What are Your Real Intentions?

The Conservatives and GOP ran on a platform of jobs during the 2010 election. They railed against government spending and promised to work to lower the unemployment rate from the near 10% it's been sitting at since the aftermath of the global financial crisis. A crisis caused by years of uncontrolled and unregulated banking practices.

This message of jobs got them a majority in the house of representatives and won may state governorships in the election. Then the country waited for their plan to bring jobs back. What we have been seeing from this group of Republicans is far different than what they had advertised.

Looking at the GOP's behaviour, it is obvious that the GOP's number one goal is to take over the white house. Even though they were elected to create jobs, they have blocked and rejected all job bills that has been brought up in congress. As the economy will be the number one issue during next year's election, the GOP will do everything to further destroy the economy or at best keep it status quo in order to blame this on Obama. The GOP may have talked about jobs during their election, but it is only one job they're concern about.

Even though it is their sworn duty as a member of congress to do what's best for the country and all Americans, the GOP only cares about winning the presidency. Even if it has to further destroy the country, they're willing to sacrifice the country and her people for power to drive their regressive agenda.

As we have seen in the last year or so, the GOP has focused on 2 main types of legislation. The first is to tear at the fabric that has made our society great. In the name of saving money, they seek to get rid of anything that helps the middle and lower socio-economic status. They have cut budgets for everything from public libraries, parks, to even elmo. What this does is it opens the door for private companies to come in and provide these services, but at a cost. A cost that will further drain the already tight budgets of middle and low income families. Again, the loyalty of the GOP is openly seen here. Sacrifice American families for profits.

The 2nd type of legislation that the GOP has heavily pushed are regressive social agendas. The GOP has focused most of the attacks in the last 2 years on women and women's health. What's scary is that they have evolved in their attack to restrict and take away rights from women. No longer will you hear the GOP talk about repealing Roe vs. Wade. They realise that the country is not ready to wholly reject providing safe legal abortion practices for women.

What conservatives have done is to change their their tactics so that it's much more indirect and deceptive. They have gone after funding for abortion providers, they have made legislation to make it very difficult to be able to buy insurance for women, they have even done things like make legislation so that a women has to travel to the health center multiple times to get the care she needs.  They have also made it difficult for clinics that provide abortion to remain open with outrageous rules and specifications.  Together, they have it more dangerous and difficult than ever for women to receive the proper health care they need.

As I've mentioned before, today's GOP are not conservatives like the ones in years before.  The people in the GOP and controlling the party today are Neo-Cons.  Neo-Cons are a twisted mutation of conservatives.  They are very well funded, well organised group that's been planning for the take over for decades now.  They've set their plans in motion years ago and now we're seeing the fruits of their plan to dominate the country with their twisted theocracy.  They use ideas like Christianity to influence the masses while subscribing to none of its teachings.  Neo-Cons don't have a belief other than to rule with absolute power.  Power and money is their religion and the only thing they look up to.

Anger is a childish & generally useless emotion exhibited by those without a real sense of power. It is only those that have little to no understanding of real power that would use anger as a way to display one's prowess. Anger, as a comparison to other emotions, is weak, self-destructive, and unsustainable. Only a fool would believe that anger is useful in achieving anything.

It is healthy in a democratic society to have disagreements and counter viewpoints about the government it has elected. With a majority rule, there will always be those that act as a counterbalance to the majority view. That is in essence the heart of democracy, to be able to hear multiple arguments and decide which course is best.

However, when these disagreements and differing viewpoints escalates beyond just a difference in viewpoints and one side of the argument begins to attack very structure and purpose of a freely democratic government, those voices are no longer constructive. Those voices become a disease that seeks to weaken the government to give room for anarchy and tyrants to fester and grow. For the sake of the society, we can allow those who spreads this poison to go unchecked. It is one thing to disagree about government policies or how it's carried out, but when you begin to question the very need for government, those are words of treason.

Moving on Back... to the Dark Ages...

Lately, it seems to be very fashionable to call those who are against corporate corruption and those who wants things to be more fair a socialist or communist. I don't understand why everything seems to be so extreme and black and white with this groups, but I guess it's all projection. More importantly though, you can't be a socialist AND a communist. These ideals are mutually exclusive. The fact that you use those 2 forms of government interchangeably shows how little you understand about government structures. Get your name calling right.

I am not one for socialism or communism not because I don't like their ideas. I think all forms of governments are good on paper and as an idea. However, humans are not built this way (or perhaps just not today's humans) to make socialism or communism work. People today will not accept equality and hence these governments will never work. Not because it was a bad idea, but humans are intrinsically flawed to follow those ideals.

So today we have capitalism. Like socialism or communism, humans are incapable of a pure form of society. Humans are intrinsically unable to follow any form of society in its purest form because we have natural desires that doesn't fit in well within a society. Human have things like greed, lust, envy, etc., that makes them break any rules of a society. Hence, humans have built rules and regulations to guard against ourselves to make capitalism work. This has worked well, and it is with these safeguards that we've been able to grow within this society.

