Politics

Politics is a very touchy topic to a lot of people. Some people are extremely opinionated and very set in their ways on it. So I think anyone who can give their opinion in a populated place is very brave. I’m not really into the whole political thing. It’s not really my area, and I’d rather not get involved in all of it. But I still have a few of my own opinions.
People make such a huge deal over the fact that they don’t see a change in what the presidents do during their time in office. What they don’t realize is that these changes they are applying are huge, and they take time to actually take effect. With these kinds of things, you’re not going to see a change in four years, maybe even eight. People need more patience with these things.
What they also don’t seem to get is that the presidents are human, too. They will make mistakes. Some big, some small. But they learn from them, just like everyone else. Yes, there is a lot more at stake when they mess up, but that doesn’t mean they can’t, don’t and won’t mess up. It’s just a way of life, and when they realize they mess up, you know they will do everything they can to fix it. We just have to trust them.
Barack Obama had a  lot of weight on his shoulders entering the presidency. Even more than a normal president. He entered office at a bad time in our country’s life; we’re desperate, clinging onto anything we can right now. Obama entered office hoping to change that. Presidency is already a hard job; add on the weight of things that are happening in the country right now, and it’s extremely impossible. Yet he managed to take on the role anyways and he promised to do the best he could with it. It’s kind of like Abraham Lincoln. He got thrown into presidency right at the beginning of the Civil War. Many people think of him as one of the greatest presidents ever, because he was able to drag the country through the tough times. With the right support, Obama can do that, too.
In the end, it’s all the same to me. Our president is our president. Whoever is brave enough to take on the role of leading our country I will support one hundred thousand percent. I mean, they’re our president. They represent our country. They take a lot of BS from citizens, other countries, and other leaders. And they still manage to keep their head high and move on. You have to respect that, no matter how much you dislike them or how oppose them. It’s a tough title.

Ever wonder what it'd be like if there were no politics in the world? There used to not be. We seemed to do okay then, so why do we have to have them now? Yes, we need a leader, but does it have to be such a... harsh race? I've always wondered what the world would be like if we didn;t have some things. Like money. Money is a murderer, yet it makes the world go round, sadly. If a person doesn't have money, they are doomed. What if everything was free? If we wanted something, then we could have it. We'd have to learn to rely solely on our inner person. We'd have to learn how to control ourselves, know our limits. We'd have to act purely on our nature: kindness, caring, trust, emotion. People would never work because they wouldn't need to for money; that's where the kindness comes in. The people who want to work for the better of mankind would work. The good people would come out and be noticed in the world, because the ones who only care about themselves wouldn't lift a finger for anyone but themselves. It would be an interesting time; at first I think people would go crazy; trying to take everything they wanted for themselves. People would quit their jobs. Burglaries would be through the roof. But maybe over time people would settle down and learn how to deal with it the right way. It would be interesting to see what would happen.

The Human Race Again

So, the human race. Again. One of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is how much we try fixing one another’s imperfections. At least medical wise. Like braces; braces are to fix people’s teeth so that they’re straight. But what’s wrong if they’re crooked? I know some things have to be fixed, like my brother with his kidney surgery. It’s important for his health. But some things aren’t. Another one is mental medicine. Medicine for like ADHD, autism, things like that. What those do is they try changing the person to make them as normal as possible. But why can’t they be themselves? They might not be the easiest person to deal with, the friendliest, or the most normal. But everybody’s different. Everybody has their flaws. People born without limbs. Giving them artificial limbs so they can blend in with life and be normal.
I mean to a point, there are things I understand. I think the one that gets to me the most is the mental medicine. Maybe because I dealt with it for a few years. I took medicine for ADHD. And I can tell you for a fact that by being prescribed to it alone made you feel different. But people tried changing me. They gave me this medicine for my mind, that would change it so I could focus better. I understand the reasoning behind it, but its changing the person, making them someone they’re not. Aren’t we told to always be ourselves? Then why do kids with ADHD, autism, things like that, have to be changed so that they’re more “normal”? Maybe I’m looking at it all wrong, but I just think it’s people trying to fix other people’s flaws, when in reality those flaws make that person even more beautiful.
And then there’s the non medical aspects. The biggest one is makeup. I rarely wear makeup; hardly ever. I think it’s just a big way to cover up your flaws. A little lipstick here. Some eyeshadow there. Blush over here. I mean, what’s the point of it.. okay I can understand using little bits of it. Using small amounts to emphasize your strong aspects. But its mostly used to cover up all the mistakes people see on their faces. Who cares? What’s sad is that plenty of people do care. Which drives you to hide your flaws even more.
And then, the one I am most familiar with. Trying to fit in. I don’t think it’s really about fixing imperfections, but it involves change. I’ve never really fit in anywhere in my life; I was always that weird outcast kind of person. Being left out. Getting funny looks. Things like that. So I know what it’s like to try cooping parts of you up for the people around you. Developing a fake image of yourself so that people will like you and accept you. Trust me, I know that like the back of my hand. Only recently have I started fixing that. I realized I would lock up the strongest parts of me, even around my best friends, so they wouldn’t judge me. But you have to realize things change, people change, and choices have to made. I quit locking that part of me up, and I would notice who would embrace those aspects, and who would give me the far-too-familiar funny looks. I learned to attach myself more to the.. three people who were okay with the side of me I didn’t really show, and I put some space between the rest. There are many different sides of me, but as the saying goes “If you can’t handle me at my worst then you don’t deserve me at my best.”
Basically my point is, I think, is to not cover up your flaws. Don’t cover up the sides of you that are different. Embrace them, love them, and show them to the world. I think that is a brilliant strength, being able to do that. Not that many people have the courage to go out there and accept their flaws, take compliments from other people, and show the world who they really are. People are afraid to break away from the pack, to be singled out, to be different. I think deep down everyone has that essence of wanting to be a little different than the other person. A little prettier than them, a little smarter than them, a little braver than them. But how far are they really willing to go do achieve that? You can’t achieve that if you follow the same leader, and do the same things as them. The world is afraid to stand out. But then again, if we all stand out, then won’t we all be fitting in?

