Tag: politics

Politics and Soccer

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To someone who is a fan of one or a fan of neither, this may seem like a very odd combination. But for me it is far from it.

As I look towards college there are two fields that I see myself potentially pursuing, politics and soccer. 

To specify, when I say soccer I mean the management side of it. And when I say politics I mean going into the legislative branch in some form.

Now these two may seem to be far apart in the processes and lifestyle but to me they are quite similar. Both are in the eye of the public and both aim to please the public. Both deal with large amounts of money and work on a global scale. And most importantly, both are passions of mine.

I have been involved in the business side of soccer for about 4 years now. It’s surprisingly complicated at times and the attention to detail is large. I have also followed politics closely for some years now and I get a similar vibe there.

So the issue I run into is which one do I choose? I love both, I can make good money doing both and I feel like I have potential in both. But if I end up in one and hate it can I switch to the other?

These thoughts are shared with many young people my age I am sure. It is hard being tasked with choosing where your life will head. At times I wish someone would just choose for me but I know I would have regrets.

As I look towards college I am thinking of all the possibilities and what I could do to keep both doors open as long as possible. I know that now is not the time to make the choice but taking steps to find out is important.

So here is a word of advice for people younger than me: do all you can to figure out what you want to do. My parents have “forced” me to work in the areas I like and it has made a huge difference because I have been able to narrow it down. I know so many kids my age who are worried because they just have no idea. I am sure they will find out soon enough but it takes off so much stress knowing that you know what you want to do.

So for parents and kids, take steps to find out your passion. Sometimes you find out something surprising but all the information is good information.

Gay Rights

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Who the hell do you think you are to deny an innocent American citizen their rights?

Obviously you think you are doing the “right” thing, the “better” thing.

You are not.

The only difference between LGBT and heterosexuals is who they are attracted to, oh and that LGBT on average have a higher IQ and are much less likely to commit a felony.

So why are LGBT people looked down upon so much in our country? It really baffles me that so many people could have a hatred towards people who are just attracted to the same sex as themselves, I really cannot understand.

Homophobia is one thing. I for one do not have it but one cannot be fully criticized simply for their irrational feelings. That being said, even if there are many homophobes, that is no reason for LGBT to be denied the rights that heterosexual people have.

We have come a long way in our country in respect to the rights of minorities. African Americans and women received the right to vote and discrimination laws swept the country.

Yet, we are still living in the distant past when it comes to our county’s feelings regarding homosexuality. We need to grow up.

I was recently reading a story about the suicide rates among teens in an area of Minnesota who have been taunted for being gay and lesbian.

Throughout the country we see an absurdly high suicide rate among young LGBT people. This is unacceptable and it needs to stop.

No one, and especially young people, should be teased for their sexuality. I don’t care what your beliefs are regarding homosexuality, no one deserves to be teased and bullied and pushed to the point of having suicidal tendencies.

It makes me sick to hear that so many kids across our supposedly accepting country are facing the horrors of being bullied for their sexuality. It appalls me that more has not been done to cease this unacceptable behavior.

I want to see a country where people are not frowned upon for what attracts them, where we can accept people who are living their lives and not trying to harm anyone around them. I want us to move forward and banish our misconceptions about homosexuality to the pages of history where I am sure we will be mocked for the injustices we have committed.

Morals

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We toss the words moral and ethics around so much that I have begun to hate both words.

Now my morals and ethics have come into question on multiple occasions, just like almost any one else. Maybe it is my youth, but I find it so curious how people could tell others what is right and what is wrong.

Now I do not say this in a fully rebellious way. I think there should be laws for society to function. But I do not believe in right or wrong.

This may be because I am such an atheist and I do not see any god or such figure that has more knowledge than us who can tell us what is right and wrong. I do not feel the threat of damnation to motivate me to do the “right” thing.

Again, it may be due to my young age that I do not see that some things are just straight up wrong. There are things that I feel are wrong such as murder, but I do not feel that everyone must share the same belief.

