Full - Circle
i have not written an entry lately because i really didn't feel that i had anything to speak about. in my absence, i searched for a topic and stumbled upon one after another and came to one overwhelming conclusion. it has occurred to me that history, does in fact, repeat itself.
events which have occurred in the past week have ultimately thrown the united states into a tizzy. a major natural disaster has crippled one part of our country and as a result, has left thousands with no where to go and no one to turn to. gas prices continue to increase with no hope of dropping anytime soon. and discrimintaion and finger pointing seem to be soaring off the charts.
growing up as a kid in the 80s, all seemed ok with the world. the biggest concern i had on a daily basis was who i was going to sit with at lunch in the cafeteria. would my 'return of the jedi' lunchbox including an ewok thermos make me cool enough to sit with the 'in' crowd of 6-year-olds?! i had no idea what was going on in the world outside of my own. you mean the center of the universe doesn't revolve around me???
from what i have heard, read and seen on tv, 1977 (the year in which i was born) was not the best in this country's history. there was the infamous blackout which left nyc without power for a significant amount of time. a result of the lights going out gave people the opportunity to loot and fight for their survival. there was a gas shortage which left people to purchase and install locks on the gas tanks to their cars. people tried stealing gas from one another and once again were forced to fight for their survival. 1977 was also the summer in which the son of sam went around randomly killing people. if i remember correctly, it was blondes with shoulder-length hair. or was it dark haired women? what i do know is that he claimed a dog was telling him to commit these murders. and that he lived in my hometown. yup, was killing in nyc, but resided in my suburban hometown. now is my outward angst for suburban life understood? again, if i remember correctly, there was also the harlem riots in 1977. this country had experienced the civil rights movement, yet in dominant cities like nyc, there was still a seperation of black vs. white. and to round things out, many felt that an idiot was running the country.
do we see a cyclic pattern here people? re-read the last paragraph if necessary, subtracting the serial killer part. although, the week is still young and anything is possible. i'll wait and collect my thoughts.
ok, enough time? let's move on.
katrina could very easily be this country's worst natural disaster in some time. it has left thousands homeless, unemployed and with no where to turn. it has literally destroyed one of this country's most noted cities. it has also left the state government pointing the finger at the federal government and vice versa. from what i have seen on tv, it has left races of people pointing the finger at one another saying things would have been conducted differently if new orleans had a population of a different skin color. call me naive, but i'd like to think that people are people. and i know that i try to help in whatever way i can to those who need it, no matter skin color. that is an issue which never crosses my mind, partially because that was not the way in which i was raised. it is also in times like this in which we, as a human race feel quite small and think there is nothing we can do.
as a result of the current, or should i say 'seems-like-a-forever-on-going-conflict' in the middle east, our gas prices have skyrocketed. and with the current hurricane devastation, given gas owners another reason to increase prices. exactly just how far are you going to back the public up against a wall before another visit of having to lock our gas tanks takes place? how dry can the american population be bled? our current administration said that we, as an american population, should stay where we were this past holiday weekend and conserve the gas supply. i responded to that with giant middle finger to the current administration and an 8-hour roadtrip (each way).
i am currently reading a book which takes place in the mid to late 1960s. it deals with discrimination and the struggle of survival for some secondary chacters in the south. as i was reading the other day on a lunchbreak, i realized that some of the issues i was reading about are still relevant in 2005 in certain areas of the country. i live in the midwest, not naming the specific state so as to not completely reveal everything about me in one post. but where i live, in what these people consider to be a big city, i see seperation and segregation among every age group. last month, i saw the words 'whites only' spraypainted on the side of a bar as i passed in the car with my boyfriend. mind you, i just said boyfriend. and i am a boy as well. so, imagine the thoughts which ran through my head as i viewed such obvious hatred, right out there in the open. having never seen such hatred like that, except in a textbook or in a 1950s time warp, i was left feeling extremely uneasy in my current surroundings. how can people still think, act and feel this way? have we as a whole not learned anything? has there not been any progression on this country? is it no wonder that the states on the coasts are more accepting, progressive, cultured, richer, intelligent and open-minded???
and finally, once again we have a true and total a$$hole running the country. jimmy carter did do good as far as foreign policy is concerned. honestly i cannot defend him since i was rolling around in diapers at the time of his presidency and never really paid attention in history class. however, i am an adult now and can see absolutely no good in the current a$$hole this country has elected, foreign or domestic. and saying that i didn't vote for him really doesn't matter. what's done is done. i just continue to hope that in 3 years this country and the people who voted for mr. a$$hole, will think about how hard it has been to live and survive the past 5 years. how soldiers are still overseas and sacrificing their lives and nothing is being accomplished. rememeber how backwards our country is becoming in its thinking and in the policies which are trying to be passed. remember the saying 'like father like son.'
has my point of history repeating itself been made clear? if not, i apologize. it is my first day back in a while. and it is my first day back after a 5-day vacation. so, let me say as clear and to the point as i can. with the anniversary of september 11th in a few days and with the devastation our country has seen in the past few weeks, let's try to love one another just a little more. because we're all we've got.
