Just something beautiful.

Posted on Dec. 11 in Uncategorized with 1 comment

The following is one of my favorite poems ever. I haven’t posted on here in a while, but I promise I will soon. I’m just really busy with finals at the moment.

 

The Desiderata of Happiness by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy

I want to believe…

Posted on Sep. 23 in Uncategorized with no comments

I’m at a point in my life, where in recent years I’ve become more attentive to politics. I can’t say officially, “I’m a _____” because neither of the two major parties really provide enough. Often I lean more left on social issues and foreign policy and bounce back and forth some on economic issues. Overall though I’m flexible and if any one party were able to offer at least a largely worthwhile platform, I wouldn’t be opposed to claiming that.

One of my greatest disappointments in the time that I live is the lack of actual information coming from the Republican side. I know that know not all of them subscribe to it (the extremist position), but generally speaking the party has been hijacked by crazies. I know there’s probably at least a few republicans who have good ideas and not the extremist rhetoric that we see too often today. I really do want to hear their ideas but the worst part about this age in politics is that the crazy voice of the GOP is louder, and seems to have taken over the party. They don’t even try to hide it anymore either! In Texas, they’ve even outright renounced critical thinking! (Pg 12, under knowledge based education). Anyone who falls out of line with this ideology is often treated as a pariah. Ron Paul is an example of this. While I don’t agree with him on all things, I believe he’s at least  on the right track in that he utilizes critical thinking and can actually participate in a discussion. My parents are hardcore republicans, in the modern sense of the word, and I’ve heard them on multiple occasions talk of how Ron Paul is “crazy” and needs to get out of the way. I know better than to try to argue their statements though… you can’t have a civil discussion with people guided by extremist ideology.

The worst attribute of the modern GOP is the extremist “with us or against us mentality”. You can no longer disagree or have a discussion many times, because they too often interpret it to be attack on them or their freedoms somehow (thus avoiding the original topic entirely).  I was thinking about this with or against mentality today and realized that this is the same ideology that the Islamic terrorists use. They also try to force their views on others, and if disagreed with at all they take it a step above the GOP and resort to actual violence. I think the largest reason the extremist that have taken over the GOP don’t use violence is not because they don’t want to–I’ve seen seen plenty threats of violence from their side on many issues–I believe they refrain simply because it’s much more effective to use and manipulate the system we have. Citizens United was a shining example of this. Money now equals “free speech”, thus those with more money are now able to speak more loudly than those without.

The fact is if you outright refuse to compromise with “the other side” all the time, you’re not doing your job. Us vs. Them will always do nothing but cause destruction within a nation. Both sides have representatives who were elected by United States citizens. For one politician to refuse all discussion with the other side is to disregard the very Americans that voted that person into office. Additionally, when you’re priority, above all else (ignoring things like the economy, foreign policy, etc), is to remove a politician you disagree with–then your priorities are fucked and you no longer serve the American people and should resign from your office immediately. Militant adherence to party lines will destroy that party and the nation.

I know I’ve made generalizations but I’ve done so only as a response to what has been displayed most often. I know there are still decent, respectful, intelligent republicans. If you’re one of the few sensible republicans who can still operate on critical evidence based thinking, please speak up! There appears to be so few of you left! I want to hear what you can offer!

***EDIT – For a more detail review of the Texas GOP party platform, please click here.

I’m Dead

Posted on Jul. 13 in Ramblings with no comments

Finished my Summer I classes; EU & Russian Foreign Policy and Environmental Economics. I even made a 4.0 on both classes! That  greatly surprised me!

Currently I’m in Micro and Macroeconomics and it’s so much slower than my other two that I just completed! It’s a nice break. The downside though is that I don’t know what to do with myself when my schedule feels this relaxed. I thought about getting a job nearby my apartment, but I worry how that might interfere with school in the future. Specifically, Fall where I will be much more busy than I am now. It would be nice though to have something close and it would force me to be more social I suspect.