The Death Sentence

OK, for the record, these are my opinions and my feelings. I don't want anyone to be offended by what I think, and I don't want anyone to take anything personally or offensively. My blog is an output for all the things that run through my head in a day. I just don't want someone to take something the wrong way, k?
So,
When a person commits a terrible crime, like a really really bad one, they’re given the death sentence. I don’t agree with it. At all. For me, personally, I don’t care how many people they’ve killed, how much they’ve destroyed, they should not be given the death sentence. It’s wrong. I don’t believe in it. There’s other things you can do to punish people instead of kill them. Sentence them to life in prison. Sentence them to hard work for life. Anything but kill them. I can’t exactly pinpoint why I despise the death sentence so much, even for someone who has done the most horrible crime possible. It’s not right in my eyes.
I guess it kind of started when we had this set of foster kittens and their mother cat. The mother cat was really mean; should would scratch me if I walked into the same room as her. My mom told me a year later after we’d given them back to the shelter that they’d put her to sleep because she was so mean.
So I guess that made me realize it’s the same with people. People are killed because they’re mean. But some people can’t control. They’re mean by nature. They were raised around it. They grew up knowing nothing but mean. Sometimes somethings causes them to act without knowing it. Like a close friend, family member, lover, died or was killed. The government kills people for being broken-hearted, for being raised wrong, for being mislead. It’s just not right. Not fair. I hate the death sentence.
I mean, it's a life, that isn't ours. Life is a valuable thing. You only get one. Yes, people might screw it up, but there are a lot of valuable things we screw up. Fancy things, love, happiness, etc. We don't get in trouble for it. So because someone's screwed up their life they have to die for it? I don't think its a good example, either. For the next generation, for other countries, for US. It's saying its okay to kill people that are wrong and messed up, so then we go do it ourselves.
I know people are really opinionated on this, so that's why I started off with saying I don't want anyone being offended with my opinions. These are just my thoughts. But I hate the death sentence, okay?

One of my Favorite Things

I love music. I love listening to the lyrics and defining them. When I find a song I really connect with, I end up writing something about it, like a poem. A really good song will get me thinking. Once I can do that, that song becomes one of my favorites.
So there’s this song called Forever Fields by 10 Years. I’m in love with this song, but it confuses me. It makes me feel.. emotional I guess, but I don’t know how. Normally I can identify what the song means to me, but this one I can’t seem to. I adore the song so much, yet I don’t know what it means to me. 10 Years is a band that’s kind of always in the background in the world of music for me. I like their songs, they’re a great band, but to me they never really stuck.
So I like trying to figure out the lyrics to songs. So I guess I’ll put down some bands that I think I have figured out lyric-wise. Because I love doing this:
Shinedown- The band sings about real-life experiences. Things that happen in their life, or to other people in their life, and to people not in their life. It makes them so relatable, which is why I love them. Save Me is about overcoming drugs. Miracle is about the singer’s son. Devour is about the band’s trip to play for the troops.
10 Years- I think their songs are about morality. Emotions, thoughts, feelings. Morality. Like Beautiful, is about how people hide themselves behind fake beauty.
Three Days Grace- Lately they’ve reminded me of like an elementary school playground. Not in a bad way, but I think they capture a certain essence of it and make it interesting, make you really get into the feeling of the playground.
Breaking Benjamin- Another band I think is about morality in a sense. They are more confusing to me, but I think there’s a bit of morality there.
Godsmack- They are a little harder or me. I think they do a little bit of everything, except the more inappropriate end of rock n roll. They talk about real life experiences, battles within yourself, and people they know/knew.
Theory of a Deadman- The perfect example of a typical rock n roll band. The inappropriate end. But they pull it off in a good way. And they level it out by being really nice people
Black Stone Cherry- Again, a little bit of everything. But they are a southern rock n roll band. So no matter the song, you get a sense of that southern comfort and essence in every one. At least I do. Maybe its just me.


