The Principles

Slavery is wrong because of what happens in slavery. If you could avoid, the abuse, the cruelty, the inhumane ways of it, slavery wouldn’t be wrong. However, sometimes, people don’t see the principles of why something is wrong, not because of what happens in it, but what it is labeled as.

If you owned someone, but you let them do whatever they want, gave them food, shelter, and water for nothing, it would be slavery. While it would not be cruel or harsh, it still would be slavery, which by gentle society is a horrible sin. For owning anything or anyone, is slavery. Regardless of what happens in that slavery.

Nevertheless, people would label that wrong because it is slavery, not because what happens to the person, but for it being slavery. On the other hand, if you had someone pressured, tired, paid barely nothing, and had a massive debt to someone, it would be counted as a legal job, and thank heavens not slavery.

It’s not that this post is advocating slavery or anything of the sort, it’s just that we should know why something is wrong. Furthermore, we can trick ourselves, in saying something is not as bad because we call it different names. Although it may not be by the exact wording, it’s still the same.

The irony is that someone could own someone for three years to pay debt and be treated well, and we would nearly break a blood vessel. However, if you had someone working a contract to pay off a debt, horrible conditions, earning hardly anything, and we wouldn't blink an eye.

We can get so much caught into ideals of labeling, that when something is actually fine or wrong we don’t see it that way because, we aren’t looking at what is happening, but the words we label it. It’s a bit like if you would trust a label telling you the milk was safe to drink, but it was obviously festering and growing a family of a bacteria.

For what it’s worth, it’s not so much of what something is, but what happens in it. Too many times we can get caught in words, or names, that we don’t see the principles of why something is right or wrong. This can be very dangerous, as in the end it’s just useless traditions or hocus pocus.

Just Too Much Culture

Multiculturalism, to a certain extent is recipe for disaster. Multiculturalism, in essence means that people are divided. When people are divided, their can be hostility, and when there are hostility, there can be violence.

The idea of multiculturalism, in an ideal world is where everyone respects each others cultures. We take the best from it, cross fingers, and hope that we don’t take the worst from it.

It’s a great ideal. However, like most good ideas, they don’t always work out. Furthermore, like most things that are different, it causes conflict. Having multiculturalism is supposed to avoid racism from the host people. However, what it doesn’t necessarily avoid is those who come, being so.

Too many times with multiculturalism, you have little bits of a country in the host country. While charming in small amounts. It’s not assimilation. In fact, it’s total failure of assimilation. The problem is that when you make little countries in your backyard, you find that you have just a little bits of the original countries' problems.

Multiculturalism in all intents or purposes, is invitation for people to not assimilate. It basically says, feel free to live as you once lived. However, as we know, certain cultures can be so opposite to one another. While sometimes harmless, these differences can be so large that the result can be explosive.

The main problem with multiculturalism is that, another country will never be like at back at “home”. Sometimes for a very good reason, and other times for other reasons.

It’s great when you can see the good of multiculturalism with things like: food, music, manners, are brought. However, other times we see other things.

Multiculturalism is great, but only now are we really seeing the repercussions of it. Too many times when people aren’t united by one common strand, they turn onto each other. While we cannot change our skin color to a certain extent, we can change our culture.

Multiculturalism cannot really exist, as to a certain degree, all cultures have different ideals. Only teaching of what is acceptable of a culture can exist. If you break the word down, multiculturalism is many cultures. However, only one culture can only really exist, and it must be the host nation’s culture. Everything else, must become second.

Narrow Minded As Ever

The most learned are often the most narrow minded. ~ William Hazlitt

When people see other people with certain viewpoints, they say that a person is narrow minded. However, the irony is in the words, that they say that. Yes, that person may be narrow minded, but really, only as narrow minded as the person saying so.

If you have a horse that is wearing blinkers, its view is limited. If you move the horse either to the left or the right, the horse still has a limited viewpoint. It may be different scenery or viewpoint, but it’s still a limited viewpoint.