Rules and laws exist to keep society in check and functioning. I do not believe they should be there to force people to do what is right. People will do what they will do and they must suffer the consequences of what society dictates.

But when someone says to me “How can you believe that?” I question them with “Because that is what I feel”. Why are some feelings about actions superior to others?

Who are you to question what I believe is right? Who are you to look down on me for what I think?

I feel that this is an area where we can improve as a society.

We can keep our laws and we can change them, I have no qualms with that. But we as people should be more accepting and understanding of the thoughts of others, no matter what we are predisposed to think.

Santorum?

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Despite the CPAC victory for Romney, there is a challenger in Rick Santorum.

Santorum recently won three state’s GOP caucus/primaries, a big surprise for the front-runner, Mitt Romney.

Things just seem to get stranger and stranger.

Now I don’t think that Romney will lose the nomination to Santorum but I think the trend shows the real weakness in the GOP. They have become so divided that they are running into the problem that they cannot agree on the ideals they want to see from their candidates.

Romney has been having to defend his “conservativeness” to the GOP party because heaven forbid there is a moderate candidate.

I may be naive, but it seems to me like that GOP is changing very quickly and I believe it has to do with the increase in (relatively) young republicans like Sarah Palin and Santorum.   They have polarized the party between the radicals and moderates.

Similar things are bound to happen for the democrats before too long, but for now, the GOP is being put at a major disadvantage. Within a short amount of time, we could have a major change of the two-party system, potentially having more than two parties.

Change happens in politics but this seems to be happening faster than usual. We are seeing a lot of change in our country right now and this is just part of it. From changes in the economy and social standings to changes in politics, we are going to have to deal with change quickly.

Are We Still a Democracy?

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I often hear people saying “we live in an oligarchy” or “we live in a plutocracy” (or both). We title ourselves a democratic republic, but is that still the case today?

First, a few definitions (from Google) for those younger/ignorant readers:

1. Democracy: A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives

2. Plutocracy: Government by the wealthy

3. Oligarchy: A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution

4. Republic: A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch

5. Totalitarian (from Wikipedia because I liked their definition better): Government regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life

6. Meritocracy: Government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability

So, now that’s out of the way we can start to look at this. Immediately we can say that we do not live in a meritocracy given that the GOP controls the House.

It would be very hard to say that we are not living in a plutocracy given that most of the politicians in Washington are extremely wealthy and the fact that it is damn near impossible to be elected into a high position without wealth from the private sector.

The debate could rage on about whether or not we live in an oligarchy or not but I would argue that if we are in a plutocracy (which we are) then it must also be an oligarchy because the elected officials are only from the top 2% or so, which is a (relatively) small group of people.

It is quite clear (just by the definition) that we do not live in democracy solely based on the definition. That being said, we do live in a representative democracy in which we vote for people that vote for us. It is not a democracy in the original sense, but it is a modification of it.

Added to that is the part of us being a republic. I think that without a doubt we are a republic if you look at the definition, there just isn’t really any arguing with that.

And then we get to my favorite, the totalitarianism. Based on that definition it would be hard to argue one way or another. Yes, the government does control much of our lives. But, we do still have freedoms that we use daily. In my mind we have not gotten to the point of being totalitarian and I feel that the American spirit will keep that away.

So what are we then? I would say we are a Demoplutoligaric Republic, but that’s just me.

We live in a society that is becoming more and more elite. Although the tone of this may sound pessimistic I am not. My feeling is that we must commit to what we want to be, we must make progress in some direction.

If we want the wealthy to rule the country, lets be honest about it and just commit to it. If we stop being closet elitists then we can decide to make progress. That being said, we must be careful what we choose.

We live in a key time where the power could switch very quickly into hands that may not use it in the way we want. We as a country must come together and decide where we need to go and how we will get there.

Mudslinging 101

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Oh the GOP, how they make politics interesting.

