JJ's World Views

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  • Should we Break up the States?

     

    I have heard a few of my old friend say that the states should become their own countries.  These people also think they are patriots.  In some ways I kind of agree.  I mean our constitution is set up like a treaty if you really think about it.  Most of the states where not there at the time of the signing of it.  This would ease the tax burden on people a bit, not having to pay federal taxes.  We would only have to pay state taxes, which would be federal taxes I guess at that point.  Every country would have its own currency which would be easier to keep a closer eye on it.  This way the few would not have so much control over the many.

    This would also give many that still lived in a democracy more control over their government.  This would promote more activity in the political process which could be much better thing.  People would be more willing to stay informed if they actually thought they had a say, unlike the current system we have now.

    We could give the new countries there national guard back.  If there was a war the individual countries could come together and fight side by side.  May be do drills together annually, this way if the militaries of the countries train together they would be less likely to want to fight them.  So, there are a couple of positives but I feel there are some major drawbacks to this.

    One of the major problems I see right off the bat is what to do about the nukes.  Does anyone really trust the south with nukes?   The KKK would definitely rise to power again and the right wing religious fundamentalist, would want to kill anyone not like them or believe the same way they do.  We would be more like Europe was in the dark ages.  Hell I consider the time we are living in now the Social/Technological Dark Ages.  I is little doubt in my mind, if it were not for our current level of technology we would already be in the dark ages.  We have not yet learned how to live socially yet in this new world.

    Slavery might come back into play if we were to divide up.  I do not think it would be successful though.  The countries which did not legalize it could put major economic pressure on them.  Which brings us back to the nukes again.  How many people think that there would be a leader that might try and play that card just out of spite.  Look at our political climate right now it is crazy.

    Though slavery most likely would not last long I think, Segregation would definitely make a comeback in many parts of the country.  I feel many leaders would try to become permanent dictators, or at least try.

    I want to say right now I know that not all people in the south are bad people.  I lived in Florida for 10 years I know plenty of people from the south.  It is the people they elect that scare me.  I am a Humanist I believe in our potential as a species.  I feel we are not ready yet as a country or s species to do something like that in this country.   Then again people usually only learn when bad things happen to them, so maybe we should, just for the wake up call.

  • How can we find meaning in a world of chaos?

    I dedicate this to my Brother

    How can we find meaning in a world of chaos?  How do we find happiness in a land of greed and hate?  These are questions I struggle with on a daily basis.  I have been told I think to much. Personally I think those who say that do not think enough.  They are to caught up in their own little world only looking on the surface to frightened to look inside, for fear they may not like what they will see.  The darkness in their own hearts that drains them of humanity.  They are devoid of empathy and compassion for their fellow humans.  Why is this?  A big factor I feel is what we have been taught and the refusal to question it.  I look at the world around us and I see our potential as a species, but I also see the devastation we cause, because of greed.  I try to have hope then it fades, I try to be positive then it is broken.  What can we do to stop this and help ourselves and other to find their true meaning, their true purpose in life.  I know we have to create our meaning and purpose, but why? What then?

    Hope is something I cling to for dear life, because if I don’t it will mean my life.  Fore if I do not have hope then life is not worth living.  Slowly day by day hope slips away leaving an empty shell.  A life dedicated to only making money is not a life I want to live there is no meaning or purpose to it.  Money is worthless till we give it worth, not the other way around.  Why do we allow it to have so much control over our lives?  Why do we let those who have it to have power over us?

    I see those high level bank, big pharma, big agra and fossil fuel executives, wall street shills, venture capitalists and lobbyists as the true throw away people, not the poor.  These are people who could not make it in the real world without destroying others.  There is no need for these types of professions other than to rape and pillage society.  We have been trained to think we need them in reality they need us much, much more.  Necessities like housing, medicine, military, police, food and water should not be for profit.  it is the frivolous thing that can be to a point.  Money is supposed to be in limited supply, but it is not at least not at the top.  The dilemma of the fiat currency is the fact that the obscenely wealthy horde the currency causing inflation.

