Ode to Communism

This is not a post about the glory of communism. It is about a moment in my life that is fundamental to who I would become. I was real young, between 6 & 9, I think seven. My dad had come home for some reason I was spending the weekend with him and we were walking around the block and he asked me what we were talking about in school. At the time in school, we were talking about the cold war. I told him communist Russia, and he in turn asked me what I learned. I said that in Russia they don't believe in God. My dad told me that it was not true. He said that just because the govn't doesn't advocate something, doesn't mean that the people follow blindly. He told me that the govn't does not represent the morals or values of the people. That taught me a lot. The most important thing I learned was the concept of the people. Me and my dad have had many debates over the years, over a variety of things. Other things helped shape who I would become, but this moment in my life started the ball rolling.

Patriotism

It was stated on the Colbert Report that Captain America was assassinated as a direct result of the events of Marvel Universe's Civil War. I already knew about this, seeing that I am a huge Superhero fan. Captain America's death leads into my point very well. He was a rebel against the U.S. government standing up for what he thought was right. I believe that complacence is a form of treason. After 9/11 the masses fears were manipulated to get certain agendas across. I often hear statements that are along the lines of if you don't support the war, you're unpatriotic, or if you challenge the President you'rt unpatirotic. So I get the feeling that if you dislike the choices of the administration you are supposed to remain silent. I cannot do that. If I see this nation going in a direction that contridicts the principals of our foundation. I don't care about religious principals, or majority opposition. It is about what is right. Capt. America felt that the govn't forcing superheroes to register their secret identies was over stepping thier bounds. So Captain America, created by America, WWII veteran, and basically a superpowered mascot for America, stood up against the U.S govn't because they were wrong. So he loved his country so much he was willing to fight it in order to preserve it's integrity. What happened to us? We used to stand against injustice. American Revolution, Abolition movement, ERA movement, Civil right movement. Now look at us silent, and complacent. The defintion of liberty is the freedom to do as you please as long as it does not encroach on the freedom of another. Captain America stood up for what was right, he was a true american even though he was fictional. We need more real people like him.

R.I.P.
Steve Rogers aka Captain America

Bush

I have a a dislike of President Bush. He is arrogant and self-rightious, but it has morphed into something else. I was watching the news and the topic was President Bush's visit to the town that was ravaged, by a tornado. You may remember Hurricane katrina and the absence of President Bush in it's aftermath. You may think it is because he doesn't care about black people, poor people, or maybe he just doen't care. I tend to think that he just didn't want to be there whatever the reason. President Bush has expressed that he is the President and that whatever Congress wants he doesn't care. Apparently He thinks that he is America. He forced us into a war. He holds people with out rights of any sort, and the patriot act has extend that service unto American citizens. All he has to say is that they are "enemy combatant" and whoops there goes your rights. He also lies to us and he thinks this is okay. I think that he thinks that he has divine right to lead America and is on some kind of Crusade given to him by God. President Bush is dangerous if he truely thinks the way I think he thinks. Then to him the rules and regulation on power in America are just a facede to appease the public. What this actually means for the future is uncertain to me. Read "New World Order in America" by Betmo over at Life's Journey. It tells a story of what the Patriot act allows the Bush administration to do. That is the America our children and Grandchildren wil inherit if this transformation is allowed to happen. They used our fear after 9/11 to manipulate the public to allow them to strip away our rights. President Bush believes that his authority has no limits. He thinks that he can do what ever he pleases and we the public are just supposed to sit back and take it. One man comes to mind when I think of President Bush's view of himself, and the source, and nature of his power.

Disrespect

I am talking about the horrible conditions that our soldiers are having to live in in Walter Reed. The whole situation is despicable. The soldiers were in their own urine, mold was in the wall, and so much more. I am not a fan of this war never have been. I still want the soldiers, who are putting their lives on the line for what seems to be boiling down to pride, to be taken care of and watched after. I do not understand how that could have happened. Again the the infamous blame game starts. The pointing of fingers starts. Pres. Bush is the head of the executive branch all things that happen, happen under his watch. I will be the first to admit he cannot know everything that happens, but like I said he is the head of the executive branch. Pres. Bush is supposed to take blame for what happened and punish those directly responsible and then appoint people he thinks to be more capable. Instead he passes the blame and has a complete disconnect with the events that transpired their. He is trying to save his own image. His Press Secretary doesn't make it any better. Scott McClellan was annoying he claimed that the administration never knew anything, Tony Snow is frustrating he never says that the administration is at all responsible for anything. He says the President is not responsible and then talks to the press as if they are stupid if they say anything to the contrary/he refuses to answer questions. This administration has done a lot of things wrong, but not taking blame for anything is one of the most insulting. President Bush is supposed to be the "Decider", but apparently in name only. The soldiers trust that they will be taken care of if injured for their service to the govn't. for them to return home to this is a direct insult to them and their families, not to mention disrespectful. One man said in regards to the Walter Reed situation that he did not think it was all that bad. His evidence to this was the number of plasma screen TVs the hospital has. Those soldiers do not need TVs or Playstations they need medical care. For a man who is supposed to care for them to say such things is a slap in the face. It tells me that they are just supposed to take whatever care is given to them, and be happy. I would have thought that the conservatives who push so hard for the Iraq war and always say "support our troops" would be with me now if ever. Instead they make excuses for the people who let this happen to American soldiers. This really makes me mad. This tells me that the soldiers are just a means to an end for this administration. That is so disrespectful to the Soldiers of this war, other wars, the families of the soldiers, and to the American people.