Another thing I’ve thought about recently is the whole college life I’m in. To be honest, I don’t really fancy it. It has it’s moments of free time and flexibility that I realize I can’t get in a job, or at least many jobs. Overall though, I can’t figure how people are able to do other things. On top of the time management issues that I have (never enough time!), I’m not connected anywhere, with anyone really, and so I feel as if I’m on an island. I have my routine where I wake up early and make coffee, get on my bike ride to class, come home and study all night, then repeat. I know it’s not a terrible life, I’ve been to countries that have it far worse than I do. I believe my biggest problem is that I don’t know how to make friends anymore. I mean, to be totally honest, nobody really interests me around here. Everyone seems like the last person I met. I just don’t really know how to be social on my own effort. I suppose that’s the thing though–beyond high school you really only make friends at places you frequent such as school, work, church, etc… but so far I’m not really able to pull that off at school. I’m just amazed at my social ignorance in college of all places! At least the internet is always there for me…. lol!

I broke the internets.

Posted on Jul. 10 in Uncategorized with no comments

Something happened with my site and I couldn’t get into the shell anymore. Tried my best to backup everything, but no luck due to being stuck outside the shell. I’ll try to get to work on this thing whenever I have time. Hopefully that won’t mean three years from now!

A Lazy Sunday

Posted on Feb. 06 in France, School, Thoughts, Travel, Updates with no comments

I’m slacking, really bad today. Also, I think I’ve been drinking way too much coffee and not enough water lately. Physically I feel fine, it just seems like I’ve had too much. Starting tomorrow, I want to see if I can go a month without any coffee.  Let’s see how long I can stay awake through the course of a day!

I have to study German today. Actually, I’m doing that now… I know I know I’m posting this right now; I just mean that once I finish writing this I will continue. I need to figure out a way to help my German. I just don’t feel as good at it as I did last semester. One reason is probably because we have a lot more vocabulary and grammar to learn this semester than we did last. Maybe I could start writing all the posts on here in German? Well, that might take me way too long!

I’m so excited! I paid off my student loan! One less bill! It’s a great feeling getting out of debt. This is my year! By the end of this year I will be completely out of debt and will have no bills with the exception of normal monthly expenses. (e.g., cell phone bill, car insurance.) I do need to some type of health and life insurance though. I’ll try to get something after I pay off one more bill though.

I’m totally psyched for this summer! I’ll be going to Germany in May. I might also be following up that trip with a study abroad trip in Paris for most of June. The Paris trip is yet to be determined.  For those that have been to Paris–is it worth it? There’s  chance I can get the whole trip paid for but if not I won’t be going.

Anyways, back to the books…

     

Finally get a break!

Posted on Feb. 04 in Politics, School, TUJ, UCA, Updates with no comments

I go to school, come home and spend all day in my room. The only people I come into contact with is the people at school as I’m going to my car, my parents, and anyone who might be online when I’m home and working on my paper. I have absolutely no life here. While it does suck, it’s honestly the only way I can pass, at least at this school. At TUJ I was able to slack off a little bit because the courses weren’t as demanding as far as workload. There, all I had to do was take notes, do a little bit of homework, write some papers and take finals. At UCA however it feels like as soon as I finish my requirements due the next day, I’ve got four more the following morning that are due immediately! I’m just feeling very overwhelmed lately…

I apologize for going on a tangent there. It just all spilled out. I was actually writing to say that today I actually had a little bit of a break! No papers due tomorrow, and only German homework–which I’ve mostly finished already. Today was nice because, despite still not doing anything social, it felt like I was able to take a quick breath. Back to the grind tomorrow though.

I was thinking about it, and I decided that I want to try to avoid discussing politics on here. It’s not that I don’t feel my views aren’t important, but rather there seems to be far too many voices screaming so many different things and it’s because of this I feel my words can too easily become lost in a sea of noise. I will state my basic views on the about me section if anyone really wants to know. I feel that is a more appropriate place.