I was recently watching Rick Santorum’s concession speech from Florida (although it was given in Las Vegas) and I was shocked to see that he was not saying anything negative. In fact it was quite the opposite, with him complimenting Mitt Romney.

But his obsequiousness is only because he knows he can’t win so he is shooting for Vice President. Hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

Butt then I saw Gingrich’s speech. All I can say is wow. What an evil and stupid man.

The basis for his speech was basically saying that he could still manage to win “Evil Dictator of Whatever Country I’m Currently In”.

He said that in his first day he would overturn both “Obamacare” and the choice to delay the Keystone pipeline. He said his goal was to get the Democrats out and save America.

Well so much for bipartisanship.

Gingrich is a crazy man and to be honest he scares me. His goals are for full control by the Republicans of the government so he can get rid of every program and tax ever devised. That sure will help.

Romney and Gingrich have gone back and forth for quite a while now, slinging much mud at each other.

It doesn’t seem to have gotten them very far.

All this negativity helps no one. It may seem hypocritical coming from someone who is writing about how idiotic and unhelpful these people are, but when the stakes are as high as they are  now, some foresight would help.

Instead of proving how incapable your opponents are, why now show how capable you are?

And there is the answer: none of them are capable.

To Help or Not to Help

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With the recent GOP debates, there has been talk of the question of foreign aid and whether it should be given, and if it is, to whom?

I find it disturbing that so many people find that we as a country should completely cease giving foreign aid because of our financial woes. And here is why.

Sure, our economy is not doing as well as it used to. In fact, we have been experience serious financial problems that could spell the end of our reign as kings of the world.

But, the people of America are still far better off than those of most countries. Even the lower class of the US is making more than most. So although we are experiencing hard times, this is nothing compared to the daily lives of others throughout the world.

So why then are so many talking about cutting off foreign aid? They claim that we need to “take care of ourselves first”. But guess what, we are humans before anything else. And we do need to take care of ourselves, but that means our entire species.

Although we associate ourselves as Americans, we have to realize that we live in a world made up of billions of people just like us. And why should we have excess when they have nothing?

I know that the many will say life is not meant to be fair and I would agree with that. But is it not our moral obligation to help those with less if we can?

I feel that we are slacking as a country in our contributions to the world. We may contribute much as far as the world economy and infrastructure, but what are we contributing when we look at it person by person?

I think we need to go on a mission to make people smile. Take the money from the pointless wars we have been fighting as spend it on giving to those who need it. We can survive with less than we have and I have a sneaking suspicion that we will work harder as a nation to improve if we have less.

We are a hardworking nation but it is not that others are lazy, simply unfortunate. Whether you are a Christian or Muslim, Jew or atheist, these is no good reason to hoard our good fortunes and ignore the rest of the world.

We will not always be the super power that we are, and when we are in a position of needing help, do you want to look at another country that is rolling in luxury and realize they will give nothing of it away? I hope not.

Let us continue, and build, the foreign aid programs we currently have in place. Let us go and help those who need it and create a stronger and more unified world. Let us go out and get allies in new places and teach people that Americans are willing to give. Let us be just.

What We Are

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Although many Americans struggle to realize it, there are other countries in the world. And within these other countries, there are people with opinions.

Now place yourself in the shoes of one of those people and look at the news that comes out of America; the politics, the domestic issues, the celebrities.

Now maybe it’s just me (though I very much hope it isn’t) but I worry about this. Maybe it is because I am a self-conscious teenager, but I worry that the image that others see is disgusting.

I read our news often and am disgusted. Mainly its when a GOP candidate opens his/hers mouth but it even goes all the way to court cases and even sports.

We recently had a speaker at our school who talked about the image of a brand. As the head of a marketing company, his job is to portray a certain business in a positive light.

Hell, maybe we need some America commercials, like the ones you see for Arizona and Puerto Rico. We can show pictures of the nicer cities, not of Detroit and Cleveland. Then we can end with a catchy phrase like “America; it ain’t what it used to be but its still a lot better than your country” (We should probably not run this in most Western European countries if we go with that phrase).