So I think that's all I have for right now. Some of the bands I think I have a good idea of their lyrics. Tell me what you think.

I lost my flash drive.... I am sad

Yeah so I've had a flash drive since freshman year. I get a new computer each year for school so I can't keep everything on my computer. So I put it all on a flash drive. I used to use a Sims diamond one, but I upgraded to a larger memory one. And now its gone. And guess what's on it? All my stories that I've started, about 1000 pictures, a few interview, quotes, things I've found online I want to keep. Yeah, a crapload of stuff that's important to me. And now it's gone. My only copies of all that stuff.

I sad.

Shinedown and Sherlock Quotes

Some quotes from some of my favorite people:

“Someone once asked me why I’m so angry. Why my chin is positioned just a little bit straighter than most. I replied to him..how do you know I’m angry? Do I pursue that persona? How do you know I’m just not thinking very very hard? What is madness? Ask yourselves that. Do you think it’s the line that you draw in the sand? And decide whether or not you step over that line or stay behind with all the others. Or will you make your own way? The reason I’m telling you this is as I look into every one of your eyes, I don’t see any followers in this room. All I see is a room full of leaders. Because were I’m from, there are strength in numbers. And what you all posses inside of her (the mind) is stronger than any army and any fist you can even imagine. But then again, we all need a theme song don’t we?” - Brent Smith “The Sound of Madness”

“Look at all of you. Just look around. There’s young and old, African-American and Caucasian. I NEVER expected this. Especially from Boise. I never thought we could grow this big and impact all of you. When we were signing autographs so many of you told me how we’d affected your lives and a lot of you were even saved by us. Our songs describe you. Describe your life. Never did I even imagine that this would happen. That this was possible. We are so, so blessed. So this next song is for you, all the stunning fans out in lovely ole Boise, Idaho!” -Brent Smith before playing "Miracle" in Boise, Idaho

“Shinedown was one of our major first tours. They treated us with the utmost respect and hospitality. We remembered that. It stuck with us.” -Keith Wallen (on Shinedown)

"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened." -Brent Smith

"I may be on the side of the angels, but don't think for one second that I am one of them." -Sherlock Holmes

My theory was that you love me in a platonic way. Love is not always a force of wanting to share genes with someone, even if we are both men in this scenario, because you think they are attractive or because you want to spend the rest of your life with this person. You enjoy my company, you enjoy being around me, you enjoy yelling at me to clean up items around our shared flat. You share a flat with me not because you don’t have enough money, but because you enjoy me. You couldn’t stand me being gone, and I couldn’t stand to be away from you either. You would not want to leave me again, even if you know that you are a soldier. Therefore, you love me in a platonic way, not to get inside of me. -SH

That's all i have for now. Sorry for the mixed fonts. I've gotten these from Tumblr and online and from interviews, so yeah.

An Opinion.. Why?

I think the biggest, most intimidating question is “why?” Why do we have this, why do we do that? Why do some things happen, but not other things? I ask why, a lot. Let me see if I can word this the right way..
Something like taxes. Why do we have to pay taxes? We have to pay taxes for our house, property taxes right? But why? Because people just want money, when you get right down to it. I mean, these people didn’t build the property, they didn’t create it. The Earth created it.

But they “got there” first. So these people steal this land that isn’t theirs, and turns around and makes people pay for it. For what? So they can build a house and live there, or build a business. But why do we have to pay over and over again? It’s not like the property is changing, and you have to pay for the change. No, it’s just because the people want more money. For something that’s not even theirs.

It’s like breaking into someone’s house, stealing all their stuff, and then turning around and selling it to other people.

I mean, just try picturing the world without.. just property taxes for now. Will the world really fall apart without them? Are people going to die? Are they really that necessary. I don’t think so. I think its a big scam for more money.