It’s late and I gotta get to bed! P.S., sorry this post was a bit whiney. I know there are many people that have it much harder than me.

Companies should not have the rights of individual citizens!

Posted on Jan. 25 in Opinions, Politics, Thoughts with no comments

Thank you Vermont for standing for standing up for yourselves and the rest of us.

I’m opposed to corporate person-hood for the simple reason that ultimately it serves as a means of double dipping in many areas of our government, as well as helping further drag our government away from the interest of the citizens and further into the arms of corporate America. There are probably quite a few other negatives to it that I’m not aware of at this moment.

For example—If the CEO of a company is allowed to donate his own personal wealth to a candidates campaign, while at the same time “the company” donates money towards the same candidate or other areas of government, this would serve to increase (double) the reach of influence of that specific company as well as the people in power in said company.

Additionally, I feel this would draw a political line, misrepresenting the company as a whole (that is, serving as a representation of the interest of every employee). I’m pretty certain that 100% of the employees wouldn’t agree to this type of collective representation for any candidate. Could this not just as well have the legal precedence of someone donating money to a campaign you’re against, but doing so in your name? I’m not lawyer but it seems like that wouldn’t be completely legal.

Original article on Vermont

Vermont is taking a step that should have been taken a long time ago to undo precident that never should have been set. Sen. Virginia Lyons, D-Vt., has introduced a bill to add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would assert “corporations are not persons under the laws of the United States or any of its jurisdictional subdivisions.”
Corporations are not people, and they should never have been given personhood rights in the first place. Corporations are merely collections of contracts and nothing more.
As of now, corporations are provided all of the same rights under the Constitution as any given citizen of the nation. As a result, these businesses have been able to dominate American politics by donating absurd amounts of money to candidates who go on to ignore the wants, needs and desires of American citizens in favor of giving these corporations whatever they want. That is not democracy. No person should have to live under a government who cares more for legal fictions than for real, live human beings.

From Wikipedia

Proponents of corporate personhood believe that corporations, as associations of shareholders, were intended by the founders and framers to enjoy many, if not all, of the same rights as would the shareholders acting individually, such as the right to lobby the government, the right to due process and compensation before being deprived of property, and the right, as legal entities, to speak freely. All of these rights have been upheld by the U.S. courts.

Do the research yourself.
I think the three greatest mistakes we as citizens make concerning most aspects of our country are these–
1. (Not) Doing research
2. (Not) Thinking for ourselves
3. ARGUING and SLANDERING instead of discussing.
I really believe that if we did these two things to our utmost ability, we’d find we have a lot more common interests than we previously knew.

What will 2011 bring?

Posted on Jan. 20 in Life, Thoughts, Updates with no comments

Instead of reading my economics book like I’m supposed to be doing this evening, I was reading over my previous posts here. 2010 was crazy for me! I really enjoy moments like these where I’m able to look back at my life, in a way that feels to be objective, and I can’t help but be amazed at the good that has come into my life as well as how little bad! Maybe my perspective is better too. There are times where I look at situations and just shrug it off and some of those, I know for sure, would have been much worse to me early on in life!

With all of this I look forward to 2011. I’m not thinking of the good that may come, because good always finds it way and often surprises me (and I prefer it a surprise). Honestly, I’m looking forward to what challenges may come. It’s the previous challenges that I’ve overcome and passed through that have granted me this sense of accomplishment that I feel when I look back at my life as a whole. I don’t want a trophy, I already have it. My trophy, and the ultimate reward, is the feeling that I get when I stand alone and look back and realize that (with the help of God, family, and friends) I was able to endure and persist through everything.

It’s a beautiful view here alone on this mountain!
If you haven’t done so already, you should really climb yours!