    Imagine if all the money that the .1%  have was actually in circulation and not sitting in some offshore account.  There would be no need to print any more money for a long time.  The world economy would stabilize there would really be no need for charities as they are now.  More people would be able to donate time instead of money.  There would be less discontent and war.  People would be happier and fear would start to fade, because people could travel more and experience new things and meet new people. Instead, of  being inside hiding from the cruel reality that is this life at the moment.   Then we could actually find the answers to the questions I have asked.

  • Suicide Squad

    So, today I went to see Suicide Squad for the first time.  I saw a bunch of reviews on it and wanted to see it for myself.  Let it be known I am not big on comic books, but I love the cartoons and movies.  Now that being said I liked this movie, yes it had its flaws but what movie doesn’t.  The thing that stuck out most to me was the theme behind it.  Whether the studio meant it this way or not, to me it was an allegory on the U.S.’s international policies in the middle east.  I do not go searching for meaning in movies, it is just where my mind goes when I see similarities in life and art.

    Look it how the U.S. has handled the situation in Iraq and Syria. When we went into Iraq  and took down Saddam.  This to me was when Joon found the Enchantress stumbling into a cave without really thinking about it.  Then we have have Waller who is part of the government who puts together a force of people that are pretty shady to say the least.  We fund and train rebels in both Iraq and Syria not knowing who is good or bad, eventually creating ISIS.  This is where the Enchantress breaks free and starts wreaking havoc, just like ISIS in the middle east.  Which had lead us to where we are at today over there.  That is a basic analysis of the theme for me.

    I liked the backstories of the Characters they did them on like Deadshot,Diablo, Harley Quinn and the Joker.  I thought that the bar scene was interesting, a lot of people I saw review the movie thought it was forced.  I thought it was fairly natural considering, I mean what would you do if you just found out that you are fighting a earth destroying witch.  Hell I would head to the bar as well especially being a villain and after being kept in the dark.  I would have probably done the same thing.  Who knows it could be the last time you do that.

    Could they have made a better movie? Yes.  I think if they would have had a couple of Batman movies with the characters in them it would have helped a lot.  The same thing with a Flash movie. This would have provided more context into the characters and more in-depth back story.  I think Warner Bros. jumped the gun and didn’t think thing through enough.  If you’re going to build a universe you start from the ground up.  We do not need the backstory for Batman but more on Deadshot and the Harley and the Joker.  I would like to know what is up with Capt. Boomerang and the pink unicorn.  Diablo seems like he could be a really interesting to me.  The same could be said about Killer Croc.

    This was a decent movie in my opinion.  I give it 6.5 out of 10.

    I know this is not the best written review it is my first one that I have written.  If you have any comments that would make it better please let me know.  If you need clarification let me know. please I will do my best.

     

  • Loneliness is a curse

    Well I am finally going to go see suicide squad today. I have seen the reviews but I have to decide for myself. I am just so bored and cannot focus on homework Mainly because all I do for the most part any more is just work, school, eat  and sleep.  I have no social life to speak of really.

    I have always felt alone in my life not, because I didn’t have friends or family. It is because I feel they just never understood me at all.  I am one of those people who could be in a room filled with people and still just feel like I am the only person in the room.  Over the past 4 or 5 years this feeling has grown.  That is one of the reasons why I started counseling and going back to school.  I wanted to try and put myself out there and find people who have similar interests who may understand where I am coming from and why I want to do what I am trying to do.

    I have such a hard time making new friends to do stuff with.  Here I am 40 years old divorced, single and living in a mobile home older than me,fighting my depression constantly.  It is a never ending battle.  I know people do worry about me in my family, yet it is hard for me to be around them.  The last few times I had been with them it just seem that when they were talking to me they were hyper critical of me and my viewpoints, even though I try to keep it on the internet they bring it into the face to face contacts. So I just do not want to be around them.  I feel like nothing I can do in their eye is right or good enough.  They expect me to see things the way they do and I just can’t.  It is not me I look deeper into things,  I try to understand the way the world works.  This is something I have always done.  It seems to me that all they see in me is a 40 yr old who like Cartoons, horror movies, and is decent with kids.  I feel they think I do not actually look into anything of substance at all.  They prove this by the way they try and push there own morals and beliefs on me.