Fate

I do not believe in fate. I believe in free will, and that the actions that we take push forward our lives and the world as a whole. I do how ever find the concept of fate to be very intriguing. Two television shows that I do like are Smallville and Heroes. Smallville in the past was good and then got crappy and has been so far really good this season. Heroes is one of my favorite shows. What attracts me to these show is the fate concept. In Smallville we have the legend of Superman which is commonly known. I am a huge superhero fan have seen every superhero movie good/bad. What I like about the show is that each of the characters has a destiny that they don't know, but we the audience do know. I enjoy seeing the characters become who they must become, and how they become those people. Heroes is almost the opposite. The main characters are on a journey toward their destiny, and we must go along neither of us knows where it leads. What I like about Fate is that there is an unknown outside force pushing these people in a direction whether they want to go or not. Some my say that it is God. I rather like to believe that it is the over all good of humanity pushing fate on the characters. Creating good and evil. So that good and evil can battle and one can triumph over the other. This is what some people believe. I think that it is the way people want it to be. The truth at least my view of it is good does not always triumph over evil. We would like it to. It is nice to believe that some watching force is making good win. In reality it is up to us to decide who wins in the battle between good an evil. A responsibility we may not want, but we do have.I love the Idea of fate it is so very interesting, but not real in my view. We, you and me, have the power to decide who wins in the battle between good and evil. What will you do to support your side?

Theory

Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan, which showed a negative view of human nature that needs govn't to control their brutish nature and conflicting desires. John Locke's Tabula Rasa states that humans are blank slate at birth and govn'ts and societies make them good or bad. Rene Descartes' Dualism, separation of mind and body. In the tradition of these people I present to you my own philosophical theory. Cardell K. Morgan's Atomic Theory of Democracy. In this I state "It is the Role of the individuals of the world to collectively create and empower the large." I came about this theory when I was writing my last post. I thought that the earth is in the relatively same position that it was in exactly one year ago. Propelled through space by gravity. A force who's power is derived the very basic level of existence. I thought that this must be the natural way for govn't to work. A nation is composed of it's citizens, and without their cooperation the nation as a whole does not work and loses all of it's power. Atoms compose everything, and without them the fundamental forces of nature do not work and are thus powerless. I am not saying I am a philosopher. I just wanted to share my theory with the world.

Full Circle

One year ago today I started Views of the Silent Majority. I published my first two post that day, Honesty & Incident, and Faith. I started this blog on the counsel of my father. I needed a place where I could discuss meaningful things that have a real impact on the world and humanity. I was not finding that elsewhere, but here was a place that was mine. An open forum of discussion ranging from political commentary to thoughtful insight into the Human condition. I actually got intelligent responses. I want and welcome all opinions. That is why I allow anonymous comment, there is no word verification, nor does any comment need my approval. I want as many comments and I do not want any hindrance on that. I began to branch out and meet other bloggers, I came into contact with many different types of blogs, bloggers and opinions. I also started my "Question of the Day" series, which poses question into the true nature of the human condition. There are four Questions of the Day. I learned things about my blog. which help me make it better everyday. I started the "Rouge Gallery" which consist of blogs that I believes contribute to the not only the blogger community we have, but to the world. The Rouge Gallery now has twenty-two members. I am very proud and fond of every member for their contributions. they contribute in different ways, all unique and all significant.. I have fifty-two post. I hope that I will have many more. This is a special day for me. When I started this blog I was a high-school senior, now I am a College freshman. Many things have happened in my life since 02/16/06. I have grown as a person and hope to continue to. I hope that you all continue to support my blog with comments and links and mentions.

For my own benefit I would much appreciate if you all would tell me your favorite post that I have done. I will tell you my top five, in no specific order, but I ask that you please tell me at least one. Thank you.