Our image used to be one of power and justice. Now it is of fat people who pick on Muslims or ignorant people who can’t tell Austria from Australia. What happened to the days of golden roads and silver lakes?

I could go on and on about everything we did wrong but that is not the point. The past, unfortunately, is out of our control. What we can do is look towards the future in a way that is less egocentric.

We must rebrand ourselves, give ourselves a new image. Because not only does what others think matter, our confidence as a country matters too. The moral is low and we need a change. Let’s boost our image and in doing so create a better country.

Joy of Joys

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I find there to be nothing making my week slightly positive besides the fact that the Republican party is a mess. Some may shame me for finding joy in others misery, but to them I would respond with words not suitable for this site.

For those of you who prefer to not follow the Republican race, here is some news. Mitt Romney, the only feasible candidate now that Huntsman dropped out, just made a little confession. He admitted that he only pays about 15% on his taxes.

Mitt Romney is not one of those poor candidates either. This guy is loaded, so rich that he should just start wearing suits made out of money to the debates. So why then, Mr. Romney, are you paying only 15% while Americans that make about one millionth of what you make pay twice that rate?

His answer: because I am not making much income. He babbled about his only job being speaker positions (which he gets about $40k and hour for) and how he hasn’t been fully working for a while now. But he is still making enough to buy a small country each year.

Mitt Romney is a scumbag for a variety of reasons but this just adds on to it. Obviously our system is partially to blame for this rat to be able to sneak his way around tax codes, but being a public servant (if he was my servant he would be whipped daily) he should know better.

And if you thought that is not a big deal, one of Romney’s huge corporations (who are people too) seems to be keeping their funds (which are linked very closely with Romney) in the Cayman Islands to avoid taxes. Damn, isn’t he just an outstanding citizen?

But while many people are up in arms about all of this, I feel no need to be. As much as I would love to see Romney be publicly humiliated by a variety of public displays, I am content with the chances of him being elected president going down. At this point all I want to see is Obama being sworn in so that we can decline more slowly into our final years as a great nation instead of being thrown into a third world plutocracy by good ol’ Mitt.

RIP Reason

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I knew Jon Huntsman was not going to win the Republican nomination. But I still could not help but be a little sad when he dropped out of the race.

My friends and family know me as the Republican basher, that guy who always says the obnoxious and inflammatory comments about the Good Ol’ Party.

But Jon Huntsman was different, he actually was intelligent and reasonable. Now the GOP has members who are very intelligent, take Dick Cheney for example. But Dick makes Stalin look like a teddy bear. I’m sure the GOP has had reasonable members who were unintelligent too, I just can’t think of any.

But Huntsman checked both boxes. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Huntsman explained that his reason for being part of the Republican party was just because he though the people of Utah (his state) would be the most open to it.

I’m not trying to claim him as a Democrat because he is not. There is probably some obscure party in Australia that his ideals fit perfectly in to, but because of our system, he has an R next to his name.

But he did not let that get in the way of trying to make sense. He was not like Romney, trying to make himself look like a crazy teabagger who just wants to get rid of every single government program and become an isolationist nation that is at war with every single Islamic state.

No, he supported socialized programs and tax hikes. He thought we should stop fighting people for no apparent reason and we should protect the environment. He also thought we should work to cut some redundant government programs and reduce big government and that Boehner is at least some what competent.

It says a lot that a man who just stuck by his beliefs seemed to be such an oddity. Our system has come to the point that someone in the middle, who works to bridge the two parties, is looked at as being ineffective and plain wrong.

It is sad that Huntsman could not gain more ground in the primaries but I hope that he changed a few peoples mind in the process. I hope that he made some people see that there is room for the middle, that reason can conquer our stupid polarization. Jon Huntsman gave me hope, and that is more than can be said for most candidates.

So I’m now switching to endorsing this man for the Republican nomination, and yes, that is a boot on his head. Free Ponies for All!