Racisim and Speech

     I want to start this post by stressing that I do not understand racism or condone those who practice this medieval and uncivilized activity.  My whole life I have strongly believed there is no difference in the color of ones skin,  I guess I can thank my parents for never giving me a reason to question race.  They always treated everyone with respect regardless of race, so race never became an issue for me.

     Understanding this I am also an advocate of the freedom of speech, a freedom given that makes this nation stand out as an example for the rest of the world to emulate.  Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of that which makes America great.  We may not agree with what people are saying or their positions politically or religiously.  But we have always felt that we could express our minds freely without fear of retribution.  That being said I strongly disagree with what the SAE fraternity did but I must recognize they had a right to say the things they said or chant their chants without fear of political retribution.  I feel they would have gotten their just due just by the release of the video labeling them bigots and uneducated simpletons.  But it is a slippery slope when we punish people for the words that emanate form their mouths and although many times the words people say may be unpalatable it is important that we defend those right for when we begin to chip away at these god given rights in the name of morality or education we lose the very essence of what this freedom means and why it was established in the first place.

     It is easy to say we believe in the freedom of speech but do we practice its meaning even when the content is uncomfortable, bigoted or perverse?  I find what these young boys did reprehensible and I know they will be punished by their peers in a way befitting their transgression but is it really practicing freedom of speech if those in authority punish them for expressing the very thing that made this country a beacon of freedom in the first place.  When we begin to punish those with unpalatable ideologies simply for expressing those beliefs how long will it be before those with power use that to silence all of us?

     We must defend even the lowest of us if we want to keep the freedoms that so many have fought and died for, to budge on this belief even a little invites parasites to erode the rest away and in the end we will suffer far more for what we have lost than the words of some idiotic uneducated college fraternity boys ever could.

The world

So much has been happening in the world as of late it is very easy to get overwhelmed by the magnitude of what we are witnessing.  I for one have tried to take each new story with a grain of salt, whether it be political, violence or common human stupidity the number of new stories on a daily basis have begun to put pressure on me to a point where I feel it may be time to take a media blackout sabbatical. I do this when I want to take a step back from the ferocity of the world and give myself some breathing room.  I highly recommend this for anyone, it helps to cleanse the mind and spirit of the negative energy we as a species face on a daily basis.

No, I am not trying to get spiritual or New Age on anyone, I do not subscribe to the fad of the day.  I just think that once in awhile it is good for us to take a step back from the world for a period of mindfulness and reflection.  So as of this post I am going to do a media blackout for the next seven days to reflect on happening in my own life and to see how the blackout will affect my moods and interpersonal relationships, it has been years since I have done this.  I will keep my followers up to date on this blog as to how the week is progressing.  Feel free to drop me a message and I will respond ASAP.

I think we all need to take a step back for a moment to reflect  on our lives and the world.  With the terror that the world has been producing lately I feel it is a good time for personal reflection.

Personal Demons

We hold our personal demons so close and personal it is hard to understand why.  We fear to expose these demons to others because of ridicule or punishment so we hold them deep and allow these demons to fester and eat away at our bodies and souls.  These riders have enormous influence over us and push to deeds that can endanger our very lives and even our souls.  It is not easy to combat these things that have taken up residence inside us and it takes enormous effort to keep them at bay.  I believe we are all born with a demon inside us whispering temptation in our ear, we can either give in to these demons or allow them to choose our fate for us or we can.

I have struggled with my own demon’s my whole life.  Sometimes in vain, other times I am victorious but the battles never end and we have a choice as to whether we will allow these demons to lead us so far down the wrong path there is no turning around.  It is my strong belief the universe never puts more onto our shoulders than we can handle.  We are giving these demons because temptation is a basic human weakness, a weakness we must as a species try to overcome.  It will not be easy but it is necessary.  These demons strengthen our spirits just as proficiently as good deeds do.  By not giving into them we become stronger in mind body and spirit.

Fight these demons, live, be happy.  The meaning of life is one’s search for happiness.  It is the one common thing all life forms strive to attain.  Some religions believe we live on this earth many times as many species, others believe it is a one-time test for the wager of our soul.  Whatever the purpose is of this life on Earth we must understand that above all, it is our life, to do with as we please.  When we go to meet our make can we say that we lived our lives fully in sacrifice to our desires, or in sacrifice to the desires of others?  We must be a little selfish.