Quick Thought July 4, 2009

I must say it, Happy Independence Day America! While I’ve never taken it for granted, I’m thankful I was born to freedom. For everyone in this world who is told what to do, say, and think. To those who live in fear & oppression – Your day of freedom will come and you will not be alone, now or then.

Most here (at least in Kansas) don’t think like I do so let me get this out:

Every time I see fireworks I hear our anthem “Star Spangled Banner” in my head. My eye’s literally swell with tears because for most of those around me, this is a day of fun carnivals, cheap beer, & blowing stuff up. That’s all well & good but I wonder if I’m the only one who plays in her mind how we got this day.

I swallow back tears as I think of the brave men, no matter how immoral they were, that committed treason against their country & put everything on the line, lives of their family & themselves. Come on, credit where credit is due: The British Empire kicked some major ass! The itty-bitty island that took over most of the known world! But this was something the world had never seen before, 13 seperate colonies joining together and *actually* standing  up to THE British Empire.

We all know what happened and I have to say how lucky we are that we’ve made it this far. We celebrate today without  truly remembering what this day is about. We celebrate blindly thinking of ourselves. But not of those in the world who do not have this luxury. We celebrate with food, song, and dance. Without thought of those starving and without food, or those who face brutal punishment for trying to sing and dance.

I have always thought these things, everyday. Though today, July Fourth, Independence Day, makes my bones ring with the realisation of how amazingly lucky I am to have this gift. Please, when you watch the fireworks tonight, think of those who are fighting for what was handed to us.

I humbly offer my sincere & heart-felt thank you to everyone who has given and kept this day ours. To all those who have fought the good fights, of which there were/are a fair few, thank you. To those who have seen the horrors that mankind can sow so that we don’t have to, thank you. To those who have given their limbs, thank you. To those that have given their minds, thank you. To those who have given their lives, I love you. And a special thank you to one whom I know personally. To the newly promoted Sergeant Lambert of the Marine’s, thank you. Thank you all for protecting us from the monstrousities of war. Thank you for letting half the population celebrate this day without any knowledge of what it could be like. Thank you.

Be safe tonight while you celebrate this wonderful day. Don’t forget those who fought for it and those who are fighting still.

~Athena~

Jumbled thoughts & blog July 2, 2009

Let me start by apologizing for my scattered thoughts – This isn’t a thought out blog, it’s written as it’s thought.

In my life time such monstrosities have occurred: Genocides in Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Yugoslavia, Sudan, Chad, Cuba, Syria, Zimbabwe, China, North Korea, Rwanda, Tibet, Cambodia… Those are most of the mass murders in my span of 25 years on this earth. In the 20th century, 100 years, over 2 TRILLION (trillion!) people have been murdered in genocide’s…

It boggles my mind how we as a people can do such despicable things to each other. At what point while we all grow do we learn that these things ‘just happen’? When are we taught to hate? When are we taught to condemn an entire culture? So when were we taught to divide ourselves? This is not something that happens on it’s own. This is the experiences & ideals of our elders.

My grandfather hated the Japanese because he’s brother was killed during WWII – he passed this to my mother. My mother was a young girl when Martin Luther King Jr. declared that he “had a dream”. She told me she couldn’t understand how anyone could hate another because their skin was black. She decided that day that she was going to hate anyone with red hair.(Let me tell you how happy she was when I dyed my hair red.) Whole point to that is this – We are taught to think like this.

(I don’t agree with the term ‘race’ or ‘racism’ when it’s so obvious we are all the same race. Of the millions of species & subspecies on this planet, we all fall into one category. We are *all* Homo Sapiens, we cannot deny this. There are no branches from this, there are no splits. There is no Indian race, Latin race, White race – there is only the Human Race.)

While many still think like that, I believe our generation is the start of a new world. The world isn’t as big as it was 40 years ago. Our technology has shattered past barriers between the people of this world. At a moments notice we can be talking to someone on the other side of the world. A world of knowledge is literally at our fingertips. Most of us have realised that we are all just people. Tonight I found a wonderful Tweet from @damienx01, “Never in my life did i think i would be defending the Iranian people. I thought all Iranians were like Admindjad. These past weeks i learned”. This is the change in thinking we need. Not everyone will like this but I’m saying it anyways =P Our leaders don’t always represent the people they are supposed to be leading! I’d spit if anyone thought President Bush represented my views. He portrayed all Americans as the stereotypical Texan. (I know many Texans and he didn’t represent them very well either.)

Our generation should have it’s say on how this planet works together. No longer should our elders decide our fates. They shape our minds & thoughts, as we do with our children, but we cannot decide for them nor them for us.

Think I’m done ranting about this for now ^_^ That’s the first time I’ve written in 10 years or more and damn, it felt good. I’m lucky to have the freedom to do so. All of us who do have this freedom should use it more. What’s the point of us having our freedoms if we don’t use it to help those who don’t have it? We all deserve to be free, I hope one day our ‘leaders’ will stop their stupid bickering and let freedom ring.

From one human to another, I love you all.

Athena