So why is it that so many people today are pushing us to go back to a Feudalistic form of society where you have a small group of the rich (kings, queens, royalty, etc.) and the rest of the people who work as serfs and peasants for them? They seem to be fine with 1% of the population owning the majority of the wealth and power in society. They seem to be fine with allowing those with wealth to change laws to benefit themselves. They seem to be fine with the fact that those in government work for this 1% instead of the 99%.

We've gone down that road and have rejected it. For thousands of years we lived in this feudalistic culture and it has lead us nowhere. A few lived ridiculously lavish lives while everyone is left with the scraps. We tore down these ideas and built a new world where we believed in letting everyone have a chance at a good life. We made things fair through education so that all children have a chance at a good life regardless of who their parents were. We created a society where we looked after each other equally and not by some title. This is the type of society we have fought so long and hard to create.

What's amazing is that the majority of those who are pushing to move backwards in society are the people that will become the serfs and peasants in their new world. Do they think they will be thanked by their new lord? Do they think betraying the 99% will earn them favors by the 1%? what's more amazing is that you may be fine to play that peasant role, but how do you live with yourself knowing you've condemned your children to these roles? No matter how hard they work, they will never have a chance to better themselves. You have given all the power and wealth to a few and they have no intention of giving that up. What will you do then? Revolt again for the very society you help to tear down?

Like a spoiled child who doesn't understand how good they have it. These conservatives/libertarians scream for an individualist society. Little do you know that while you think you're arguing for more freedom, you're tightening the noose on your neck.

What I've Learned from Reading Manga

I know most people will dismiss this as childish. How could an adult possibly learn anything from Manga/comic book?! Isn't it just for children? Well, despite what you may think, I have learned a lot about life from these stories and I think it would be good if people did as well. Perhaps I'm just reading more into it than is there. Whatever the reason, the message in my head is clear and here they are.

(In no particular order)

• You should always work your hardest to be strong. If you're not strong (whether physically, mentally, socially, or even economically), you will not be able to protect the innocent or the ones you love

• No matter how strong you think you are, there will always be someone bigger, badder, and better than you. Always strive to be better
  

• If you choose the right people to trust and believe in, they will go to the ends of the world with you

• Taking advantage of the weak is not power. Power comes from being able to stand up and protect the weak
  

• Believe in your friends and those that you trust, but most importantly, believe in yourself. Find the strength from within
  

• Always believe. Even when the odds seems overwhelmingly against you. Always believe you can succeed

• A life without honor is no life at all
  

Together we will be stronger

As I look at these images of the disaster in Japan, it’s often hard for me to take. I realized that to be so moved by just these images while being so far removed from situation, I couldn’t even image what it’s like to be there or to be directly affected by something so large and catastrophic. It's hard to imagin what a 8.9 earthquake is like, but I can certainly see the destruction it can cause.

For the last 3 years, I’ve been traveling to Japan for work a couple of times a year. The country, the culture, and the people have really grown on me over these visits. I remember how wonderful it was the first time I visited Japan with my mom. The two of us and my aunt went all around the city to see all the lights and the super modern life of Tokyo. I was in complete awe. It was just like I’d imaged with its 10 story arcades and Manga stores.

We also left the city to see a completely different side of Japan. I was amazed how quickly we left the urban area filled with skyscrapers. Riding on the bullet train we soon got to the countryside with its mountainous terrains and wide-open spaces. We visited some mountains which I can't really recall (all I remembered was riding on a huge bus going quite quickly around a very narrow mountain road). There was a hot springs which was quite an experience for me at the time.

The last few visits were a bit different being there for work and much older than my first visit. I always managed to stay a few extra days to visit with my aunt or just hang around in the city. I don’t really speak a word of Japanese, but I feel really comfortable being there. I wish I spoke or understood more so I could get more of the culture, but I’ve always felt great just being there.

Seeing some of devastation of a place that I would place as one of my favorite places in the world was really hard. During the Katrina disaster, I saw many places in New Orleans that I had been just months before getting devastated. Places that I had gone throughout my college days on road trips for the weekend. Although it’s not the same as it didn’t hit Tokyo directly, it felt just the same. It's hard to see something like this happen to somewhere I so loved being around.

My heart sank as I watch the images and read the news. So many people in such a bad place through no fault of their own. So much destruction and so much death all around.

It’s times like this when you really feel how helpless one can be in the grand scheme of things. It would be great to be able to gear up in an Iron man suit and go help those people in need. Perhaps stop the tsunami with a blow of air or speeding through the waves fast enough. Sadly, that’s not the world that we live in. There are no super heroes to come save us. All we have is each other.

It’s situations like this that I hope people see the truly good in each other. We’re all in this world together. We have our minor differences, but at the end of the day, we’re all people here together on this planet. We can’t survive by ourselves. Only by supporting and relying on each other are we able to get through this, and not only get through this, but get through it stronger than we started.

To all the people in Japan. Stay strong and positive. The people around the world are here to help you through this. Together we will rebuild all that’s been lost and we’ll be better and stronger for it.