'America' Or Why You Can't Fix Stupid

In the wake of the recent 'not guilty' verdict for the Trayvon Martin murder, I felt it necessary to comment on the general state of affairs rather than a case anatomy that many professional and non-experts feel so inclined to do at the drop of a hat.

With every big media trial that occurs, usually for murder or the occasional infanticide, it appears that every person; male or female, black or white, and self proclaimed expert alike come out of the woodwork to lay their opinion on the table for all to hear. What usually amounts to this potpourri of (mis)information, is biased and nonsensical arguments that devolve into hours upon hours of quarrels and 'he said, she said' statements that make the 'highlight reels' of the web. As per usual, the media will of course hyper-inflate what could easily be considered junk swept under rug of the chopping room. In the end those precious few who opt to take a neutral stance on such issues are greeted with a circus that seems to grow only stronger as fuel for minute to minute updates run dry. Rephrasing and repetition become ubiquitous as news stations are forced to use recycle footage and old 'post 9/11' terminology to strike fear in the hearts of the less attentive viewers. Thus those on the lower end of the spectrum get a 1st grade book report summary of the 'truth', which takes liberties with the facts and turns opinions into causes and bullet points into long winded odes to justice and civil rights. The point I'm trying to make is that many of American's tend to take what should be obvious social problems and run with them to the point where they plateau into matters of 'race' or 'gender'. While these issues are good and all, at least for social media, they don't strike hard at the matter at hand which is something more serious and socially unacceptable. Cases like the Trayvon Martin case highlight such issues and shed light on human's inherent ability to leech off social issues and use them as a soapbox of sorts to bandwagon their own opinions which they tout as research or fact. It's a shame because it discredits those who really do look at both sides of the coin and formulate well educated responses to the social failures that are looked upon as social norms. Violence is so widespread that it has been relegated to the 'inner city' and minorities in the lower income neighborhoods. The media for all it's power and expert analysis has been directly responsible for the dumbing of America and the novocaine for an ailing citizenry that forgets the uneven plane it stands upon everyday.

We are a nation of the contrary, a country that looks through all the grim and grit and looks for reasons to disagree with social reform. Gun control is a serious part of this as is abortion and the improvement of daily life. On one hand we push for reform and call those who seek to block such changes fools or lazy. Then on the other hand, when reform or change does take place that can really make a difference we disagree with that and shout blasphemy or sacrilege when it threatens our faith or moral fiber. We are stuck in this hamster wheel of progress that amounts to nothing in the end. History is unfortunately written by the victor and as of late, the winner is awfully good at pretending that mediocrity is an achievement. With every verdict and with every bill we lose a sense of where we are and where we are going, and thus are forced to wander through this endless desert of misdirection. Progress only comes to those who with the desire to be progressive.

The God Suppository: Side Effects May Vary.

Assuming that my absence has been greatly noted and that the multitude of my readers have avidly been searching for any substitute to satisfy their well developed palette for brilliant insight (you're welcome), let me say that I sincerely apologize for the shortage in recent posts. However, today I have a spicy subject that I hope riles even those of you who have a strong stomach for controversy and salty language. Let me begin by saying, that I again do not propose to have all of the answers to the inner workings of the universe and would not expect of any of you to argue that I am some sort of genius on my behalf, although the thought is well received. I am going to maintain my staunch stance on religion and the notion that it poisons the well of society to a point that exposes even the most reasonable individual as a 'god fearing' cretan that acts purely out of self preservation. 

I want to start my article, which will continue into future segments on religion and the supernatural should cooler minds prevail when the dust settles. So let's dive into it shall we; Do we need God to exist to make our existence significant? I think most of the individuals that attend church on a daily basis would agree with that notion whether it's internally or vocalized. Why do I say this? Mainly because many of the weekly churchgoers* these days and years before like to think themselves as the highest form of intelligence bar none and thus are worthy of the term 'god's greatest creation.' Now these are the same individuals who will argue that the birth of a child is a 'miracle of life' thus drawing a line that separates the sacred from the rest of the world's inhabitants. How is childbirth a miracle? If we were the only sentient being that could reproduce at will then perhaps I might argue on the side of the 'pro lifers' that have to turn every cause into a bumper sticker. However, we know that this is not the case, in fact animals were producing millions of years before humans even existed and managed to survive without the means of any sort of 'lifelines' that support our own existence. I would say that the fact that evolution is a reality that any idiot with half a brain that paid attention to 6th grade biology could figure out, I would say that the ability of dinosaurs and ocean dwelling creatures to adapt and survive for millions of years qualifies as more of a 'miracle' than say,  a species who consciously reproduces in the hopes of having their own 'mini-them'. Plus if life is so sacred than why do we relegate the word 'sacred' to only human life? The same people that will argue for the sanctity of a human embryo are the same individuals that ingest young calves by the quarter pound patty and subsequently argue over the evils of experimenting on unborn fetuses. "Two different things!"you say as you spit out chunks of processed meat across the table? Are they really? I call bullshit on that two faced view of 'sacred life'. 

Do you know why humans take precedence over other creatures? It's for the simple fact that humans are the only creatures that can talk and present a personality through language. Human beings view animals as menial creatures that eat and overproduce and thus need to be tapered back, this is a common argument used to describe the need to hunt deer. Hmm an overpopulated, over eating species that serve no purpose other than it's own self preservation? That sounds an awful lot like umm... humans? Do animals have the potential to destroy ecosystems and become over populated? Yes of course they do, were you not paying attention in 6th grade biology again?! But let me say this: no other animal outside the human race has ever consciously made another creatures life miserable in the hopes of some sort of personal gain. We are an inherently destructive race that knowingly feels the need to piss our name in every inch of grass we see and plaster concrete over any low lying swamp land that could be better utilized as a 'housing complex' for minorities. And all in the name of religion and 'progress'. I'd like to pinpoint the exact moment when progress stopped being about helping others and more about a nice car and a paycheck. I guess those guys in the flat earth society who wrote the bible forgot to do a little bit surveying before they decided to build a religion out of the human misery around them. 

So in closing, Do we need God to exist for us to feel important? For the puritan that needs that reassurance whenever they look in the mirror before they go out into the world, I'd say the answer is indisputably yes. But for those of you who have no need of fairy tale mythology to explain why your neighbor is fucking your wife beyond the fact that she's a whore, than good on you for not following the rest of your species of the cliffs of delusion. 

*Let me clarify that by churchgoer I mean those that make the conscious effort to go to church every week. Not like those once a year fucks that hog the pews on Christmas Eve.