(posted at Aug 25, 2009)
Back when I was a Christian, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins published an epic, contrived tail about mankind’s last days on Earth. The Left Behind series pitted several ordinary people against the Antichrist and his vast, fascist regime. To sum up all 16 books, the son of god returns after a series of devastating events to reclaim his “faithful” and institute an era of total peace. (Until, of course, that era ends and the real, final end commences.)
For a long time I used to believe this bullshit. But that’s beside the point. We’re all waiting for the Apocalypse.
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My Opinion on Gun Control: Less opinions. More ammunition. (posted at Aug 16, 2009)
It’s a shame that guns have such a bad reputation. True, they are among the instruments of choice for both murder and suicide. In some places, gun violence is a daily occurrence. In others, it’s a way of life. To sum up all of the cons guns pose, a firearm in the wrong hands—regardless of the circumstances—can lead to unwarranted death. Therefore, many people hate them outright. They don’t like the thought of people using, owning or keeping them in their homes “just in case.” In summary, the entire issue is both highly political and emotional because of these and other reasons.
But that shouldn’t be a bad thing. There are pros as well. We all simply need to weigh them.
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Why the Great Recession is My Fault (posted at Aug 12, 2009)
Since last August, we’ve all learned a great deal about “cascading failure,” especially as it applies to Capitalism. Chances are, one of your neighbors is in foreclosure. A vacuum of cash or credit has strong-armed otherwise good people and businesses into bankruptcy. And while bank executives are getting paid billions in bonus—with taxpayer money— 1 in 10 American workers still can’t find work, anywhere; the auto industry alone has shed nearly 100,000 jobs. If there’s one truism we can all take away from this global economic debacle, it’s this:
Greed is not good.
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Why It's So Hard to Be Honest (posted at Aug 10, 2009)
With hands planted authoritatively on his hips and head cocked to one side, Horatio Caine surveys the evidence spread before him—a pose he perfected for CSI Miami. The suspect in question said that he’d been smoking a joint on the rooftop. Except, as Calleigh Duquesne points out, his cloths don’t smell like like marijuana. Furthermore, no lighter or matches were found on his person or along his supposed path up the stairs. This guy was somehow involved in a brutal murder, and the world’s hottest forensic investigator could see right through the perp’s small lie. He indeed was hiding something much bigger. A secret that easily trumped any petty possession charge. “Little lie, big lie,” Ms. Duquesne replies.
While only a smattering of us will ever take part in a drug-related homicide, Calleigh’s quip points out something disturbingly true: white lies usually conceal a much more sinister reality.
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Coping in a Global Recession (posted at Aug 4, 2009)
The economy has slid into a mighty deep hole. Credit creeps. The numbers of jobless americans is sobering (to say the least). All in all, it’s been a shitty year. And it keeps on getting worse for the average American while Big Business figures out how to right itself. Luckier people simply have to cut back on non-necessities, like consumer therapy and lavish homes. Others are faced with an even more depressing question: “Do I want a career, or do I want to survive?” Read the rest of this entry »
(posted at Aug 2, 2009)
We were walking along K Street when my friends started bitching about Washington, DC. Sure, we all ruminate over the things that irritate us about the places we live. Like, “Why does the water taste funny,” or “Is the Metro a death-trap?” In this case, one happened to vent his frustration about dating in the District. Unlike other major cities, DC lacks a clear “scene” outside government and business services. And upon further inspection of those passing by, one suggests, “Washington is like Hollywood for the ugly.”
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(posted at Aug 1, 2009)
Happiness is relative. For some, it’s a destination, an achievement or acquisition. For others, it’s a journey or a state of mind. While we may never agree on a definition of happiness, it doesn’t keep us from chasing after it throughout our [mostly] meaningless existence. The Declaration of Independence even declares it as a basic right worthy of our utmost pursuit. While this “right” is positioned as a uniquely human imperative, mankind is instead a slave to simple, biological compulsion.
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A Critical Review of Religion (posted at Jul 30, 2009)
Life is a collision of beauty and savagery, wonder and horror, hope and despair. Mankind dwells in between these stark contrasts both as the glory of evolution, and as a reminder of its imperfection. And while the world is mostly a continuum of gray, we seek meaning in the ideologies of absolutes. Yet clinging to any ideology—on either side of the spectrum—is to forget how little we know about the universe or ourselves.
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