You know what? I know you're not supposed to say this, but when it comes to baseball's 7th inning stretch, I don't give a crap about September 11th. For decades, it has been one of baseball's most sacred traditions to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the stretch. As traditional as Cracker Jack and the first pitch. And then 9/11 happens and all of a sudden everything televised becomes a "How Patriotic Can You Be?" contest. Now, you have about 4 ballparks that still sing Take Me Out and 27 that sing God Bless America.
It's not unpatriotic to cling to your country's traditions rather than change them to seem heartwarming. In fact, I would argue that it shows our weakness in how easily our emotions can be swung around like a rag doll. In the next 100 years, every day will be a national holiday, there will be a memorial of some kind every 2 miles, and sporting events will become a concert of "patriotic" anthems.
This overpatriotism has gotten to the point that it's actually bringing us down. There are actually people in the USA that claim they are not voting for Barack Obama because one time he didn't have a little flag pin on. Do you have a flag pin on? Last time I checked, we elected a President for their ability to lead, not their ability to cry everytime someone says "America."
Slightly related note: The Star Spangled Banner has actual music...sheet music. And a prescribed tempo. It is not a mad lib where you just get to fill in whatever your "artistic soul" thinks should be there. It is meant to last 60 seconds. Not 70, not 80, and if you're the Backstreet Boys, not 257. People cry treason when someone doesn't wear a flag pin, but when they butcher our National Anthem to make themselves seem like better artists, they're just being especially patriotic?
Mob mentality is a really dangerous thing.
2008-10-23
2008-10-21
California Proposition 8
I think the likelihood of Prop 8 passing in California is evidence that California isn't quite as progressive as they like to make everyone think they are. According to the latest poll I saw, it currently trails 53% to 44%, which gives it a slight likelihood of passing, and taking away the rights of gays to marry.
Now, I can't really fault them for how far they've come. Colorado isn't any more gay friendly than California. However, since California already allows gay marriage, this Proposition isn't a measure to move forward. They're actively voting to take a step back, to regress.
I suppose there is hope in the fact that only 53% of people want to tell gay people that they're just not quite as good as everyone else. 30 years ago that probably would have been closer to 80%. Maybe someday we'll get past this.
I maintain that gay people are the black people of the 21st century. I find it so funny that we look back on 1960 America and say "How could they possibly have treated black people like that just because of their skin color?!", and then immediately turn around and say that gay people are threatening everything we hold sacred.
We are a dumb society.
Now, I can't really fault them for how far they've come. Colorado isn't any more gay friendly than California. However, since California already allows gay marriage, this Proposition isn't a measure to move forward. They're actively voting to take a step back, to regress.
I suppose there is hope in the fact that only 53% of people want to tell gay people that they're just not quite as good as everyone else. 30 years ago that probably would have been closer to 80%. Maybe someday we'll get past this.
I maintain that gay people are the black people of the 21st century. I find it so funny that we look back on 1960 America and say "How could they possibly have treated black people like that just because of their skin color?!", and then immediately turn around and say that gay people are threatening everything we hold sacred.
We are a dumb society.
2008-10-14
Liberal Bias
You constantly hear the phrase "liberal bias" tossed around, and it's been increasing in the last...oh...8 years or so. But what does it really mean, and why is it bad? You never seem to hear "conservative bias."
The organizations and people that are most famously accused of being left-leaning are education and the media. Let us examine that for a moment. Has no one ever stopped to ask WHY that might be? What is it that causes this collection of liberal thinking people to move toward education and mass communication?
Perhaps the causality is being viewed in the wrong direction. Maybe the liberals didn't go to college. Maybe college made them liberal.
There is no arguing that there is a strong correlation between education level attained and a tendency to vote more liberally. Every census ever taken shows it. But the question is why? It is highly unlikely that only liberals go to college.
College and higher education are melting pots of different cultures, lifestyles, religions, and ideas. Going to college can quickly make you realize how different America is from the rest of the world. And more importantly, it makes you start to question whether or not that's such a great thing. The result is a person that thinks more liberally. More in favor of changing the status quo.
What is sad is that conservatives have an incredible spin machine. You have to admire their ability to say that the correlation between liberalism and education is proof that the education system is flawed. Never recognizing that the liberal demographic is made up heavily of educated people and scientists, while the conservative demographic is composed of either rich, old people, or people in trailer parks.
As for the media, here you have a group of people arguably more aware of what's going on around them than anyone else. People who truly see the entire picture because they're the ones bringing it to you. So again, you have conservatives consisting of isolated people who are convinced that the world only exists in a 20 meter radius around them. And you have liberals who actually see the whole world for what it is.
It's not a bias. It's a result.
The organizations and people that are most famously accused of being left-leaning are education and the media. Let us examine that for a moment. Has no one ever stopped to ask WHY that might be? What is it that causes this collection of liberal thinking people to move toward education and mass communication?
Perhaps the causality is being viewed in the wrong direction. Maybe the liberals didn't go to college. Maybe college made them liberal.
There is no arguing that there is a strong correlation between education level attained and a tendency to vote more liberally. Every census ever taken shows it. But the question is why? It is highly unlikely that only liberals go to college.
College and higher education are melting pots of different cultures, lifestyles, religions, and ideas. Going to college can quickly make you realize how different America is from the rest of the world. And more importantly, it makes you start to question whether or not that's such a great thing. The result is a person that thinks more liberally. More in favor of changing the status quo.
What is sad is that conservatives have an incredible spin machine. You have to admire their ability to say that the correlation between liberalism and education is proof that the education system is flawed. Never recognizing that the liberal demographic is made up heavily of educated people and scientists, while the conservative demographic is composed of either rich, old people, or people in trailer parks.
As for the media, here you have a group of people arguably more aware of what's going on around them than anyone else. People who truly see the entire picture because they're the ones bringing it to you. So again, you have conservatives consisting of isolated people who are convinced that the world only exists in a 20 meter radius around them. And you have liberals who actually see the whole world for what it is.
It's not a bias. It's a result.
2008-10-12
Sarah Palin is a Moron
There's a YouTube video making the rounds where some guy is heckling Sarah Palin, so in response, she turns to him and says "My son is in Iraq fighting for your right to protest!"
Sarah Palin is an idiot. Props to her son for fighting, I guess, but last time I checked, the remaining Iraqi insurgents were not shooting at our troops with the intention of stopping us from protesting. A guy is yelling at the woman who supports keeping our troops in their country until the end of time. Why would an insurgent want to shut that guy up?
You know, I do have a great deal of respect for people that put on the uniform, but stop trying to make it into something it's not. No one is assaulting our freedom, and hence, no one is defending it.
Sarah Palin is an idiot. Props to her son for fighting, I guess, but last time I checked, the remaining Iraqi insurgents were not shooting at our troops with the intention of stopping us from protesting. A guy is yelling at the woman who supports keeping our troops in their country until the end of time. Why would an insurgent want to shut that guy up?
You know, I do have a great deal of respect for people that put on the uniform, but stop trying to make it into something it's not. No one is assaulting our freedom, and hence, no one is defending it.
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