After the Election

I’ve been thinking a lot about politics lately, what with the election being this week and all, and even though I’m not sure I can say anything eloquent, I have to express a few things about it before I start screaming them at random people on the street. 

First of all, what on earth happened to common decency? I’m not saying that Republicans and Democrats have to make nice with each other all the time (although Congress would function much better if you guys could get on that - just saying), I’m talking about not being a horrible human being. I spend far too much of my time on Twitter, and there are countless tweets saying “it’s called the White House for a reason.” If you’re not racist, your instinct might be to say “yeah - because it’s white” but no, these people are getting at the fact that “OH MY GOODNESS WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT AND THAT’S WRONG!” Seriously? You dislike Barack Obama, and the only reason you can think of is the color of his skin? Pick a policy, pick an action, pick a decision, pick The Affordable Care Act, but don’t pick race. It’s 2012, we should have gotten beyond race by now, and yet we have people on the Internet calling the President of the United States a “monkey” and a “nigger” and calling for his assassination.

And don’t think it doesn’t go both ways, because it does. It doesn’t matter how you feel about Mitt Romney, you should not be on Twitter asking for people to shoot him. That’s completely ridiculous - if everyone shot people because they don’t agree with them, there would be no one left (aside from the fact that murder is usually considered at least somewhat morally objectionable). Also, is it fair to make fun of people for insisting that Christians in the United States are being persecuted (which is pretty laughable) and then turn around and refer to Mitt Romney’s “magic underwear” and ridicule him for being Mormon? Haven’t we learned yet that just because it’s not exactly like us doesn’t mean it’s wrong, crazy, and foolish? 

All of that being said, we should absolutely mock politicians for staying stupid things. Luke McKinney of Cracked.com has already done this better than I ever could, so let me refer you to his article entitled “The 4 Craziest Scientific Theories Posed by U.S. Politicians”. The point is, we can’t take these people too seriously, even though we need to respect them as human beings. On a less ridiculous note, the country is not going to fall into a giant dumpster of sadness and despair because Obama was elected. It wouldn’t have if Romney had been elected either, and yet all we heard about the entire election was how it would be the end of America as we know it if [insert opposing candidate here] won. We need to remember that politicians are not NEARLY as important as they like to believe.

I guess what I’m saying is, who gets elected president or senator or mayor is not all that important to our day-to-day lives, and yet we all (myself included, I’m afraid) act like if our favorite candidate doesn’t get elected, the world as we know it will come to an end. Do we have that little faith in American politics? We’re a democracy. Even if we did manage to elect a crazy person who wanted to become a communist dictator, there are checks and balances in place to keep that from happening. 

The last thing we should all remember is that this is how democracy works. Immediately after the election was called in Obama’s favor, Donald Trump lost his brains on Twitter and started spewing about how this was a travesty, that everyone should storm Washington D.C. and start a revolution, and that this is not democracy. Actually, this is exactly what democracy looks like. Not everyone can get what they want, but in the end we have to trust that the people running our country are doing a much better job than we could do, and that either of those is much better than no government, and then we should shut up and get back to our own lives. 

Hello, Friends

I've been thinking about the word "friend" for awhile now. I'm not sure that that means I have anything meaningful or useful to say about it, but I won't let that stop me from trying. 

The thing is, Facebook insists on calling everyone we know a "friend." I also work with two guys who call everyone who walks in the door "friend." I get what they're trying to do, and I'm not mocking it. In fact, it's kind of cool that they can pull it off, but it's not true. People you see on a daily basis are not necessarily your friends. The people you hung out with in high school because it was them or no one - they aren't your friends either. The people you work with are not your friends. Even your family isn't automatically on the friends list. That's because a friend does more than just exist. 

A friend is someone who always answers your texts. A friend doesn't need to think about whether or not they want to hang out - either they're free or they aren't. Friends don't count up how much money or gas or food they owe each other, because friends don't keep score. A friend absolutely WILL talk about you when you aren't around, because they love you, they miss you, they wish you were there, they need to stick up for you, or because you're so hilarious they have to share the funny things you do and say. Sometimes, friends fight, but it's usually over stupid, unimportant things, and friends always apologize instead of ignoring the bad feelings. Friends make an effort - to see each other, to talk to each other, to know each other... to stay friends. A friend isn't just there for the good times, although they always make good times better. Friends are the people you can call in the middle of the night and say "I need to talk," "I messed up," "I need your help" and know they'll somehow make it all better. 

A friend is a person who hears what you mean, not what you say. A friend is someone you have ridiculous inside jokes with, someone who can make you laugh with one phrase or sentence from your shared past. Friends will let you rant, knowing you're in the wrong but never telling you until you're ready to hear it. A friend is not necessarily someone who thinks exactly the same as you do - in fact, they should be the opposite. A friend should challenge your thoughts and opinions once in a while, because it's important to hear ideas that differ from yours from someone you love and respect. A friend knows your faults but loves you anyway. Sometimes friends keep secrets from each other, not out of malice or spite, but to protect one another. Sometimes friends lie to each other for the same reason. Sometimes friends don't understand each other at all. And everything I just said is why we all need friends beyond the people we stalk on Facebook, the people we work with, or the people we happen to be related to.

