I was initially unsure if there'd even be a post this week, what with me being lazy and leaving some rather large assignments until the last minute, but I recently suffered from an emotion, so there's a post here. It goes up early because one should make hay while the sun shines.
There are so many problems with the world, on every level. Take the well-informed individual; this person will suffer personal problems, that's a given. Everyone has them. Then, there's immediate demands on his/her time, like work or study or other commitments that take up a certain amount of mental energy. Then there's larger problems, like the overall state of his or her locality, city, country, etc. It's impossible to be well-informed and not have some gripe about the way society is run. Then there's global issues. And the universal issues like "what the hell is the deal with the universe?" If you are anywhere near sensitive as well as being well-informed, this does weigh on your mind. In the interest of my own mental health, here's a breakdown of my layer-cake of gripes. Some details left joyously non-specific to make me seem less like a whiny bitch.
I somehow manage to possess two of the most at-odds personality quirks in the universe; I automatically assume everybody I know has a dim view of me, only putting up with me rather than legitimately enjoying my company AND it bothers me if I'm not a main source of the happiness of the people I know and care about. So, yeah, needless to say, it can be a tad confusing. I have no idea why this is bothering me now because, at present, my life is going pretty good, but for some reason it is. I suppose all I can hope for is that the almost constant stream of support I get from my large group of very good friends will somehow convince me I'm an alright guy. Fingers crossed.
This semester of university will not defeat me, no sir. I may be doing some units that are, frankly, a terrible fit for me (Sports Journalism? What the hell was I thinking? Admittedly the actual assignments don't seem so bad, I enjoyed covering the Football West State League Final but I haven't gotten my mark back yet so who knows how this is gonna go) and most of them demand lots of small assignments, which is historically my undoing, what with my overwhelming laziness and lack of organisation, but I will destroy it. I'm smarter than this, just you watch. I'm gonna bust out those assignments in my most awesome, "I don't need to study because I've been pretentious and culturally aware enough to wander through a Communications degree with a minimum of effort since as long as I can remember and milking natural talents is friggin' boss" way. Watch this space.
Australian politics, at this stage in time, could pretty accurately be described as the world's most banal shitstorm. There are some things going on tat should probably get people riled up in a pretty serious way:
1) The Labor Party playing fast and loose with their own leadership is a joke. As if everybody with a pulse didn't already know that they're just pawns for union big-boys anyway, the idea of ousting a leader for one much more malleable to the whims of the big players behind the scenes without the input of the people is just... disrespectful? Our first batch of Gillard was one we (as a nation) didn't vote for, and we've only ourselves to blame for the second. If Rudd gets re-inserted into the leadership before the next election rolls around, there's the distinct possibility Labor will lose every last ounce of credibility they've ever had.
2) When Tony Abbott has a higher approval rating than whatever opposition he's up against, you know we're fucked. Let me make this totally clear: Tony Abbott is less preferable than basically anyone short of Josef Mengele. This is a man who's refutation of anthropic climate change was "It was hotter in the time of Jesus of Nazareth." Wait, what? Based on what, exactly? Abbott is a credulous, ill-informed theocratic numbskull who would be more at home in the red states of America than he is in the (somewhat) moderate nation of Australia.
3) Speaking of "moderate," how is gay marriage still a big issue? I thought we'd fucking covered this. The research does exist, gays won, they aren't bad people.
4) That "Fuck Off We're Full" isn't just a racist catch-cry and that it honestly represents what both major parties effectively feel about immigration blows my mind. We aren't full, we're underpopulated, do some reading.
5) There's no liberal left wing option that isn't currently spitting in the ocean or turning into a party I really don't like. I'm looking at you, Greens.
These are issues worth considering. Economically, I know people all across the board and I can generally respect their opinions, but be honest, do you know any legitimate conservatives? Do you know anyone who, unapologetically, wants to return to a society modelled after the 1950's with all our morality and most of our laws drawn from The Bible? And not the Christian Bible, but the Bible that only exists in the minds of xenophobic white Americans? I didn't think so. So why, pray tell, do the two major parties in this country feel the need to pander to this mindset? It boggles my fucking mind. Unfortunately, no one is really angry about just how retarded our government is, and will inevitably be, because compulsory voting prevents us from really going off the deep-end like the USA. So we're all kinda tolerating our "OK-but-really-not-great" system because it's too hard to change but it's unlikely to get worse. What awesome fun that is.
Oh man, American politics, you make me smile. Republican candidates, you're the comedy superteam of the century, it's brilliant. Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Perry, Mr. Santorum.... thank you. You've made Stephen Colbert pretty much obsolete, because between you guys and Glenn Beck's steadily decaying mental state, it's impossible to lampoon right-wing ideology any more. It worries me that you may actually believe those things you say, but I'm almost certain Obama will win so that dulls that. Seriously though, the nation is in incredible debt and you guys want to cut taxes, continue to fund an unwinnable war of ideology for a resource that is destroying the planet (except you don't believe it is) all the while going against centuries of scientific research and discovery in your claim that the Earth is 6,000-10,000 years old? This shit is gonna be hilarious, I can't wait for acts two and three. Oh, and the rest: Ron Paul; the gold standard? Really? It's only an outdated and archaic (almost like you) system that'll probably screw over the world economy, but hey, at least it's shiny, right? Jon Huntsman, Jr.; At least Obama likes you, right? Being the Democrat's Republican must be weird. Tim Pawlenty; Awwww, you seemed nice. Probably the guy I hated the least. Shame that me being ambivalent to your existence means you probably have none of the qualities the Tea Party is looking for. Brevity aside, keep your eyes peeled, this may be the last US President we ever see. Not kidding.
Standard tripe about people's beliefs being different from mine and casting doubt on the nature of the universe as a whole. You know, I've stopped worrying about what it is you say you believe and more about what you actually say. This isn't directed at anyone in particular but more and more I find that some people who tout themselves as "atheists," "skeptics" or "liberals" actually hold some pretty disrespectful or nonsensical beliefs, while some people who say they're religious, or more conservative, or spiritual or whatever are really much more on my side. This isn't a case of me getting terms confused, I'm very, VERY well versed on what it means to be atheist, liberal, skeptical, left wing, naturalist, whatever. This is a case of people latching onto terms that they think applies to them, or that they heard somewhere, and just going with it, rather than actually stopping and thinking. I mean, you can't call yourself a liberal and then say that you think gay people are immoral, wrong and shouldn't be allowed to be gay. You're allowed to think that, but you're definitely not a liberal. By that same token, you're not a conservative if you believe the government has no place telling people what they can and cannot do in their private, personal lives as long as they don't hurt anyone else. You've gotten your terms mixed up. People conflate right-wing and conservative all the time because it's a very common pairing, ditto left-wing and liberal, but the fact of the matter is, you can be anywhere on either axis, they're your beliefs. You don't have to give them a name to legitimise them, although you should probably be prepared to defend them if they come up.
Wow, that felt great to get all out, it's like vomiting after too much booze to avoid a hangover. Except in this case, the vomiting is voicing my opinions, the booze is social concerns and the hangover is probably something like burnout or depression. Aaaaah strained metaphors, you are the secret ingredient to my crappy writing.
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