With all the ridiculous controversy going on lately with the red Starbucks cups and everything else under the sun pretty much this whole year, I thought I'd try and bring a little perspective to light. People are all mad because Starbucks Holiday cups are plain red this year instead of having some snowflake or reindeer design or something, and apparently some "Christians" are trying to make it a big deal because it's not festive enough, and therefore is waging a war on Christmas. All I'll say about that is that I really don't care. I don't think most sane people do because it is so trivial and stupid. I felt the same when Cecil the Lion was killed by some dentist. Was it illegal and wrong? Yes. Was it the end of the world like people were making it out to be? Absolutely not. One lion's life is not worthy of soliciting hundreds of death threats and going viral. It's the same with that dress that may have been gold or may have been blue, or the Vanity Fair magazine cover with Bruce/ Caitlyn Jenner on it. Why do things like these go viral and get people all worked up when there are legitimate problems all over the world that need our attention so desperately? I think people want something to get mad about, but the big issues that really matter are too hard for them to think about, so they target more trivial things to create controversy around. If people could use all that trolling energy for things that could actually make a difference, we could get a lot accomplished.
Here are just a few things I think deserve a little more passion from people, in no particular order:
1. The Presidential Campaign. We are about to choose the next person who runs our country, and I have seen very little about who is running (other than people making fun of Donald Trump) or what they stand for. I think we, as a nation, need to pay more attention to who is running in the world of politics, what their opinions are, and what they want to do while in office. If we took the time to educate ourselves and spread the word on a larger scale and spend less time ranting about cups, we might be able to do more good.
2. Women's rights. I am a feminist in the conventional sense. I don't dye my armpit hair, burn my bras, boycott any toy that isn't gender neutral, or try to claim in any way that women are better than men. Men and women are not the same, and will never be, and aren't intended to be, but they are absolutely equal. Both should get the same respect from people and from the culture as a whole. I believe women and men should receive equal pay for equal work and not have to face discrimination in the work place, or for choosing to be stay at home moms. I especially am passionate about how women are overly sexualized in the media. When a scantily clad woman is used to sell everything from cars to hamburgers, there is a problem. The industry knows that sex sells, and that needs to stop. Women need to be valued for more than just their bodies and seen as more than objects for sexual gratification. We need more strong female role models in tv shows and movies, who aren't just there for the sex appeal and play no real part in the plot. We need to stop over photo shopping every image to unrealistic proportions and celebrate what real women look like naturally. Make up is fine, being in shape is fine, just stop making these models look like totally different people. one in five women experience sexual assault by the time they leave college, and the overall culture that views women as objects contributes to that. We need to fight against eating disorders, rape, domestic violence, sexism in the work place, and the wage gap between men and women. I could rant about this all day, but I'll move on.
3. Abortion. I'll try not to dwell on this one too long, because I don't want to start a riot, but I believe abortion is murder, and shouldn't be so easily accessible. I won't say illegal, because I know some situations, mainly rape and cases where the life of the mother or child is in jeopardy, are more grey area, but if you get an abortion just because you don't think you could handle pregnancy or parenthood, you don't want to deal with it, you don't want to get fat, etc...I can't stand behind that. A baby in the womb is it's own individual person with a heartbeat and unique dna, that can feel pain. The whole "my body, my choice" argument isn't strong enough to make that acceptable. If you don't want to be a parent yet, put the child up for adoption, because there are a lot of people who would love that baby, or better yet, use protection, or wait until you are ready for that responsibility before you even have sex.
4. Equal rights for all people. I believe all people are loved by God, and all people should respect each other and be kind to one another. Whether you are male, female, LGBT, straight, black, white, rich, or poor, we should all have certain rights and protections, and in general treat each other like fellow human beings.
5. Poverty. I won't say I'm totally on board with taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor, but I do think it'e ridiculous that some people, like actors, models, athletes, and politicians, make way more money than is necessary for any one person to have. If you make millions or billions of dollars a year and you have multiple million dollar mansions, that is unnecessary. I know so many people who struggle to put food on the table or buy diapers for their babies, and I know there are many more without homes and basic necessities. Some of it, I'm sure is for lack of effort, and I don't think people should be rewarded for laziness and live off government assistance if they are capable of doing more to better their situation. But some people I know work really hard and have an education and still struggle. I just have a hard time understanding why people who do little to make a difference except to entertain people make so much money that they really don't need. They could get by on much less, and many people could get by on what they make in a day for a whole year or more. I can't think of a perfect solution for this, because most of that money comes from merchandise, etc, that we ourselves buy, and people who do work hard to honestly earn a living and do well for themselves and use their money wisely shouldn't be punished, but it's something we need to work on.
6. People who make a difference in the lives of others. Let's make teachers and nurses and soldiers and the every day working hero go viral. Let's give people attention for molding young minds and savings lives and raising our future leaders. If anybody deserves the limelight, it's people like these who help others, instead of tearing them down.
7. War. If there was any way I could stop any and all wars in the world and help the Kings and Queens and Presidents and Diplomats all sit down together and calmly resolve their issues over cheesecake (as a friend in high school put it so well), I would. I think as a race we should be more advance after thousands of years of experience to figure out a way to stop killing millions of people, and sending our own to death, over things that could be resolved by a few, without bloodshed. Unfortunately, there are still crazy people in the world, so it doesn't look like that's likely to happen any time soon. Still, we can work together to encourage less bloodshed where we can.
8. Education. Our education system could use some changes, on both the primary and secondary levels. First off, we need to make sure our schools have enough funding to be able to properly teach. Second, we need to make a good education more affordable for everybody. Third, we need to use some more progressive methods to teach, other than just testing. Testing can be useful, but isn't always the best measure of every person's knowledge and understanding. Fourth, we need to offer more classes that apply to the real life world. I think it's important to learn how to do things like cook and fix cars, as well as learning basic home maintenance, budgeting, paying taxes, registering your car, and other things nobody bothers to tell you about when you're a teenager, but then all of a sudden when you're out on your own, you're expected to know how to function as an adult and take care of these things. Also, I don't know if it's the education system, or social media and texting, or what, but people's grammar has just gotten unbearable in recent years. I mean, basic punctuation, people! At least use periods!
9. Health- Our nation, myself included, has been getting heavier and more unhealthy by the year. While I don't care how big people are, I do care if they are healthy, and I think we need to make healthy foods more accessible than junk food, and educate people on ways to work exercise into their daily lives and make healthy choices. Along with the idea of health, I think we need to do more to educate new parents how to keep their babies healthy and safe. Hospitals do a good job at educating about sids, now, but I think more could be done to help people be aware of basic first aid, what to do when your child is sick, what is ok to feed them, etc.
10. Our Medical System- Healthcare reform is definitely something we need to work on. I think Obamacare had the right idea in some ways, but didn't fix the whole problem. People need to have accessible and affordable healthcare so that they don't go bankrupt from medical bills from a medical condition, or even from just having a baby.
Anyway, sorry about the ranting and all the opinions. These aren't all the things I care about, by any means, but my overall point is, if you're going to let yourself get worked up about something, at least be productive with your angry energy. There's no point in getting mad about a red cup or a dead lion when you could be getting mad about something that could actually improve the lives of fellow human beings. With all the drama in my own life lately, I think I need a little more perspective about things that actually matter, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment