The State of Our Union; A Belated Rant

So.. a while ago, I was angry. Very angry at what I was seeing going on in our country. Granted, I am often angry about what goes on in this country, and outside of this country because of us, but I was especially angry on this day. It just so happened a lot of things were going crazy and I felt a bit overwhelmed, so I decided to rant.

I was tempted not to post this, because I don't want to offend people, but then I thought about it and said to myself, "Hey! You are who you are. If you have an opinion, share it. If people don't like it, they don't have to listen." So there. My internal logic wins again. Therefore I have decided to post my angry ramblings anyway.

I wrote this on April 18th, so although most of my unsure questionable thoughts have pretty much been answered at this point, this were my thoughts at the time.

Here you go, I am officially un-censoring myself:

This week has been filled with tragedy.

I started my Monday in the kitchen jamming and having a great time when Dan texted me and told me there had been a bombing attack in Boston. My oldest friend lives in Boston and I automatically panicked and started crying. I found out she was okay, not even in Boston at the time, and that although it was still terrible, the death toll was, luckily, very low.

Yesterday, a fertilizer plant in West, Texas exploded killing maybe 15 people (the rubble is still smoldering). And then today, I come home from work to hear there is a bomb threat in Hollywood, to then be trumped by a shooting near/at MIT where an officer was killed. As of right now, one suspect has been killed, the other is on the loose with possible heavy weapons and explosives. The police are going house to house to find this guy, and word on the street is that these guys are linked to the Boston bombing. By the time you read this, it may be old and incorrect news, but right now, that's what I'm hearing.

Not to mention that Wyoming is covered in snow and Illinois is flooded. Oh! And there was a 7.2 earthquake in Russia and a 7.8 in Iran.

So.. what the heck is going on?!

I could, and maybe will, write a whole series on my observations and theories on the state of the world. It is all rather grim. Granted, all these things have just happened and none of the obvious questions have been answered as of yet.

Here is a quick breakdown of what I see is going on around me in my country/government today.

Gun Violence:

The Senate overwhelmingly voted against tightening laws to enforce and expand background checks on gun purchases. Historically Speaking, No Surprise In Senate Gun Control Vote

I'm sorry, how is this logical? 90% of the American people believe this should be passed, yet the Senate voted against it. This is a great example of how money contributions in our government corrupts. Because getting a pension and paid to sit around and bicker like school children doesn't pay well enough. Are the people representing us more concerned about what the NRA things than their constituents? I vote yes.

Too many people are killed in this country every year from guns. Yes, perhaps more often than not it is by a handgun, but there are too many mass shooting and our mental health care (er, healthcare period) is terrible.

But shooting guns is fun. Yes, I agree. But just because you like to shoot guns at a shooting range or at innocent animals doesn't mean that children and unsuspecting people should have to die because weapons and ammo are cheap and easy to come by, criminal or not.

I know! Let's clamp down on security and take away everyone's right to privacy in exchange to protect your right to have fun with a gun.

But I need to protect myself.

From who? Your neighbor? Maybe if gun laws were better enforced and practiced that psychotic neighbor or murderous ex won't get a weapon so easily. Also, wanting a gun to protect yourself is fine with me! Pass those background checks, take classes to know how to use it, and pay taxes and high costs for ammo/guns/checks. Cigarettes are taxed like crazy. For goodness sake's, if you go to a grocery store nowadays they charge you for bags. Grow up, you are handling something dangerous. 11 Things Harder to Get Than Guns

Protect yourself from your government? Um... they have drones, tanks, and nukes. Good luck with that.

"Terrorism:"

If the Boston Marathon bombing was a foreign attack, can we really blame them?

Don't get me wrong. It was a terrible thing that happened and I wouldn't wish that kind of terror on anyone. But, look at our foreign policy. We've been bombing Near East countries for years. Drones hover over these people every day. People die every day in the Near East. I know, they are not all killed by Americans, but I honestly believe there is so much chaos over there because of our interference. We need oil... and control.

Three people were killed in the Boston bombing, one of which was a child. This was devastating, but our drones have killed between 411 to 884 civilians in Pakistan alone according to a study by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Now think about how you are feeling about the Boston bombing, and try to imagine being Pakistani, an Iraqi, or maybe Afghani. Supposedly, we have killed 178 children in drone strikes. U.S. Drone Strikes Are Causing Child Casualties

Israel. Now there's a hot button issue. Why are we backing Israel? They are trying their damnedest to completely dismember, disembowel, and destroy Palestine. U.N. rights inquiry says Israel must remove settlers. But I will save Israel for another day.

And best for last, Guantanamo Bay.

First of all, the fact that this place is in Cuba is mind-boggling.

Also, the fact that a huge number of prisoners are on a hunger strike (possibly all of them) due to conditions and extreme torture is disgusting. Force fed while tied down, through a tube in their nose. More torture? Gitmo Is Killing Me

The fact that many of these people have not been convicted of any crime is scary. Yet our government refuses to release them to their countries of origin. Why? Scared they will become terrorists? Wonder why..

This is not my image. 

Human Rights:

Same sex marriage is still illegal. It just seems crazy, downright stupid. But, as a historian I see.. history repeats itself. In fact, right now the Supreme Court is deciding whether DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) is constitutional or not. If America is truly the land of hope and freedom, it would not even be up for debate. But sadly it is.

Apparently, we must always hate in order to pass blame. How could you hate the perfect America?! We just want cheap everything and will exploit you and your country to get what we want.

Quality or Quantity: Bad Religion - Quality or Quantity (this link is a video) *yes the person writing down the lyrics has poor grammar, but that's not the point!

Our immigration system is broken. If you don't want immigrants in our country, than don't devastate their countries and sell them guns to shoot us with to sell us drugs. Mow your own lawn, pick strawberries for 10 minutes, don't be so damn lazy! Then you can bitch, but not really. Because remember, we are all immigrants. Do you really want to be treated like the people who actually are not immigrants in the sense we use the term? I doubt it.



If you want the whole world to think America is so great and we have the best system and everyone should be like us, then you should expect people wanting to come to our country. It's only logical.

The Environment:

I won't even go here today. Believe you me, I can write a novel on this.

But really, look around you. Think of all the natural disasters you can name. And then ask your grandparents or parents how many they knew by name before you were born. 

Climate change exists. Whether it's human caused or human heightened, we are destroying the Earth.

**Back to the present**

Please remember I was angry and venting. My facts are not necessarily correct or backed up. I just needed to get these thoughts off my chest, and having them sit on my blog as a draft made me feel guilty about my beliefs.

I want to end this with a quote I find to be all encompassing.

"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its most unfortunate members." -A lot of smart people