events which have occurred in the past week have ultimately thrown the united states into a tizzy. a major natural disaster has crippled one part of our country and as a result, has left thousands with no where to go and no one to turn to. gas prices continue to increase with no hope of dropping anytime soon. and discrimintaion and finger pointing seem to be soaring off the charts.
growing up as a kid in the 80s, all seemed ok with the world. the biggest concern i had on a daily basis was who i was going to sit with at lunch in the cafeteria. would my 'return of the jedi' lunchbox including an ewok thermos make me cool enough to sit with the 'in' crowd of 6-year-olds?! i had no idea what was going on in the world outside of my own. you mean the center of the universe doesn't revolve around me???
from what i have heard, read and seen on tv, 1977 (the year in which i was born) was not the best in this country's history. there was the infamous blackout which left nyc without power for a significant amount of time. a result of the lights going out gave people the opportunity to loot and fight for their survival. there was a gas shortage which left people to purchase and install locks on the gas tanks to their cars. people tried stealing gas from one another and once again were forced to fight for their survival. 1977 was also the summer in which the son of sam went around randomly killing people. if i remember correctly, it was blondes with shoulder-length hair. or was it dark haired women? what i do know is that he claimed a dog was telling him to commit these murders. and that he lived in my hometown. yup, was killing in nyc, but resided in my suburban hometown. now is my outward angst for suburban life understood? again, if i remember correctly, there was also the harlem riots in 1977. this country had experienced the civil rights movement, yet in dominant cities like nyc, there was still a seperation of black vs. white. and to round things out, many felt that an idiot was running the country.
do we see a cyclic pattern here people? re-read the last paragraph if necessary, subtracting the serial killer part. although, the week is still young and anything is possible. i'll wait and collect my thoughts.
ok, enough time? let's move on.
katrina could very easily be this country's worst natural disaster in some time. it has left thousands homeless, unemployed and with no where to turn. it has literally destroyed one of this country's most noted cities. it has also left the state government pointing the finger at the federal government and vice versa. from what i have seen on tv, it has left races of people pointing the finger at one another saying things would have been conducted differently if new orleans had a population of a different skin color. call me naive, but i'd like to think that people are people. and i know that i try to help in whatever way i can to those who need it, no matter skin color. that is an issue which never crosses my mind, partially because that was not the way in which i was raised. it is also in times like this in which we, as a human race feel quite small and think there is nothing we can do.
as a result of the current, or should i say 'seems-like-a-forever-on-going-conflict' in the middle east, our gas prices have skyrocketed. and with the current hurricane devastation, given gas owners another reason to increase prices. exactly just how far are you going to back the public up against a wall before another visit of having to lock our gas tanks takes place? how dry can the american population be bled? our current administration said that we, as an american population, should stay where we were this past holiday weekend and conserve the gas supply. i responded to that with giant middle finger to the current administration and an 8-hour roadtrip (each way).
i am currently reading a book which takes place in the mid to late 1960s. it deals with discrimination and the struggle of survival for some secondary chacters in the south. as i was reading the other day on a lunchbreak, i realized that some of the issues i was reading about are still relevant in 2005 in certain areas of the country. i live in the midwest, not naming the specific state so as to not completely reveal everything about me in one post. but where i live, in what these people consider to be a big city, i see seperation and segregation among every age group. last month, i saw the words 'whites only' spraypainted on the side of a bar as i passed in the car with my boyfriend. mind you, i just said boyfriend. and i am a boy as well. so, imagine the thoughts which ran through my head as i viewed such obvious hatred, right out there in the open. having never seen such hatred like that, except in a textbook or in a 1950s time warp, i was left feeling extremely uneasy in my current surroundings. how can people still think, act and feel this way? have we as a whole not learned anything? has there not been any progression on this country? is it no wonder that the states on the coasts are more accepting, progressive, cultured, richer, intelligent and open-minded???
and finally, once again we have a true and total a$$hole running the country. jimmy carter did do good as far as foreign policy is concerned. honestly i cannot defend him since i was rolling around in diapers at the time of his presidency and never really paid attention in history class. however, i am an adult now and can see absolutely no good in the current a$$hole this country has elected, foreign or domestic. and saying that i didn't vote for him really doesn't matter. what's done is done. i just continue to hope that in 3 years this country and the people who voted for mr. a$$hole, will think about how hard it has been to live and survive the past 5 years. how soldiers are still overseas and sacrificing their lives and nothing is being accomplished. rememeber how backwards our country is becoming in its thinking and in the policies which are trying to be passed. remember the saying 'like father like son.'
has my point of history repeating itself been made clear? if not, i apologize. it is my first day back in a while. and it is my first day back after a 5-day vacation. so, let me say as clear and to the point as i can. with the anniversary of september 11th in a few days and with the devastation our country has seen in the past few weeks, let's try to love one another just a little more. because we're all we've got.
posted by notfornothin at Tuesday, September 06, 2005
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