I mean, I guess I don’t the ins and outs of it all, but it seems pretty straight forward. These people have no right to take this land and claim it as their own. Its not theirs. And they make people pay for it, even though they have no right to. It’s like people think that just because the earth isn’t.. human, we can take advantage of it. One day, the earth is going to run out of all its resources and the human race is going to be stuck scrambling to find a way to survive, and we’re not going to have anything left. 

Sorry for the short post but yeah. My opinion

A review of the human race.

I watch movies, I read books, I go on websites. I could review those, yes. But I don’t tend to be very good at that. So I’m going to review something I think I’ll be better at. I’m going to review the human race.

Let’s see, where do I begin. We’re taking advantage of the Earth. Can I just put that out there? I mean, we’re taking everything from her, and giving nothing back. Technically nothing is ours in the end. Everything we make comes from the earth. Think about it. When people first roamed the Earth, there weren’t cables and wires and panes of glass, or cushions or piles of fabric lying around. There was grass, trees, flowers, and deep, deep down, metals. We’ve taken that and made it into the things we have today. But that stuff wasn’t ours. People just got there first and claimed it.

But people have this mindset (and when I say people I mean business owners, entrepreneurs, companies, etc.) that there’s an unlimited supply. We keep obtaining as much oil, fuel, wood, metal, as possible. One day we’re going to run out of everything. One day, the Earth is going to have no more oil, no more fuel, no more gold or copper or silver to give to us. We’re going to run out of room. There’s only so much land on Earth, and we’re taking it all up. There’ll be nothing left eventually. Water? Yeah, that’s going to run out too. We’re taking it all. And then what?

The world will crumble. People are relying too much on this stuff. We’re taking all that we can, because we’re greedy. We don’t think ahead. What about in twenty years? Fifty years? Two hundred years? What about when my children grow up, and they have their own kids? What are we doing for them? Are we leaving them anything? No. We’re taking it all for ourselves, and in the end, a new generation is going to be left scrambling to fight for themselves, just to live another day. And the only people to blame are their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.

Do you ever wonder why the world is the way it is? Why we have politics, why we have so much technology, why there are so many rules and laws. Do you ever wonder what the world would be like without them? Because guess what? It used to be like that. We used to not have rules or laws or restrictions. And we survived. We lived happily. No one was poor, no one was rich. The only person greater than everyone else was the leader of the, say, tribe. No taxes, no laws, no huge disagreements. What happened to all that? Life was so much simpler then, people were at ease, and they found joy in the littlest things in life. Its a disappointment to see how much we’ve changed from that. It’s all so much more complicated, confusing, and harsh.

Imagine what it would be like to live in the 1950s for a week. No cell phones, no iPods, no computers, no wifi. You have the whole outdoors to do what you please, though. You get to spend the whole day after school going outside, playing with the neighborhood kids, and pretty much wandering around the whole town, without worrying about being kidnapped, murdered, or harmed in any way. It’s so simple and laid back, and easy. Even then. But we’ve screwed up way too much, we’ve had a lot of stupid people make a lot of stupid choices, and therefore leave our leader no choice but to stop people from doing those stupid things again.

It’s hard to live now. We pretty much have to pay to live. We have to pay for everything now. Soon they’ll be paying us by the breath. Do you ever wonder what the world would be like if money didn’t exist, and everything was free? Sure, the world might go into chaos for a while, but eventually people would settle down and things might get under control. People would have to learn self-discipline, respect, and kindness. In the end, it’d be better. No poverty, no fights to be the best, no one scamming people out of stuff. It would be interesting.

Just food for thought.

I have more on my mind, reviewing the human race. But that's all I have time for right now. The rest will come with time.

A Shinedown Poem

Crap, sorry guys. I've been busier than I thought I'd be. I mean, I'm barely getting time to write anymore... it sucks.

Anywho, I went to Phoenix last weekend for a big two day concert, with Shinedown headlining of course. On the plane ride there I was listening to the Amaryllis album, and I came up with an idea. So this is what I ended up with, I made a Shinedown poem. Meaning, I took a line from each song on the album Amaryllis and put them together into one poem. Want to read it? 'Course you do. I hope you like it:

Blood shot against a clear blue sky

My head is clear, my voice is strong

So do I remind you of, someone you never met

Shine a light in the dark, let me see where you are

And listen up, there's not a moment to spare

Maybe I like that I'm not alright

You've inspired, the birth of ignorance, the death of innocence

Take another look, take a look around

If I could find assurance, to leave you behind

I promise, I'm never looking back, for my sake

Cause you're effing wearing me out, always dragging me down

And the world will never know you, like I do.

Let me know what you think? :) 'kay thanks.

Hopefully I'll post tomorrow. I have a lot of things written up I can post, I just keep forgetting to.