In the same way, people are still narrow minded, they only have had a shift in mindset, but they are still narrow minded, if not more so than ever. They have traded one stereotype for another, and where they think they know more, they really only know less.

People have shifted their view, but they have not expanded their view of life. When things don’t fit their views they call names and they still act like how society use to do. The only difference is now that people have the “high” moral ground. And the way that they do it now is so “much” more mature now.

Using words like, bigot, narrow minded, and ignorant when they don’t understand others. It’s rose by a different name. It sounds more understanding, if not loving, but it’s still narrow mind thinking. Nothing has really changed, except that people feel good about themselves. They truly feel that they do right. The irony, probably people in the past felt so to.

Society may look at others, and say they are narrow minded, but what they are missing is that they are looking at a mirror of some sorts. If they were to truly be free of narrow mindedness, they would realize that just because someone has a different viewpoint, does not make them narrow minded. Sometimes you may find it’s just another part of the bigger picture that you can’t see. Something you cannot see at this point of time from your narrow view.

My Father, My Mother

It might seem obvious to most people, but some people would probably ask why having a mother and a father in children lives are important. Over the years, studies and history has shown that having a father and a mother are important, if not vital. It seems strange that some people wouldn’t realize this, and would even be upset by such a statement, but it’s the truth.

As time goes by, there have been many studies mentioning how crucial having a father in children lives are. The benefits include: being more stable, increase in cognitive ability, having healthy sexual lives, prone to have less behavior problems, and the list goes on as do the studies.

While that is just the benefits of having a father, one is not even really going to talk about the benefits of having a mother, because it seems like something you would just say,”duh.” However, a mother, where can you start? How does someone even begin? What can you say about someone who cares and nurtures you, and loves you even when others don’t? Studies don’t need to be proven to show that you need a mother more than you need your right hand.

Nevertheless, people are changing that ideal, that fundamental truth, that a father and mother are best. While change is good and needed sometimes. The problem is that this doesn’t seem to be something that can be changed. Sure kids and children can live without having a mother or father and they will be healthy; still alive and kicking.

However, to have the most optimal up bringing for children, a stable or even a semi competent mother and father is needed research has found. Time and time again, whatever people try and change, or counter research, it still holds. Things may change in society, people may say this or say that, but all their studies and all their ideals just fall away until the truth just remains.

The thing is that it’s not just studies saying this but children that are now adults that were raised by same-sex-couples. Through great courage these children are finally speaking out. Not out of hate, but how they felt, and what they have heard from others like them. An example would be the famous four (B.N. Klein, Robert Oscar Lopez, Dawn Stefanowicz, and Katy Faust) who commented we need fathers and mothers. That they all had a yearning for a mother or father, even though some of them had loving guardians.

Another case is Heather Barwick, who loved her mum, loved her mother’s partner and supported gay marriage all the way into her 20s. However, now that she has grown up, she has had time to reflect that kids miss so much when they don’t have a mother or a father in their lives.

Despite new studies that say otherwise to having a father and a mother is best, there are many new studies, but also previous studies that prove these studies wrong. Furthermore, these new studies that claim children don’t need mothers or fathers are just dodgy to say the least. With questionable sampling methods or funders who want a certain result to show.

Society is built on children. The people of tomorrow are today’s children. Yes, families don’t always work out, but to say that fathers and mothers are not needed is incorrect. Whatever happens in this life we will need fathers and mothers whether they be our real fathers or mothers. Children, even grown adults, need a mother and father figure in their life. To say otherwise, is a conscience decision to make a weaker society for tomorrow.

Children No Longer

Children are a blessing when they are being a blessing. Nevertheless, people talk about wanting their children to be children. This is natural desire that parents want for their child. All the troubles that they faced they don’t want their children to face. So much so, that they don’t realize that despite their best interests to protect them, the best thing they could have done is warn them.

