Looking at the historical significance of today's inauguration has made me feel thankful. I have so many people to thank for where this country is today. While I might be a cynical "non-participant" in our political machine, I can still appreciate those who've made sacrifices to allow me the option as to whether or not I choose to be a part of the process.
In no particular order, I'd like to thank our military. Oh sure, some choose military service as an act of patriotism. However, there are some who see the military as their only economic option out of their situation while growing up. Those are the ones who may not want to be there, in foreign and domestic situations, risking their lives for the freedoms we so often take for granted. For your service and your courage, I say thank you.
To the women and the minorities who fought for the right for all American citizens to have a vote. It was your ideals and strength to seek fairness, that helped this nation move forward. For your determination, I say thank you.
To the African Americans who were militant enough to stand up and physically fight and put fear into the hearts of White America, and to the African Americans who had the insight to change opinions through peaceful examples, and whatever it was the led them to know the difference between the two, and which action was appropriate at the given time, I say thank you.
To White Americans, young and old, who instantly recognized that any racism is/was wrong, and had the strength to be that voice of opposition, when the government and much of society said that it was allowable to treat a Black man as 3/5 of a man, I say thank you.
To the parents, counselors, mentors and whoever molds the minds of our next generation who use today's inauguration as an example for that youth who is Mexican American, gay, handicapped, or any other way different from what society says that you "should" be, and shows them that now, truly anything is possible in America, I say thank you...and don't ever forget.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration Hope
In theory, every inauguration should bring about this same feeling of hope and change, however 2009 is obviously different. I have encountered many folks, like myself, who are very cynical about the American political process, that are excited about the potential of this administration.
I've always maintained that the longer a politician has been part of the process, the harder it is for him to stay true to his ideals. So, while the person may have entered the political arena with admirable intentions, having to make certain deals to get certain things done can cause one's beliefs and actions to become obscured. President Obama's meteoric ascent through political levels has allowed him to possibly still accomplish things and policies and not "owe" as many others, where an older politician might fail.
I'm still holding onto my cynicism, but I'm much more open now to change that view than I've been in many years. I can only hope that this administration does abuse the hope stirred within myself and many others.
I've always maintained that the longer a politician has been part of the process, the harder it is for him to stay true to his ideals. So, while the person may have entered the political arena with admirable intentions, having to make certain deals to get certain things done can cause one's beliefs and actions to become obscured. President Obama's meteoric ascent through political levels has allowed him to possibly still accomplish things and policies and not "owe" as many others, where an older politician might fail.
I'm still holding onto my cynicism, but I'm much more open now to change that view than I've been in many years. I can only hope that this administration does abuse the hope stirred within myself and many others.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Giving Thanks
Soapbox Time!
Thanksgiving Day is a great day of thought for me. I always find myself sitting to actively think of the many things that I am thankful. I use that as a way to help keep life in perspective. It's far too easy to get caught up chasing after the things that you want, and being sidetracked by life's small disappointments. It's easy to forget just how blessed/fortunate most of us truly are.
The fact that the tradition on this holiday is to eat to excess, is a sign of how fortunate the general population happens to be. Take a moment to remember that far too many people in this country don't even have enough to have more than one meal a day, before you decide to consume excessively. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the spoils of your labor. If you've worked hard, you deserve to enjoy yourself. But remember, there are a lot of hardworking homeless people, who just had an incident or two of bad luck that forced them to lose their homes.
It's those people that I hope we all keep in mind. There are families of nice, kind, polite and friendly people who just happen to have lost their homes, and now they've become invisible. What do I mean by invisible? When you walk down the street, and you lower your head to avoid those people, or when at an intersection and someone approaches, looking for help, and you turn your head as if you don't see them?? That's what I mean. It's really easy and convenient to simply brand every homeless person that you see as a drunk or lazy vagrant, when you know that isn't true.
I just ask that you use today to think about others. The "giving" part of this holiday is such am emotional joy. Start small: set up a box in your office to collect toiletries to give to a local shelter. As a personal endorsement, on two occasions I have been fortunate enough to have gone to a local hospital on Cmas Day to hand out toys to kids, and no Cmas gift that I have ever been given made me feel better than those "thank you's." Not only were the children appreciative, it was the looks from their parents, knowing that someone was nice enough to think about bringing joy to their particular child. Try it...it'll take maybe an hour out of your Cmas Day, but will touch you forever. And it costs you nothing but time.
I'm a firm believer in karma. So, not only do I try to do things for others because it makes me feel good, I like to think that by doing something nice for someone else, it'll encourage them to do the same, and to keep that cycle going forward.
Have a wonderful and thoughtful Thanksgiving. Ok...the soapbox is free!
Thanksgiving Day is a great day of thought for me. I always find myself sitting to actively think of the many things that I am thankful. I use that as a way to help keep life in perspective. It's far too easy to get caught up chasing after the things that you want, and being sidetracked by life's small disappointments. It's easy to forget just how blessed/fortunate most of us truly are.
The fact that the tradition on this holiday is to eat to excess, is a sign of how fortunate the general population happens to be. Take a moment to remember that far too many people in this country don't even have enough to have more than one meal a day, before you decide to consume excessively. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the spoils of your labor. If you've worked hard, you deserve to enjoy yourself. But remember, there are a lot of hardworking homeless people, who just had an incident or two of bad luck that forced them to lose their homes.
It's those people that I hope we all keep in mind. There are families of nice, kind, polite and friendly people who just happen to have lost their homes, and now they've become invisible. What do I mean by invisible? When you walk down the street, and you lower your head to avoid those people, or when at an intersection and someone approaches, looking for help, and you turn your head as if you don't see them?? That's what I mean. It's really easy and convenient to simply brand every homeless person that you see as a drunk or lazy vagrant, when you know that isn't true.