Security

Posted on Nov. 25 in Opinions, Politics, Thoughts with no comments

I’m not one that normally get excited or bothered about anything in the news. Most stuff is just minuscule politics. However, after the recent media coverage on the TSA and everything that is going on, I now realize that I have been part of the problem with the US all along.

These procedures are invasive. There is no doubt about that. Even worse then the government doing this though, is the average citizen. The average citizen can’t be bothered to research all of the real information on it all. Many will read an article or two, see an official response from the TSA on something and for them, that’s good enough to accept it. For many it’s also too much of an inconvenience to fight or to be bothered by someone who is fighting these policies. There are those who say “well just don’t fly”. Some people can choose that, but to assume that everyone has that choice would be ignorant. Clearly such a person would not be thinking of all the different people with different jobs and other things that require them to fly all over the world.

If you really think these things do anything to keep you safe then you haven’t taken the time to look into it all nor have you just used logic. These new machines and the pat downs can not detect anything stored inside the body. Once someone does eventually use this method for an attack, I wonder how long it will be before mandatory cavity searches. An even more pressing question would be, would the public still be so casual about it? If the news told you cavity searches were needed to make you “safe”, how many people would still go along with it?

Another thing I heard, if true, makes this all even worse.
[Please keep in mind this information is from articles I've seen but haven't yet confirmed, please do your research. If I am wrong please let me know.]
- There’s been some connections mentioned with the maker of the new scanners (Rapiscan) and the former head of Homeland Security. If the comments were true then it would mean a huge conflict of interest because the installations of these machines would have been putting money in this guys pocket.

If you take nothing else away from this post, please take this:
DO YOU RESEARCH, CONSIDER YOUR SOURCES, DON’T BE AFRAID TO QUESTION!

While the government, in it’s design and as a single entity, is designed to serve and protect the people, the people in charge aren’t always as virtuous.
Sometimes people will argue it’s less than American to question or stand up against our government but if you look at our founding you can see otherwise.
The worst thing you could ever do to your country is be indifferent or ignorant!

Elections and the Voters

Posted on Nov. 01 in Opinions, Politics, Thoughts with no comments

Lately I’ve been hearing so many advertisements on TV for the upcoming elections. Most of them go something like this.

________ said he would do this but he didn’t. He doesn’t care about ______ and only wants to give your money to ______.
Vote ______ this election

Now if these are truth then very well, however the problem is these advertisements are telling us to vote for “Politician A” because “Politician B” doesn’t have your interests in mind and doesn’t care about you like “Politician A” does. This is a huge problem not because someone is or isn’t telling the truth but because nowhere in this advertisement was the viewer, the voter, encouraged to actually research any of these issues. We are simply instructed to vote for “Politician A”.
This is a very big problem because there are large numbers of Americans that vote without information, or with only so much that leads them to the resolution they’re looking for in their mind. Hell, some people even vote based on the appearance of a politician or the “vibe” they get from him. I heard many people that said they voted for Obama for this reason.
Lack of information is the biggest reason that I have never voted and won’t. I have other reasons but I know that if I were to vote with the knowledge everything that I have, it would be the same as rolling a pair of dice. Sure there’s a chance that I might make the right choice but the problem is my decision to vote blindly affects myself as well as everyone else. If I had more time, I would be able to do some research on things to make an educated choice but at this time I’m far too preoccupied with school.
I’ve heard many people say that our ability to vote for our elected representatives is a responsibility. This statement in itself is incorrect. It’s not our responsibility to just vote, but rather to vote wisely basing our choices on factual information and to verify it as such. If you vote for any other reason aside from the facts** and issues then not only are you wasting a couple hours out of your day, but you’re also helping move the hand to roll the dice for America.

THINK. RESEARCH. READ. … then vote. This is our true responsibility.

**I understand that with the ease of communication and how quickly information is published it’s getting harder and harder to know what truth is. Regardless, this is a task you are responsible for as a citizen and a voter.