What's Wrong In America?

You know what our problem is in the United States? It's not welfare programs. It's not the rich. It's not the poor. It's not class warfare. It's not the Democrats, Republicans, right wingers, left wingers, Obama, Congress, or any of those things.
The problem is the media. The media works tirelessly to divide us and keep us at each others throats because the heated debates and fancy talking points get good ratings, but none of it is real.
The problem is that we spend too much time listening to the people on TV and on the big radio networks. We spend too much time listening to what Sean Hannity or Chris Matthews has to say.
And while we're spending all of our time listening to them, we're not listening to each other. We're tuned in to the TV and the radio and we're not tuned in with the members of our communities. We're disconnected from the people around us.
Things would be so much better if we would just turn the TV off and listen to the people in our own community. Get to know that single mom working at the McDonald's down the street and get to know that software engineer working at Microsoft.
Get to know that Mormon family across the street and that Atheist next door.
Just go talk to them. Learn something about them and drop the labels. They are more than what labels you attach to them. They are a human beings.
The truth is that media does not inform, it disconnects us from each other. We close ourselves off to people who are a little bit different than us. What harm would it do a religious person that sincerely believes in God to just go talk to and maybe befriend an Atheist, and vise versa?
We listen to these people on the TV who continuously close our minds and our hearts by narrowing our world views. Is that any way to live? Is that any way to see life? Through that narrow lens and whatever is outside of that is wrong and must be evil?
I'm not saying you have to change a person's mind or let someone change yours. We're all different from each other in the most superficial ways, but we're the same in ways that truly matter. Why not learn more about the way a person thinks and try to understand why they think that way?
It is my belief that most of the things we think our wrong in this country are more like symptoms of our social disconnect.
Someone hates Muslims? Well, you can probably trace that back to what a man on TV said. You are pissed off at conservatives? You probably watched too much TV last night. Simple as that.
The real enemy is mainstream media and its talking heads. Turn the TV off. Go talk to a stranger at the grocery store or visit your neighbor's church, regardless of your religious affiliation. Just put your world view on hold a few times during the week and just talk to someone human to human rather than Liberal to Conservative or Christian to Atheist. All of that stuff is superficial.

The Hunger Games vs. Twilight thing

Okay, so normally on  this blog, I am talking about something philosophical or political in some way. It's usually serious stuff, right?
Well, this time, I thought I would do something a little different for once--something fun and slightly satirical, I suppose.
I've recently become a huge fan of the Hunger Games trilogy because of it's political message and it's criticism of war and reality television. There's a good message in this trilogy.
However, I find it annoying that some people lump this in with the Twilight saga. Now, if you like Twilight, that's you're thing and I'm cool with that. But I do not believe that The Hunger Games are even remotely similar to one another. Yes, there is a romance story in it, but the similarities end there.
In fact, I have been playing a video game lately that has more similarities to the Hunger Games than Twilight does. It's called Jet Set Radio Future. Now for those of you who know what I am talking about, I know what you're thinking--how is a Japanese futuristic cartoon video  game about roller blading similar to Hunger Games? Well, they are far from the same, of course, but there are more similarities than there are with Twilight.
For starters, Jet Set Radio Future takes place in the future (so does Hunger Games) when people are being oppressed (like in the Hunger Games) by a greedy and power hungry antagonist (again, like in the Hunger Games) and you have to compete (another similarity to the Hunger Games--competition) with other skaters in street challenges. There are police/military forces in JSRF called the Rokakku Police and the Golden Rhino gang that are used to stomp out rebellion. The Hunger Games has this as well--the Peacekeepers. In the end, you defeat the greedy power hungry leader (like at the end of Mockingjay).
Are there difference between Jet Set Radio Future and the Hunger Games? Yes, many differences, in fact! For instance, JSRF is a cartoon video game about roller blading in the streets of a futuristic Tokyo while spraying graffiti. The Hunger Games is a book and a live action movie that takes place in a post apocalyptic North America where everyone is a slave to the rich people that live in the Capitol. In Jet Set Radio Future, you defeat your opponents by tagging them with spray paint (which might cause some skin irritation). In the Hunger Games, you kill your opponents. In JSRF, you listen to the broadcast of a pirate radio station playing quirky techno dance music (and some rock and hip hop). In the Hunger Games, you are forced to watch TV when the government tells you. In JSRF the oppressive power hungry establishment is a mega-corporation called the Rokakku Group, while in the Hunger Games it's a totalitarian government ruled from a Utopian city in the Rocky Mountains. In JSRF, you defeat the main antagonist, Rokakku Gouji, at the end of the game in this strange acid-trip level by, you guessed it, spray painting him, while he is controlling a giant robotic suit. And taking out that one guy with spray paint is the end of it all and you save the day. In the Hunger Games trilogy, it takes thousands of people and an all out-civil war led by an underground autonomous district to topple the oppressive regime, and it takes more than some cans of spray paint and roller blades to do it!
Twilight has so little in common with The Hunger Games it's like comparing grapes to Jovian planets--not really any similarities.
Comparing Jet Set Radio Future to the Hunger Games is like comparing grapes to watermelons--not too many similarities, but a few small ones.
My point is that the Hunger Games has more in common with a Japanese cartoon video game about futuristic roller blading in Tokyo than it does with Twilight!
I believe I have made my case.
What do you think?

