grade has really flown by. i still can't believe that i have only 3 more years of high school to go. unbelievable.

anyways, i always hate those retrospective, introspective, "so-this-is-the-end-of-the-school-year" posts, so i'll spare you.

im exited about summer. like really exited. especially about camp. camp makes me feel so free. freedom is a good thing. and the rest of the summer; hanging with ava and helping with her documentary (possible camp casey trip? just hope everyone around there isnt a total "kucinich-or-bust" freak), hopefully earning some money to feed my designer jean fetish, sleeping--alot.

the kennedy brothers (jfk and bobby) really need to be reincarnated. the democrats need all the help they can get. i personally love obama, but im worried people won't vote for him b/c he's "inexperienced" or whatever and nominated hillary instead (which would suck). of course, i'd hold my nose and support her, but still, it wont be the same. we need jfk's refreshing, but practical idealism and bobby's determination and passion today in politics.

i've already planned on donning black june 5 of this year, to commemorate the death of rfk. what a great man, taken from us way too soon. rip bobby.

btw. you need to check out the cottonmouth blog (linked to side of page). it's ahhmazingg <3

rEpUbLiCaNhOtTiE!!!!!111!!!111

Okay. So I've started her back up. Check her outttt!

links;;
RH part III: http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i96/blingin_hippie/rhtalkstohannity.jpg
RH part II: http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i96/blingin_hippie/rhemail.jpg
RH part I: http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i96/blingin_hippie/rh1.jpg



BTW. enlarge the images when you open 'em. Makes the comic easier to read : )
&& the blog that started it all : www.xanga.com/rEpUbLiCaNhOtTiEx3

United for Peace & Justice--video--you're invited

I really want to go to the United for Peace & Justice protest on Jan. 27. So I joined the YouTube group and created this nifty video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DiUl-yBLd4

and the corresponding DU thread.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x8887

& while you're there, check out Ava's video too. it's pretty fly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsLtRTZn1Vk

kthx.

Sorry for the lack of rants. I really have to be in the mood and lately, I'm just not. I have exams next week and all and really need to stop procrastinating. =]

"When the President Talks to God" by Bright Eyes--a photo montage

On youtube. I made it myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxLWONH926M

Here's the DU link from where I posted it on there: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&amp;forum=385&topic_id=7554&mesg_id=7554

Non-Political dispatch

...About the workings of the typical Southern High School. I roll my eyes. I wish I could go live somewhere else, like in the Northeast. That seems like the place to be.

Too much damn school spirit and school drama. I just deactivated my facebook (a stupid school social networking thing), which was a relief. I was sick of being apart of all those "GO SA! GO FIGHT WIN!" cheerleader-type groups or whatever. Sick of hearing about the damn football team. Great for them if they win, sucks for them if they loose. Seriously. Most of the girls in my grade are wither grade-A sluts or grade-A wannabee sluts (even worse) and the guys are just so incredibly inmature. I'm so tired of them all. I'm so over that whole scene of sitting on freshman field (this stupid field by our locker areas) thinking your so cool or something. Because, they're not. They're dumb, stupid, freshman who no one gives a shit about. You're not cool. Get over it.

I freaking hate the South (obviously). I'm seriously considering asking my mom to see if she can move us up north somewhere (like Northeast, or Washington DC). All the Southern stereotypes you can think of are absolutely correct. Bitchy girls and ignorant, dumbass guys. With or without the confederate flags. Football as god. George Dubya as his emmisary on earth. *rolls eyes*

I just want to go somewhere new and reinvent myself. Somewhere that no one knows who I am. Somewhere with more oppertunity. Somewhere less grim. Somewhere more like-minded and less redneck.

Something different.

The First Dispatch

This will be a weekly column on my part, if I can remember to write it. Hope y'all like it.

Well, today’s the big [football] game. State quarterfinals. “The Big Game”: words that would send chills up the spine of any Southern good-ole-boy or gal for that matter. Football is the universal religion of the Southeastern United States, and it’s a religion that might be just as powerful, or maybe even more powerful than the number one preferred religion of the region--protestant evangelical, somewhat fundamentalist—but not too much on the Fred-Phelps-esque crazy side, Christianity.