Children are no longer just children. They are children who are facing adult problems. Tragically people don’t seem to realize that. Instead, we treat them as children when they are literally going through the wars. And if we do we get wind of it; the way we combat the issue? Let children be children, and other such inane remarks.

One is all for children being children, and enjoying a childhood. However, the realistic truth is that children are facing things that their parents might never have experienced or even thought in their wildest dreams.

It’s not that this is one of those scaremonger posts, it’s just that these are the facts. This is life. People need to realize that children are not just children. They are children that have a very high chance of seeing terrible things or going through horrible things at a very young age.

While children should have room to be children. Children shouldn’t really be treated like children in this day and age. Looking at the world you can understand why.

Children have a very limited time to have moments as children before they are thrust out and forced to face adult problems. The problem though is that they are not fully equipped to deal with these problems because they are just “children”.

Innocence does not equal naivety or stupidity. Kids can be still kids, but still know about stranger danger, violence, substance abuse, and sexual harassment.

Children are resilient creatures. However, you can only be resilient for so long. The problem with society is that to them they are just children. However, someone being raped, bullied, and being beaten up, is still a person. Whether it be a child. Actions perpetuated by another child is just as good as an adult.

Children cannot be sent out to life without being at least warned what they will face. It’s not fair enough to just say, “make new friends at school”.

Thankfully, not every child, will face all these things, but the chances are very high. It’s not that we want our children to be full blown cynics or dark minded people. However, a little enlightenment before they are thrust in the world is needed. It is much better to expose certain things in your own time than before others do it more roughly.

Real Racism

Racism is horrible. However, being a racist doesn’t seem that bad now a days. Not that being racist is right, but because something or anything near racism is counted as racism in these times.

There’s a joke, that is about false racism. However, it could sound racist, and since it could sound racist, people usually say it’s racist. Anyhow, the joke goes like this. An African American man or a man of African descent says, “I’m black.” The Caucasian man says,”That’s cool”. Then the Caucasian man says, “I’m white.” The man of African descent says, “that’s racist.”

While the joke has several meanings. You can see the point that ideals of racism is just blown out of proportions. Furthermore, the fact that some people due to the color of their skin will been seen more racist,  just seems racist.

Nevertheless, racism, is really more a matter of the heart. That’s how one sees it personally. It’s not what you do, but how you do and why you do. Having that difference separates between racism and not racism.

Sadly, people don’t really view it that way and to a certain extent understandably. People just view that if any offense or reason to cause offense when talking about races, instantly is racist. Regardless, if the offense was actually so.

The ironic part about this real or perceived racism, is that it’s causing a divide like never before. It’s actually making things worse. The whole ideal that people have to walk around on eggshells is getting people jumpy.

If society cannot discuss things, because they fear the consequences there is a great danger. Such danger, history warns us; once the talking stops, war begins or civil unrest. If people can’t solve their differences peacefully, they’ll try it do so differently and more violently.

To a certain extent we shouldn’t really worry about offending people, as people are always offended. If someone feels that you have been racist. It’s not really the end of the world. People seem to think that once you have been seen racist, you have done something so evil.

Yes, being racist is not nice, because it offends people. However, like anything, if you offend, just apologize. A simple mistake nothing more nothing less. Most of the time, it’s an honest mistake and not one of true malice.

If they cannot handle it. You’ve done all you can. Furthermore, most of the time, with society gone overboard with this hunting for racist, you can apologize to the person you offended, and they will accept it, but to the people who were offended that you offended the original person; You can’t really apologize to them because they are so offended.

There is no doubt there are real racist, but they are only a few in number, and most people are just perceived racist. Calling someone a racist when they are not, is calling names and that’s rude. People should apologize, because if it’s not true, you’ve just called them a false name.

Real racism, and perceived racism will all just disappear, when we are able to offend people but be able to apologize and they are able to forgive. A society that can learn and move on, is a better society than a society that never makes a mistake. Otherwise, when the latter society makes a mistake, in this world full of mistakes, they will never be able to recover.

