Trip Like I Do

Ignorance is NOT Bliss

ignorant /ˈɪgnərənt/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[ig-ner-uhnt] –adjective

1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned: an ignorant man.
2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact: ignorant of quantum physics.
3. uninformed; unaware.
4. due to or showing lack of knowledge or training: an ignorant statement.

The video above is from bloggerinterrupted.com and wow – just wow. It really makes me sad that some people choose to be so willfully ignorant. Yes, these people are choosing to be ignorant. I don’t know where these people are getting their information from. I am guessing that it’s pretty much an amalgamation of rumours, half truths and well, plain old lies. How can people believe this crap?

I am going to say it’s fear. Fear of change, the unknown, and I hate to say it, but of the non-white man. Whatever happens in this election will be a historical turning point for the United States. For the first time we will either have a non-white President or a female Vice President. It’s great, but also sad and frustrating that it’s only taken over 200 years for something like this to happen.

I think a lot of this whole “ZOMG! He doesn’t have a “white” name, he must be a muslim and a terrorist” bullshit is, well, veiled racism. These people know it’s not acceptable to insult the man just because he doesn’t look white, but unfortunately, in today’s society, prejudice against muslims seems to be acceptable to a lot of people. Therefore these people cry out Fear! Fear! Fear the supposed muslim! because they know they can’t just say that they won’t vote for Obama because he is black.

It’s terribly frustrating to me that people are willing to be so gullible. How much time does it take to read a newspaper or watch the news everyday? Every week? How much time does it take to Google something?

It’s also dispiriting to me how so many people revel in their stupidity. How did we get this way? Is it egotism? I think a lot of Americans are incredibly egotistical and it pains me to see how this is affecting our community at large. Now, let me say this as well, (okay, it’s my blog, I can say what I want anyways ), but I am not making any claims here to be perfect or that I am always right. I know I don’t know everything and am very far from perfection. However, I am willing to learn and try to look at things from different points of view.

I think it’s pretty obvious that I am a Liberal – and damn proud of it too. Liberal is NOT a dirty word. It is NOT an insult. The people who throw the word around like it’s an insult seem to be oblivious to the meaning of the word. (Read the definition yourself – I provided a link). I like to think of myself as a Social Democrat – which seems to be confused with socialism by a lot of people who refuse to do the research.

Do I think Obama is perfect? No, no one is perfect – but I think he has the best chance of repairing our reputation with the rest of the world and will hopefully be an instrument of change that we so desperately need right now. The rest of the world can see this, why can’t we? The US can not take another 4 years of Republican rule.

It goes back to fear. The Republicans are brilliant strategists – I give them that. They like to make it seem that the only way to keep the US safe is to keep them in power. I just don’t get it. Having the strongest and largest military force in the world is not a guarantee for safety and security. If that were the case, then the events on Sept. 11, 2001 would never have happened. Yes, having a strong military is helpful, but I think diplomacy is even more important. We do not live in a black and white world – there are too many factors for that. We can not say that because we have a big stick, the rest of the world has to abide by our rules. That kind of attitude will cause nothing but strife with the rest of the world and I believe that this has already happened to some extent.

Obama gives me hope. I just hope others feel the same way I do come election day.

October 10, 2008

Gadgetry

I got my new 8GB Nano Chromatic on Tuesday! Hurray! It’s pretty cool and it’s so freaking tiny! It’s about the size of 2 sticks of gum laid out next to each other. Really!

Part of my prize was that I also got to download I think all of the Cardio Coach workouts Coach Sean has created!!!! Wow!!! I had purchased several of them this past January, but this allowed me to complete my library! I am so happy about this! I can’t wait to hit the gym this weekend.

I really should take a picture of myself with my new gizmo, but I am so self conscious of my appearance, I am freaking out about it a little. I’ll see what I can do. I tried getting Rayne to model a little bit and she wasn’t too into it. I guess I need to catch her while she’s asleep.

I added a couple of comparison shots of the Nano to my other mp3 players. I also have an 80GB Zune, which pretty much rocks (however, the software does not), and a 2GB Zen Stone Plus. What really sets these 2 players apart from the iPods? Their prices and both of these devices have built in radios! Having a radio might not be that big of a deal to some people, but I do live in a state that gets hits by hurricanes every once in awhile and it’s nice to know that I have a couple of different radio sources available to me.

I’m just so excited about my Nano though. That thing is pretty stylin’. I just need to get a case for it though. I went to 3 stores yesterday and only Best Buy had some cases for the Nano 4G, but they weren’t the ones I was looking for. I guess I could have gone to one of the Apple stores, but I really hate going to the mall and the ones I know of are all located in malls.

I am also still thinking about getting a treadmill too. I mean, I have access to treadmills at the gym, but gong to the gym takes like 2 hours out of my day, whereas if I had a treadmill, I would obviously have no travel or locker room time – and that extra hour makes a big difference whenever I think about going to the gym. I have lots of thinking to do!

October 9, 2008