Life Isn't Fair--An Outlook Rooted In Desensitization

We often hear the words "Life Isn't Fair" whenever we talk about that which is unjust and wrong. While it certainly is true, the problem is that we have simply grown to accept this fact without a second thought. We either hear it or say it and simply move on with our lives as if that is the way it's supposed to be.
I see this as problematic as I feel that this seriously diminishes the quality of life for most people.
Why do we accept this unfairness without even thinking about it? Are we so desensitized to injustice and inequality in the world that we observe the unfairness and continue to live in it without questioning it?
I'm not saying we can erase all unfairness in the world and create a world of perfection. We will never have a perfect world and most people are not even aiming for that--not even The Venus Project is aiming for a perfect world. However, I believe that we can always strive for a better world and always seek to improve life for all people. I believe that this is possible. We will never have a perfect world, but we can certainly have a better world.
My thought is that in order to have a better world, we need to change our thinking.
I think we need to stop accepting unfairness as a natural part of life. Keep in mind, however, that I am talking about injustice, inequality, and the type of unfairness that does real and long-term harm. I'm not talking about minor and trivial little bits of unfairness that really don't matter, such as one kid gets a bigger cookie than another kid, or someone in a relationship puts everything into it while the other person puts hardly anything into it at all. Those are examples of unfairness that might never go away--but they are trivial and do not actually do anything to diminish the quality of one's life or the lives of others.
I'm talking about unfairness that can damage someone's quality of life or the quality of life for many people.
We need to not accept these as normal parts of life and we should be against all injustice.
What's the point of life if most of us are just going to be treated unfairly and struggle? Life loses it's value when we have grown to expect this of life, and life becomes virtually worthless if we accept it.
I have a problem with the negativity that most people have grown to accept as simply a fact of life because I feel like they destroy our quality of life. You should not accept injustice. You should see it as wrong--you should be against it and speak out.
If you accept them, you are part of the problem. It's time to become part of the change, so it's time to start giving a damn.

Water--An Exploitable Resource

There are world views out there I find disturbing--that actually cause me to lose sleep at night.
Recently, a comment made by Peter Brabeck, chairman and former CEO of one of Nestle, has gained much attention on the internet. According to Peter, water is not a human right and should be controlled by private interests and sold for a profit in order to better manage this life-supporting resource.
He would like that, wouldn't he? Of course! If whatever you are selling is something that people need to survive, you can easily make a profit.
His claims about water are based in truth, that it is a finite resource and we should manage our consumption of it, like any other resource.
The problem is the solution he puts forth--put it in the hands of private industry. NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!
If you pay attention and do your research, private industry does not really manage resources very well, in fact private industry is extremely wasteful, as is the corporate free market system. This system relies on constant consumption in order to keep working. So obviously, aside from his insane and cold-hearted world view of water not being a human right, his solution is not really solution at all--it's a business model and when put into practice could easily do more harm than good.
So how do we manage a life supporting resource such as water? I say we put this in the hands of scientists and engineers, humanity's finest. If anyone can come up with a truly sustainable and sound solution, they can, and who knows what they could come up with!
The time now is to evolve and move forward as a species. We need to grow out of our infancy and figure out how to take care of ourselves, each other, and this planet. Our old ways are no longer relevant, so it's time we looked into real solutions for the future. I suggest starting with the Free World Charter and The Venus Project and going from there. But of course, we all need to participate in coming up with solutions. Don't just read about solutions--contribute to, raise awareness of, and work to implement those solutions.
Let's get to work!