Peace, On What Terms?

The whole world is longing for peace. Your neighbor, yourself, the person who gives you your coffee, and yes, even an ISIS leader in Syria. While that might not seem true, people do want peace. The catch is that people want it on their terms. Not on mine, not on yours, not necessarily on other people’s terms or their neighbors, but on theirs. The difference between your peace and their peace, makes it seem, that peace is not on everyone’s agenda.

What is peace? Peace is described as tranquil and free from disturbance. Most people would agree that this the definition of peace. However, what is peace? The peace just before a people start a revolution? The peace between fire and reload? Or the peace that is beneath a tyrant's boot.

Peace can be secured. However, people, sometimes the very people who long for it, when they realize the price, or who will be making peace on their terms, they back off. The very peace, that they thought they wanted, they now deny, because it is not on their terms.

Peace on who’s terms really is the key. This is why everyone is able to long for peace. But on who’s terms is why we fight, why we war, and why we are able to all long for it, because we all have different ideals.

An ISIS leader could want peace, but with his two wives, and his sex slaves, followed by a couch made out of dead infidels. It’s not that he doesn’t want peace, it’s just that most people wouldn’t really agree with that view. In a sense, is he the peaceful one and they are the warring ones?

 A hippy could yell for peace, but if he/she has to war for it, would they yell for it?

What if world peace looked like us all wearing covered clothing, or on the other spectrum, no clothing. If that was the price of peace, would you really keep that peace or would you say, “no, I like my clothing” or “I don’t like my clothing”. Either way would you stop the peace, because you didn’t like the peace?

If peace doesn’t look like what we want, is it really worth fighting to stop the peace? It’s all fine and dandy to talk about laying down arms and holding hands, but what if that peace is made because you are no longer there to enjoy the peace?

Peace, you may just want to rethink about it. You might just be surprised the peace that you get or reject, because it isn’t the peace that you had in mind. You might just find that you’re not that peaceful and the new way of saying peace is, peace on my terms, or I make peace with or without you.

Just What It Is

A troll is a troll: Whether it be a good troll or a bad troll; It is still a troll. People sometimes struggle with that concept, that there is no such thing as a good troll. However, it can only be simply described as this: If you wear nice clothes or bad clothes while flinging mud, you are still flinging mud.

While one uses the word and meaning of the troll loosely, a troll is basically someone who is a trouble maker online, and is usually thought to be a racist or angry person. Although people in general know this, what should be consider is that a troll is not just that.

Rather instead, a troll is really someone who is, yes all those things as mentioned above, but really someone who just isn’t nice even though they seem to be doing it for “worthy” reasons.

Humanity likes to hate and be mean to one another. If people can fool themselves that they are doing it for the right reasons, they believe they can let loose their inner horrible troll, and still be guiltless of wrong doing. However, if you’re being rude for right or wrong reasons, you’re still being rude.

Many people think that just because their hearts are good, and because what they are doing for is right, no matter how horrific, no matter what they say, no matter how brutal they get, they are still “righteous” so to speak. However, this social justice troll, is only just as bad as any other troll.

The danger of this social justice troll is that, since they are just really a troll, even for the "right” reasons, their motivation is really looking for a fight and to cause trouble. So if they can't find anyone who is doing some “wrong”, they will find someone who is doing the nearest thing to a wrong. This wrong most of the time, is very far from any actual wrong.

The scary thing with all this talk about trolling, is that we can be just as easily a troll if we don’t realize it. Furthermore, even the hardest of trolls might not even realize that they are trolls. Thankfully, it’s quite easy to spot when you are one if you take the time: If you’re name calling, yelling, or loosing your cool, most likely then you have caught a disease. Fortunately, a curable one.

Being rude to someone on the internet even if they are racist, or even the devil themselves, or anyone is not justified. For at the end day, when you look in the mirror, you look as horrible as them, because you will find an ugly troll looking back at you.