DADT

     I don't get why it is such a bad thing for people to be able to openly admit their sexual orientation....if this is a free country, then why do people have to zip their lips just because they are in the military???  Isn't that a contradiction in terms?  
     I don't get the whole DADT thing at all.  I mean, if someone is willing to fight for our country and defend our freedoms-one being that we are free to be gay, straight, lesbian, or whatever-then, why can't they be honest about who they really are?  Shouldn't we be able to respect them anyway.  I really do not get why in the military, these heroic men and women are not allowed to discuss their preference.  That is like saying, "Hey-you join the military and are not allowed to talk about religion or your family or your political views."  I think it is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of, and of course the crazy 80something year old man McCain is coming to the rescue of the repeal.  Why does he care?  It's not like men and women are going to be running around with rainbow fatigues yelling that they are gay and waving rainbow colored flags around instead of the US flag.  I mean, come on....
     This whole thing really pisses me off and makes me feel, yet again, like I live in a country with a bunch of closed minded cowards who will never really be progressive to change-at least when it comes to politics.  It is 2010 people....who the hell cares?!  Does it really bother people that much that someone who has the balls to go and fight for our rights is gay?  Why does it even matter and as far as I am concerned, it is none of our business and is irrelevant?  Why is this even something that is up for debate?  First, the government bans gay marriage and tries to define marriage and now they are trying to reSUPERban servicemen and women from being able to be honest about who they are?  Isn't it just a characteristic or quality-like eye color or religious preference.  Sometimes, I just want to take my daughter and move to Europe so that she doesn't have to witness such hate and mistrust and debate over stupidity.  I don't because I am not foolish enough to believe that it is THAT different anywhere else.  I would rather her grow up in an overly open environment where people aren't encouraged to lie blatantly about who they are.  We promote equality and say this is the land of dreams and truth?  Yeah-fucking-right.  This place is so backwards.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my country and I believe in the US, but something I have lost hope in is the "American Dream."  Sorry folks-that is a myth and what is left of it it is dying by the second.  

Media Fueled Frenzy

Ok, so as I already highlighted the influence that media has on the graphic images that we are exposed to as a culture, I am now going to discuss a story that has been pissing me the &%$# off but is directly related to the media spectacle.

     Rev. Terry Jones is an ass.  I get his point that he has the right to free speech and all, as we all do, but he needs to get a grip.  How can anyone, especially a "holy" man, justify the burning of ANY religious document?!  I think that is hypocrisy at it's best.  I have heard this over and over while hearing this story, and dammit George Stephanopoulos (oh, how I love his politics), you were right when you said it this morning...JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO IT DOES NOT MAKE IT RIGHT.  Does he not realize it is a big damn deal when the General of the Army of the United States of America, who is in Afghanistan with our troops that are defending our freedoms right now, asks and nearly pleads in warning that he should not burn the Koran because it would put not only our troops overseas, but all of our country at risk for mass chaos and rebellion with the Islamic community and the international community as a whole?!?!?!  To top it off, he says that if any backlashes were to occur, that he wouldn't take responsibility?  What an idiot!!  I would normally not comment on things of this nature only because I don't like to sound like a political whiner, but I had to voice my opposition of his planned actions, or should I say his now "suspended" actions.  Even the President asked him not to go through with this....why would ANYONE feel the need to evoke this kind of anger and frustration only to get some attention?  As I am sure that he too has supporters, he needs to think about the implications that his actions could potentially have on everyone else.  If he wants to burn one in the privacy of his own home or church or whatever, that is fine....let him do it.  He has that right, as he has made abundantly clear to the entire world.  He does not have to make a huge internationally public spectacle over it, does he?  Did someone drop him on his head when he was little?  Maybe his parents didn't hold him enough....who knows, but all I do know is that I think he is a pompous, stupid, arrogant, self centered a-hole who is selfishly trying to make a point that most people just want to see go away.

     Why do people feel the need to breed hate?  I thought the purpose of most religions was to bring people together in unity, understanding, and peace, not to reek havoc on the whole country on one of the most sensitive days of the year to represent our resentment towards what happened on Sept 11th nearly a decade ago.  I am sure that if you asked a number of the victims' families that have suffered unimaginably immense amounts of pain, if they support his skewed vision of justice, they would plead with him not to go through with this.....it isn't going to bring any of the people who died that day back and it isn't going to bring any of the soldiers who have lost their lives since that day back either.  It is only going to fuel a fire that doesn't need any fuel and breed hate in a world that certainly doesn't need anymore hate.

     His worship center is called the Dove Outreach Center and has fifty members...really??  THIS guy stopped the world in its tracks and gave him this much attention?  I mean, he is getting what he wanted-look how pissed I am, and I am hard to get stirred up.  Although he has suspended his super cool plan for now, the fact that he even took it to this level is absurd.  He says he cited his belief that "the Koran is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims."  I wonder if he even knows what a hypocrite is?  I guess him choosing Sept 11th as the day to turn the international community upside down is a mere coincidence....I mean, what is to be expected from someone who says the person he respects most in the world is George Bush?  Oops....did I say that out loud?  Yes, I know....I am a whimpering liberal.  Who knew?