I just ask that you use today to think about others. The "giving" part of this holiday is such am emotional joy. Start small: set up a box in your office to collect toiletries to give to a local shelter. As a personal endorsement, on two occasions I have been fortunate enough to have gone to a local hospital on Cmas Day to hand out toys to kids, and no Cmas gift that I have ever been given made me feel better than those "thank you's." Not only were the children appreciative, it was the looks from their parents, knowing that someone was nice enough to think about bringing joy to their particular child. Try it...it'll take maybe an hour out of your Cmas Day, but will touch you forever. And it costs you nothing but time.
I'm a firm believer in karma. So, not only do I try to do things for others because it makes me feel good, I like to think that by doing something nice for someone else, it'll encourage them to do the same, and to keep that cycle going forward.
Have a wonderful and thoughtful Thanksgiving. Ok...the soapbox is free!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
32 dollars per gallon
Americans are so selectively bitchy! Six months ago, all they did was whine about gas prices rocketing skyward. It was the lead story on the news, on the radio...all over. In my area, the price of a gallon of regular gas has dropped over $2.00/gallon in five months, but there are no news stories about how great that is.
What should they really be bitching about?? STARBUCKS! First of all, Starbucks and GameStop are taking over this country. I defy you to drive for more than 3 miles within a major city and not see one of those two stores. But for now, I focus on Starbucks.
If you were to just walk in there and ask for a small cup of coffee, by the time you left, your head might explode. They have too many damn choices. You can't just get a "cup of coffee." Breakfast Blend, House Blend, Gazebo Blend, even Komodo Dragon Blend! There's Espresso Roast, French Roast, Italian Roast, or Pike Place Roast. Whatever happened to just regular and decaf?? There are Energy shots, Protein shots, Espresso shots, Flavored syrup, Mocha syrup... Mrs Butterworth's syrup? Cappuccino, Frappuccino, Macchiato...Al Pacino??
And after you finally narrow it down to the hot, cold, or tepid beverage of choice, you have to figure out their Bizarro World sizing system. What is wrong with "small, medium, and large?" It's been working for years, hasn't it?? Never once did I get confused when I looked behind the counter, saw three stacks of cups, and decided what to order. No, this wasn't good enough for the lovely folks at Starbucks. Tall, Grande and Venti?? WTF?? Tall is not small...Tall means big! Grande is not medium... Grande is huuuuuuge! And Venti?? Puhlease!
So, the next time you order your Grande Organic Shade Grown Mexican DeCaf with whipped cream, caramel and three pumps of hazelnut and a protein shot, think about how that 16 ounce, $4 cup of coffee, costs $32/gallon. Imagine how many places you'd stop going to, if gas were to cost you $32/gallon.
What should they really be bitching about?? STARBUCKS! First of all, Starbucks and GameStop are taking over this country. I defy you to drive for more than 3 miles within a major city and not see one of those two stores. But for now, I focus on Starbucks.
If you were to just walk in there and ask for a small cup of coffee, by the time you left, your head might explode. They have too many damn choices. You can't just get a "cup of coffee." Breakfast Blend, House Blend, Gazebo Blend, even Komodo Dragon Blend! There's Espresso Roast, French Roast, Italian Roast, or Pike Place Roast. Whatever happened to just regular and decaf?? There are Energy shots, Protein shots, Espresso shots, Flavored syrup, Mocha syrup... Mrs Butterworth's syrup? Cappuccino, Frappuccino, Macchiato...Al Pacino??
And after you finally narrow it down to the hot, cold, or tepid beverage of choice, you have to figure out their Bizarro World sizing system. What is wrong with "small, medium, and large?" It's been working for years, hasn't it?? Never once did I get confused when I looked behind the counter, saw three stacks of cups, and decided what to order. No, this wasn't good enough for the lovely folks at Starbucks. Tall, Grande and Venti?? WTF?? Tall is not small...Tall means big! Grande is not medium... Grande is huuuuuuge! And Venti?? Puhlease!
So, the next time you order your Grande Organic Shade Grown Mexican DeCaf with whipped cream, caramel and three pumps of hazelnut and a protein shot, think about how that 16 ounce, $4 cup of coffee, costs $32/gallon. Imagine how many places you'd stop going to, if gas were to cost you $32/gallon.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Welcome
Yes...I'm back! Life has been so hectic and plentiful lately, that I have gotten out of regularly sharing my thoughts. Oh sure, I'm addressing it to "you" but this is really for my benefit. I'm not like many other Bloggers out there who think that the masses actually care what their opinion might be on every little topic (didja hear that Rosie?). My blog is more a way for me to have a conversation when there's no one else around. I have a lot of thoughts and opinions about many topics, and if I walk around saying them aloud to no one in particular, people think you have a chemical imbalance. However, if you WRITE those same thoughts to no one in particular, they call it a Blog.
So...should you happen to be reading this, thank you. I hope that your future trips here will be entertaining, maybe inspiring, but most of all, I hope that the things that I write make you think. I don't care if you agree or disagree with me about anything at all...I just hope you do have an opinion. The concepts of intellectual thought and debate are terrible things to waste, so if you ever feel moved to do so, you have an open invitation to leave a comment of your own.
That's all for now...cya soon
JWP
So...should you happen to be reading this, thank you. I hope that your future trips here will be entertaining, maybe inspiring, but most of all, I hope that the things that I write make you think. I don't care if you agree or disagree with me about anything at all...I just hope you do have an opinion. The concepts of intellectual thought and debate are terrible things to waste, so if you ever feel moved to do so, you have an open invitation to leave a comment of your own.
That's all for now...cya soon
JWP
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