Four Months in a Nutshell

I never said I was going to update this blog consistently and frequently, did I? Because if I did, I have to apologize for telling a gigantic lie. The truth is, I find a million other things to do besides write blog posts, but every once in a while I feel the need to put things out there in the world just to know that someone somewhere might read them. So what is it that's been keeping me busy? Well... a few things.

I finished my freshman year of college at the end of April, and I have to say - taking 17 credits and working 20ish hours a week is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I'm glad I was doing it as a 21 year old who had some experience at being on my own though, because as far as I'm concerned one of the cruelest things this society does to kids is say "okay, you're 18? You graduated from high school, right? Then it's time for college. Everyone has to go to college. No, don't take time off, you won't go back if you take time off. And all your friends are going now." So we send these kids who may not know how to boil water or do their own laundry out into the world, and we tell them to be adults. Then we turn around and tell them they aren't adults and they don't get any respect until some mythical date in the future when they magically grow up. 

Now I'm not the source of all knowledge by any means, but I can walk you through this one. Every child isn't born after the exact same number of days in the womb. Children don't learn to sit up or crawl or walk or talk at exactly the same time. Kids don't learn to read or write or do math or recite the alphabet at exactly the same time. Why do we expect that to change when they reach 18? It wasn't exactly a... traditional... method of taking time off, but I'm glad I had a few years between finishing high school and really starting college. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to do it.

Another thing that's been keeping me busy is work. I love my job, I hate my job, and I simply tolerate my job, but after almost two years I'm leaving my job. My reasons are personal, professional, and emotional, and all I can say is that I'm excited to try something new. :) Maybe this is just me trying to rationalize, but when you're only 21, two years is essentially 10% of your life. That seems like long enough to work at the same job to me. 

If you've spent any time around me in the last month or two, there's a good chance I've mentioned my family reunion that's coming up next week. That's probably because Danella (my cousin and friend literally since I was born) and I put ourselves in charge of planning it. Did I mention great-great-grandpa J.D. had 13 grandchildren and all his descendants are invited? Luckily, people with a lot more experience and know-how have helped us with planning this gathering that's creeping toward 200 people strong, but it hasn't been easy! Now that the planning is pretty well done though, we're excited to hang out at a summer camp on Lake Sakakawea and eat for 3 days. Five years hardly seems like enough time to plan the next one.... :P

I do have fun though - lots of fun. If you want to have some fun too, here are some things you should check out:

Mythbusters is the greatest TV show in the world. It has science, history, comedy, tons of positive energy, and oh yeah - explosions. And you can buy all the seasons on iTunes. There are also quite a few episodes on Netflix Instant Watch, which means you really have no excuse to still be talking about bulls in china shops causing destruction, or to be wondering what happens if you put square wheels on a pickup. Also, explosions.

Cracked.com is not for those with delicate sensibilities. That being said, if you can overlook some of the crasser word choices, it's hilarious and oddly educational in its own way. Every day brings new articles by smart, funny writers who always have something interesting to point out about our world. Not necessarily positive things, mind you. 

John Dies at the End by David Wong (Cracked.com senior editor) is a completely ridiculous book. Reading it is what I imagine dropping acid would be like. If that appeals to you.... I'm not sure why you haven't bought this book yet. 

The Piano Guys Youtube channel is... I'm out of adjectives. It's astounding? Yes. Displays INCREDIBLE talent? Yes. Involves people who are extremely passionate about their music? Yes. Is something you should check out? Yes. 

My bed is also sounding pretty excellent right about now. How's yours?

Spring is in the Air!

It was 70 degrees Fahrenheit here today. In fact, as I'm writing this at almost 10 PM I still have my window wide open, and it feels fantastic. No one who lives where there are not four distinct seasons can possibly understand the wonderful feeling we get here in North Dakota when the snow melts and the sun begins to shine long and hard enough to let some real warmth build up on our skin. 

Maybe it was the sun that made this day feel not as overwhelming as nearly every other day since this semester started. I certainly wouldn't presume to say that it felt better because I finally know what I'm doing. Yes, I wrote two short papers for Faith & Justice in a little over an hour last night and felt fairly confident about them. Yes, I actually did the required reading AND the suggested reading for Creative Writing last night. Yes, I even read for Linguistics for the first time all semester (come on, the readings tend to be 15-30 pages long and are filled with words like langue and parole and recontextualization and numerous references to Noam Chomsky). And I almost think I am grasping the concept of deconstruction in Intro to the Profession of English. 

But mostly, it's the weather.

Still Tryin'

There's a reason I named this blog "Tryin' to Find My Way" and a reason the tagline is "I haven't got it all figured out just yet - ain't gonna pretend like I do." It's not just because that's one of my favorite Lifehouse songs, although that's true. It's because I'm twenty-one years old and I sometimes feel like I'm five. 

I love to color, I love to blow bubbles, and I love to cuddle with my stuffed sheep Marlo, but that's not what I mean. I mean that sometimes I feel like I don't know anything and the world is just a huge, scary place. Seriously, am I the only one who goes to class and doesn't know what the professor is talking about? Does anyone else listen to their classmates and wonder what they are talking about? Surely I can't be the only person who just wants to crawl into bed, pull the covers over my head, and not come out.