Of course, not all southern Christians are like what I described above. Case and point: I and my family, we’re quite liberal and we try our hardest to follow Jesus’ teachings about helping the poor and non-violence. And I’m sure we aren’t the only ones in the entire Southeast. The fundies just get all the spotlight, and they get way more spotlight than they even deserve. So the question is how much do these self-proclaimed “real Christians” follow the teachings of the founder of Christianity himself, Jesus Christ?

First, we’ll look at the colorful but not-so-delightful two main species of Stereotypical Southern Christian (known from this point on as SSC). The first one we’ll be looking at is called “pro-life”. The term may be the most well known as describing a person that is either involved with or identifies themselves with the anti-abortion movement, a movement that is quite prominent in my home state of Mississippi. Considering we only have one clinic that provides the abortion procedure in the entire state, I think it’s safe to say the “pro-life” movement has a lot of influence around here. But let’s examine that term. “Pro-life”. What does it mean? Well, literally, it would mean a person against the ending of any life, be it that of a fetus, an animal or even a human being. Tell me this: how many “pro-life” people do you know that are either a) against the current mess in Iraq (civilians and soldiers are killed everyday) b) are vegetarian (the animals in the meat plants are killed in a particularly brutal way), c) against the death penalty (which plays God by ending the lives of criminals or d) all three—the ultimate “pro-lifer”.

And our president, who is supposedly “pro-life”. Does the extent of his care and compassion for human life only extend to that of the pre-born? Maybe because fetuses don’t need to be drafted to fight his illegal war. Maybe fetuses won’t commit crimes that would eventually land them of death row. Maybe fetuses won’t experience the freedoms we so take for granted that our Dear Leader is slowly but surely taking away from us. Maybe fetuses didn’t get stranded in the New Orleans Superdome in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
It’s all of these things. The hypocrisy blows my mind. These people—who claim to care so much about the value and sanctity of human life—and yet they don’t. And I’ll admit this: I eat meat (though I was a vegetarian for about two months). I am opposed to the death penalty. I am against the war in Iraq and think we should try to solve most of our problems with diplomacy and only use war when it’s only necessary. And, believe it or not, I strongly dislike abortion. But I don’t think it needs to be illegalized. That would create only more problems and even more lives lost (that of the woman and the potential life of the fetus). So, in essence, pro-choice is pro-life, at least in my view of the phrase.

Secondly, we’ll examine the “Culture Warriors”. The “Culture Warriors” are always thinking someone in that nasty liberal media is trying so hard to either a) turn their children gay (which, by the way, is scientifically impossible. Homosexuality is genetic and determined at birth) or b) corrupt the minds of their innocent children with all that vulgarity and whatnot. While I agree that young children shouldn’t watch porn, I still believe that censorship is a very bad—and very dangerous—thing. Especially in this country of ours, the land of the free.

But a seemingly large amount of these “Culture Warriors” strongly support this quagmire with Iraq. And some are even able-bodied 18-22 year olds. It’s a wonder why some of them don’t enlist in the Army or the navy, or the Marines. Don’t they support this war? Weren’t they the ones that cheered BushCo on as they led us deeper and deeper into debt at home and as the number of casualties abroad increased? If you support this war and you are an able-bodied 18-22 year old—I’ll put it bluntly—you should get your ass to the closest army recruiting station and enlist. And to those who do enlist, I salute you. And to those who aren’t planning to enlist, though they support this war, you’re just another chicken-hawk.

Would Jesus bomb an abortion clinic? Would Jesus go to an anti-gay rally? Would Jesus choose to execute even the vilest criminals while still professing love for one’s neighbor? Does Jesus really love all the little children of the world—or just the ones that are American? Would Jesus let a homeless man starve while thinking to himself that the man is just another lazy bum, while professing that the meek shall inherit the earth?

You be the judge, do you think that the SSC’s represent Jesus Christ as well as they think they do? Do you think that they follow Jesus’ teachings like they claim to do?