    Look I am who I am and believe in my own moral code.  I have always been like that.  Religion has had no affect on my moral values.  All I want is to be a good person and help others try to treat others with respect as much as possible, not alway succeeding there.  When I came out as an Atheist for the first time that is when things started going south between me and them.  My mom was like no you’re not you Agnostic.  At the time I got offended because I didn’t know then what I do now about the word and its uses.

    Being an Atheist just means I do not believe there is a god.  Agnosticism is a state of knowing.  So my mom was right to a point, but we are all Agnostics.  No one knows for sure if a god really exists or not, despite what some people may say.  A belief is a feeling not knowledge.  I have tried to believe in a god so that people would except me I have been to so many different churches done research on the matter as well as read the bible from front to back.  There is nothing there to prove the existence of a god for me.  Some people would Probably say that it is your lack of faith that causes my depression and loneliness.  This could not be farther from the truth for me.  It is the fact that my family and old friends that think that I just want to be a rebel, different, and want to mold me to the image they want.  That is what want me to be, that has been a big contributor to my depression.  Me and my mom used to be close or as close as I can get to a person emotionally.

    I had to take a break from writing this post for awhile, because I have been in tears while writing this.  My heart is heavy and I hurt so bad, but I push on.   I expose my heart to all of you out here to let you know if you feel the same way you are not alone.   You can make it through it.  It does not matter if you’re a teen, in your 40’s or in your later years you can push through this.  You are stronger than you think.  I know because I am living it with you.  I feel the pain, the anguish, fear and loneliness the as much as anyone.  Those thoughts in your head can be change but only through practice and hard work.  You just have  you just have to have faith in yourself and find your passion.  Thing do get easier the more you work at it.  It may never go away, but at least it can be more manageable for you in the long run.

    If you know and love someone who has depression take the time to try and understand them.  Let them know they are loved don’t just say it show it.  You will make it easier for them and you may save their life.  Please.

    If you have any questions on ways I have used to manage this leave a comment down below or you can message me on facebook or twitter.  I will try to respond as much as I can.

    I want to leave you all who read this with this,  You are all loved even though it may not feel like it at times you are.  I love you all and stay strong and let peace be with you all.

     

  • Day 4

    Well today was the end of my first week of school.  I had Intro to Cinema and History of World Civilization 2.  After my classes I had a meeting with my TRIO SSS (Student Support Services) advisor.

    In Cinema we were learning about its technical history from the Zoeatrope to George Melies “A Trip to the Moon”.  It was interesting to see how they first attempted to colorize film.  It must have been painstaking painting each frame, even if it was a 13 minute film.  It is remarkable to see how far we have come in such a short period of time ( in the grand scheme of things).  I also started the readings tonight going through the influences of the different countries that had an effect on the industry from the late 19th century to 1947 is where I stopped for the night.  This cover things like the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope developed by William Kennedy Laurie Dickson in Edison’s labs (411 Barsam and Monaham).  Going into the Silent Period (214), The German Expressionists (418) and many more.

    This afternoon I had History in which we watched a video (narrated by the late Leonard Nimoy)and discussed the Black plague, and he answered questions on the syllabus.  The video was something that I had seen before on the History channel so most of the information was not too new to me.  Like I knew they used Bodies of the dead as a form of biological warfare of the time and that doctors of the time were some of the most vulnerable do to the closeness of working with those who had the plague.  What I had missed the first time I had watched the video was the Flagellants ( an extremist Christian sect) that had started to gain traction do to the Catholic Church own ignorance and unwillingness to hear any ideas other than those in the Bible.  I started my reading for this class today as well.  The reading are on some of the creation myths of the world.  I have gone through the Iroquois, which is more of a matriarchal view of the world and the Japanese which from what I read started out quite nice then became very patriarchal.  At least that is how I saw it.  I will be rereading it to get a better understanding of them both.

