TAKING ACTION

Today is Wednesday. 3:59 pm. Just got off of work. I haven't written in my blog in a couple days b/c i've been thinking about some things...serious issues. political even. Normally i don't speak on political issues, but my mind wouldn't let it rest. A little over a week ago Christine was over my apt and we were talking about the "war". She said, "well, i'm glad we went to war". "Did we find ANY weapons of mass destruction?", i asked. Her answer was no. "but it's good that we took action." Action. Hmmm. That word is very interesting right now. We could get over to Iraq in NO time for a "war of mass destruction", right? Well how come it took forever for help to get down to New Orleans. What makes it so bad is that its a PART OF THE UNITED STATES? How come so many more lives could not have been saved? Why DID it take so long? You're telling me that news reporters can get down there in less than a day, but it takes officials to get down there in several? Bullshit. So much for ACTION. ACTION MY ASS! U know why we REALLY went to "war" in Iraq? It was for oil. Plain and simple. "How do u know that for sure? I mean, i don't watch the news, but what station did u hear that on", Christine said. "Do u REALLY think they're gonna come out and say that on T.V.?", i asked. I don't think she caught what i meant. on issues like this, i tend to get really defensive. I tune in to more than just CNN and the news. I listen to mpr and there's tons of websites that u will find that address these issues.... Underground sources, if u will. People wonder why other countries don't like us. Gawd. Ignorance can sometimes be bliss. But not in this case. The history of this country (as short as it is) is terrible. It's exhuasting. It's even haunting. The united states treated the majority of other countries terribly, as well as their people. Look at the treatment of people IN this country. Discrimination still exists. Racism still exists. Sexism exists. c'mon people. Be for real. If i didn't know as much as i know, i think i would still be asking, "y do so many countries look down on us?" But I know. And i HAVE known for such a long time. But being in college and still being asked these questions, i feel like it's a bad sign on the part of my generation. How do u NOT know why things are the way they are? How can u come to a conclusion without knowing all of the details? How? What makes things so unbearable for me is that such things as discrimination inside of cultures themselves. confused? Well, i'll explain. One such example is the "paper bag test". This is a test which exists between African Americans. The paper bag provides as the factor between a person who is accepted by white people as well as other african americans. if u are as light as the paper bag or lighter, u were ok. If u didn't pass the test, u were seriously looked down upon. So i defnitely would have been one of those people.I know some are thinking, no way is this real. Oh it's very real. It makes me uneasy that this stigmatism is present in many societies today. From Japan to Thailand. From China to France. From france to many other places in Europe. This isn't/ wasn't true everywhere in these countries, but it exists. So instead of taking initiative towards a war, killing, or death, we should be working towards equality, justice, and helping people rebuild from having their homes, jobs, belongings, family, and livelyhood taken away. Hmmmm Action!