A Rabble Rabble Rant

This is just a rant. Random shit that comes to mind. I might even flush some of it out one day.

The United States is a young impatient nation. Many don't even know their own history, or care to learn it.

The US of A has been the sole super power for twenty years, and has played an extraordinary role in shaping the world over the last ninety. Be patient. A few hundred years ago starvation made the head lines. Now it's fat people with health problems.

The US of A has been extremely wealthy throughout our history. We have things that most nations don't even consider producing because they are not as affluent (and bored). Like many things in life the wealth is a blessing and a curse. We have great lives in America at the expense of many people both at home and abroad. Yet we also share the wealth. Grey this area is.

As long as humans are violent there will not be peace. Los Angeles riots when the Lakers win championships, and beat up Giant fans at Dodger stadium. This occurs in an affluent society with enforceable laws, and are some of the minor threats we've seen across America. Wars like Afghanistan and Iraq are chalk full of atrocities, but the end results may be worth the price. The revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa are no less violent, but hopefully the results will be better.

World War II is the ultimate example of what good can come from war. That event brought the world into the future that is today. Nation based warfare is at an all time low, and has not involved super powers directly since the Korean War. Nuclear deterrence and globalization are huge contributing factors to this--both got a good kick in the ass after WWII. Millions died and any war is horrible. This doesn't mean it should be ignored. War/violence will occur it is best to learn about it and contain it. Most impressively the rising global middle class has changed the outlook of war. Gang warfare is what we are experiencing, but on a much larger scale.

America should starting sending bills to all the nations that benefit from our military.

Fox news lies to your face. Everyone else beats around the bush. Only a handful actually contribute to the news. CNN tells you what's on Twitter, and invents stupid gimmicky stories. Buzzer beaters, and text voting distract from real reporting--even if that gets less ratings. I hear news shows make plenty of ad revenue anyway. MSNBC made me laugh when an anchor told a talking head to stop giving so many details cause it gets confusing....really? At least Jon Stewart will have plenty of material until he's ready to retire.

I like good food and beer. Play videogames, and attend drum n' bass shows frequently. I can fly 3,000 miles in less then six hours. I have indoor plumbing, and don't have to grow my own food. Even if I had no money I could still get food. If America can be so good to me, and so many other people, then how evil can it truly be? Bad people, stupid decisions, and all sorts of things do occur. Don't stop fighting the bad, but remember what your fighting for. Don't forget the good stuff too.

Back to Thinking

When I first created this blog it was only to be used for my old history papers. Things have changed, or rather will change. I am going to be posting random thoughts about news worthy or interesting topics.

Thomas P.M. Barnett is a name everyone should learn. The man has a knack for explaining the world, and I just so happen to agree with many of his opinions. In the near future I am going to do a review of his book Great Powers: America and the World After Bush. For now I am just going to highlight some of the most recent posts from his blog.

Keeping the A Types Coming to America:Lexington column in The Economist.

"IMMIGRANTS benefit America because they study and work hard. That is the standard argument in favor of immigration, and it is correct. Leaving your homeland is a big deal. By definition, it takes get-up-and-go to get up and go, which is why immigrants are abnormally entrepreneurial. But there is another, less obvious benefit of immigration. Because they maintain links with the places they came from, immigrants help America plug into a vast web of global networks."

This is a great piece to show anyone in support of the new Arizona laws. Connections to other countries. Exposure to new cultures--art, music, women (sorry I'm single and young), food, and more. Plus an improvement to the US/Global economy. Sounds like a bucket of win to me.

Arizona's new law is a step in the wrong direction. Don't like immigrants taking jobs? What have you done to make yourself a more valuable worker? If the answer is nothing, then it's you not the immigrant.

Millennials: plenty spiritual, just not religious USA Today

This article hits the nail on the head. It explains why I, a young American, have no interests in Christianity.

As a young history major, with parents who have seen the ugly side of Christianity--nasty nuns and Catholic School--I'm hard pressed to even give America's traditional religion a shot. Be it Catholic or a Protestant sect of Christianity.

Crusades, witch trials, sex scandals, and other bad press makes it difficult to believe there is good in Christianity. Of course there are great individuals out there that prove that sentence wrong, but that doesn't change my skepticism.

For the other two chapters in the one Gods plan I see similar issues. Israel seems to be in a holy war with Islam. How can I accept a faith as good when there is so much death and destruction? It's hard to believe things will change with the thousands of years of religious based chaos.

If I had to pick a religion, then I'd probably branch out to something totally different like Buddhism or Hinduism. I would, however, have to do some research before making a final choice. Is there any religion out there that doesn't have blood or sex juice on their hands?