    After history I went to see my TRIO advisor.  I like going to talk to him we always have interesting conversations.  For those who do not know Trio is an organization that help first generation college students and students with disabilities navigate through college life.  They help you set up your schedules, filling out financial aid forms and help to keep you on track in school.  Some of the most prominent people who have been part of this program through the years (not at Normandale Community college where I go they just started theirs last year) are Oprah Winfrey and Angela Bassett.  This Program has been around since the 60’s and is federally funded.  If you are in college and they have this program check to see if you qualify it is extremely helpful.  Me and James (my advisor) talked about how my classes are going so far, some of my financial aid and a little about this blog.  it was a short meeting but it is the first week and he is swamped with the new semester and people on his team. He did ask me if I “If I thought that I would have any problems with the number of classes or the classes themselves.” I dont really think I will of course while writing this blog my self doubt started creeping up again.  This happened before this time I feel I have the support I need to concur it.  beside I always feel like this until the end of the semester.  By then I have seen where I am at and know what I need to do to get the grades I need and want.  Hell right now I am waiting to get my invitation to Phi Theta Kappa our Honor Society. Over the past 2 semester I earned a 3.53 GPA in my college level courses.  If you add in my remedial courses it is a 3.68 GPA.  So, as long as I keep doing what I am doing I should have another good semester.

    Works Cited

    Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. “10/Film History.” Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. 5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2016. 411+. Print.

  • Day 3

    Today was a long at school, this wasn’t because the classes were boring I just had a long break between classes.  The classes were rather interesting today with Freshman Comp.  and Theory and Practice of Tai Chi Chuan.

    In Comp. we watched a Ted Talk on “The Danger of a Single Story”.  What is a single story?  A single story from what I have gathered from the video is a one dimensional look at the world (seeing things from one point of view).  An example of this is the way we see Donald Trump speak about illegal immigration and the people in the middle east.  The issue with a single story is: they have a tendency to breed ignorance, bigotry and hatred in those who are not willing to do research and/ or go out and meet people who are different then them.  At least, that is what I had gotten from the video.  We see people who buy in to the single story trap so much in our society today, it is astonishing to see in this day and age.

    In between classes I had a lively and invigorating discussion in the smoking area about religion, politic and corruption.  This is one of the things I love about college, actual intellectual conversation about tough topics.  I get to practice my conversational skills without the pressure of hurting someone’s feelings or someone just getting up in my face.  I just can not to that with my old friends and family. That is one thing that has stifled my personal growth as a human being.  I am someone who enjoys that type of conversation, because I get to actually exchange ideas with people instead of having them dictated to me.

    Then in Tai Chi it was a basic first day until we started learning the moves.  I am so out of shape.  We first learned a stance, then practiced breathing and lastly how to walk.  Doing the stance was difficult for me because I had a hard time keeping my toe connected to the floor.  The breathing was not too difficult, it is something I have been practicing for a while to keep my stress level down.  The hardest part for me was the walk.  I am a big guy, out of shape and extremely right side dominant.  When I was done with the walk my left inner thigh was killing me.  The muscle had started cramping up on me it felt like a bunch of needles poking in to a single point on my thigh.  I am going to need a lot more practice and push myself to make sure I can do this correctly.

  • Citizen Exchange Program

    The problem has I see it is that we have no real national goals.  When we have actual goal to get behind, we as a people can conquer it.   These have to be the right goals.  The goals should be positive and work for the betterment of the people as a whole. These goals should for the most part be solving issues that we are having in the nation.  I feel these goals should be voted on by the populus of the country.  These votes should take place every 10 years.  At the end if ten years we evaluate the situation to see how we have progressed on the matters.