1. Hero or Villain?
2. Disappointment
3. Rhyme Time
4. Symbolism
5. Lies, D Lies, and Statistics
   

Priorities

Astronauts, and Anna Nicole that is about the only news that I can get these last couple of days. The Astronaut story is amusing. Anna Nicole's death is sad, and I hate to hear that, but this is not headline news. All weekend I tried to get a little news in, I have been busy with school work so I have not been as up on the news as I would like to be. Every time I caught a little bit of something different I quickly shifted gears to the Astronaut or Anna Nicole. I did happen to catch an Anderson Cooper bit on the conditions some people in Africa are going through. Apparently these people live off of fishing and the fish are becoming scarce. A plant that is on the river is releasing pollution in to the river killing the fish and causing people who already live in poverty to become even poorer. Some people in the area are fed up with this and are ready to take action. They have formed a militant group whose purpose is to fight the plant or rather the people in charge. Here in America we might call these men terrorist, but their hands have been forced their friends and family are dying because their life's blood is being taken from them. Who ever runs that plant obviously doesn't care for the villagers or environment. It seems that they did not stop and think about what the effects of the plant would have. No, it was all about the money. The truth is that this type of thing happens all the time in third world nations. Good people are forced to do things that they would not normally do just for survival. This is a good point on how sketchy the definition of terrorism is. The people of that village, their lives are literally on the line. The lives of their children. They will do what ever it takes to protect them. They have reached a breaking point. They fight for survival. Can we blame them for that? If they blow that plant up. They can be called terrorist or they can be called heroes. The line is sketchy, terrorist because they used violence to get a point across, Heroes because they stood up and defended their family and way of life. I guess what I want you to get from this is that people all over the world are starving, slavery still exist, despots run amok, genocide is carried out, and in America the personal problems of an astronaut and the death of one person takes precedence over all the other things happening in this world of ours. Where are our priorities?

History

February is Black history month. This is when we are supposed to honor and recognize the achievements and contributions of Black Americans. It is important for black people to know our history, but it is not just Black history it is American History, it is history in general. Often we concentrate our focus on the few year in and year out. We always center our attention on Dr. King, Harriet Tubman, and George Washington Carver. I am not trivializing their contributions, but by focusing only on them we are trivializing the contributions of the many other people. Here are some important, but less well known aspects of Black/American History

Gwendolyn Brooks first African-American to win Pulitzer Prize

Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church first African-American church

Thomas L. Jennings first African-American to hold a patent

Alexander Twilight first African-American to receive a degree from an American college

Freedom's Journal first African-American owned-and-operated newspaper

James McCune Smith first professionally trained African-American doctor

Macon B. Allen first African-American licensed to practice law in the United States

John Mercer Langston first African-American elected to public office

Oscar Dunn first elected African-American lieutenant governor (Louisiana)

P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana first African-American governor (non-elected)

Edward Alexander Bouchet (Yale College)Ph.D in physics first African-American to earn a doctorate degree, also first African-American to graduate from Yale, 1874

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. first African-American U.S. Army general:

First Lieutenant Vernice Armour First female African-American combat pilot in the U.S. Armed Services:

Manning Marable is a prominent African-American political scholar

John Hope Franklin is a United States historian and past president of the American Historical Association

Abram Lincoln Harris, Jr. was an African American economist, academic, anthropologist and a social critic of blacks in the United States

Toni Morrison is one of the most prominent authors in world literature, having won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993 for her collected works

Otelia Cromwell is the first African-American graduate of Smith College. The college later began the tradition of canceling afternoon and evening classes in her honor every November as a venue to talk about race and diversity

Beverly Daniel Tatum is the current president of Spelman College Tatum received her B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan.Tatum received her B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan

Dr. Jacqueline Bontemps continues to be recognized in numerous publications, resource books, and textbooks for her scholarship in the field of art by African American women

Morgan State University is a historically black college and Maryland's designated public urban university

Southern University and A&M College is one of the most well-known historically black colleges and universities

The Negro Leagues were American professional baseball leagues comprising predominantly African-American teams

The one-drop theory (or one-drop rule) is a historical colloquial term for the standard, found throughout the United States of America, that holds that a person with any trace of sub-Saharan ancestry (however small or invisible) can not be considered white and so unless said person has an alternative non-white ancestry they can claim, such as Native American, Oriental, Arab, Australian aboriginal, they must be considered black

Incompetence

I was watching the news and I saw the most shameful thing. Boston Police Department's Bomb Squad mistook an ad for an upcoming movie as an explosive device. They shut down a large portion of the city. The two men hire to put the ads up were arrested for "perpetuating a hoax" The ad had lights on it that were run by two batteries. the "device" looks nothing like a bomb up close. From far maybe, but I doubt it very much. The arrest of the two men seems to me to be nothing more that the City of Boston trying to shift the blame. The city wasted money, time, and disrupted the daily lives of it citizens over an ad. Boston is embarrassed as it should be. I just think it is shameful that the city would pass the guilt to save face. How these two men could possibly be convicted is beyond me. The two men were not intending for the ads to be mistaken for bombs. The ads were in nine other cities and no other police departments mistook the ads for explosive devices. This to me seems to show a growing trend in America to not own up to our mistakes. If you screw up then say so. No one wants to take responsibility. It is one thing when you see this in celebrities. It sad that individuals in the public eye who are looked up to won't take responsibility, but when the govn't of an entire city won't what does that say about our culture. I could maybe see the police department doing this. Cops tend to have a "look out for your own" mentality, but the DA's office is in on it to. Those two men do not deserve to be convicted on felony charges. I honestly hope these two men get off. They did nothing wrong. The Boston Department screwed up. What it all comes down to is that the buck has to stop somewhere.

This is the "Bomb"