    What is a Citizen Exchange Program?  This is a program in which citizens of different countries have an opportunity to live and work in another country for a year or two.

    What need does this serve?  In recent times our world has become more divisive than ever with shootings happening on a daily basis it seem like.  This would be a way to for people to explore outside their communities, experience other cultures and ease cultural tension a bit.

     

  • Day 2

    Today was another pretty good day at school.  The only issue I had was the parking, but oh well.  My Intro to Cinema was pretty cool, the professor is laid back and I realized another purpose for it.  This class other than helping me meet my transfer curriculum for school; is also going to be helping me to improve my conversational skills.  This is something I feel I really need.  Especially since I am pretty much a shut in, other than work and school, I don’t really do much other than that.  Whenever, I try to speak to people it always seems to come out wrong. Although, that has been changing over the past year or so.  I am starting to feel more confident in myself slowly.  When I can finally look at myself for more than 10 seconds in a mirror I will say I am confident enough.

    I also had History of World Civilization 2 today.  Once again my professor is a unique individual. The first part of class he told us about himself and then had us all get walk around and introduce each ourselves.  That was fun.

    In both classes I tried to make sure I stood out in class in a good way of course.  I sat in front of the class made sure to ask questions and/ or comment on questions brought up.

    I went to talk to my history professor from last semester Jack just to say “Hi” and ended up bumping into my Interpersonal Communication professor Brad.  I did not even recognize him he had lost so much weight.  He is a pretty cool guy, I liked that class.  Then after he left for lunch I talk to Jack.  He asked me about my course load and the professor I have for World Civ 2.  He said it will be interesting to see how I do being introduced to another teaching style for history.  I have a feeling I will do pretty well, but I do not want to get too over confident.  Then I will make mistakes and big ones.  I know myself all to well.

  • Home

    I have lived in Washington State, California, Florida and home is Minnesota. I have been a cashier, custodian (Disney World), Photographer/Videographer (Discovery Cove), salesman, Transportation Security Officer (TSA) and soldier.
    I am currently a student at the ripe old age of 41 and am Studying to become a Social Studies Teacher. I am a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (honor society).
    I want to travel more and see this great big world we live in. Explore new cultures and share what I have learned. I believe everyone has different experiences in this life. So, that we can grow and learn from each other. In order to make this world a better place for future generations.

    I have many reasons for starting this blog, one of which it helps to build up my writing skills.  I will be posting each draft of what I have written, this way I can get constructive critiques of my work and people can see my writing process a bit.   If you have constructive criticism of my work please let me know do not be shy.  This will help me to become a better writer which is one of my goals.

    Next I am pursuing a career in Social Studies education sot that I can become a teacher and join the Peace Corp.  This blog will serve as a journal of sorts for me to express my feeling on certain subjects and help me to see how I have evolved as a person and a life long learner.

    Lastly this blog is about me and my experiences over the past 40 years.  There will be journal entries, thoughts on life society, Ideas for thing we can do better and I will even put up some of my work from school after it has been graded, I don’t want to risk plagiarizing myself, lol.

    If you have any questions for me or would like to here my opinion on a subject, you can leave them in the comments below the writings or you can leave me a message on Facebook or Twitter for the time being.  I am still trying get a handle of all the uses for social media so bare with me.

  • Third Semester day 1

    Today was my first day back to school and man did I miss it.  I only had one class Freshman comp.  The teacher seems pretty cool looks like it will be an interesting class.  Tomorrow I have Intro to Cinema in the morning and History of World Civilization 2 in the afternoon.   Wednesday I have comp again in the morning and in the afternoon I have Theory and Practice of Tai Chi Chuan. Thursday back to Cinema and History again.

    I went to the Experimental Education center to find out what I had to do to return as a tutor this semester.  They will be sending the emails this week for returners I found out.  The cool thing about this is that My history class has a service learning component for extra credit so, I will be getting extra credit on top of the work study pay.  Last semester I just did it for experience not I have additional reasons to do it this year.