the measure of evil.

There is an unappreciated blessing in the value of a normal life. The common American considers his day-to-day stresses and leisures and compares them to that sense of grandeur propagated by a society obsessed with the glamorous and exciting. We seem to have forgotten what is so precious about a stable, free lifestyle; what we call boring, some would call paradise. That is not even to say that just those suffering in other, poorer nations would be envious.

One could fairly assume that Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus, and Michelle Knight would cherish a return to the doldrums.

It’s easy to blame the media for the frenzy surrounding the story: a girl missing for a decade is suddenly and dramatically found, with two other missing girls with her, in a house not far from where they dissapeared. It is a bizarre story and a horrible reminder that humanity does, at times, show a sadistic side. Details have yet to emerge, but the general consensus is that the three girls had been held in the house for the entirety of ten years or more, being the victim of kidnapping and probable rape by three brothers. Stories like this have happened before in America, and it is probable and disgusting to know that there are probably women out there currently tied in basements that may never be found.

The true tragedy is that Amanda and the others will never experience a normal life. Amanda never had the chance to finish high school, and her resume ends at Burger King. She had a child while being held captive who is now six years old – sadly, old enough to know where he came from. She will now be forced to reintegrate herself into a world that knows her as Amanda Berry, the poor child taken by evil in the prime of her life. Every job interview, every attempted relationship, every night out will now be handled with a certain, inevitable bias.

This is the truest measure of just how evil Ariel Castro and his brothers are. Not to compare or lessen another tragedy, but last month’s bombing was an act of violence by a few kids who wanted a moment in the spotlight – it was done and over with in a matter of seconds, and god knows if they felt remorse or regretted their actions. Meanwhile, Castro and his brothers took three girls against their will and essentially ruined their lives without a care; they robbed them of their youth and their chance at a peaceful existence for the sake of their own sick, sexual fantasies. I am never one to call for ill will to come to another human being, no matter how despicable; that being said, utter disregard for what precious little life we all get to enjoy demands a different treatment. Here’s to hoping Castro and his brothers are cast away for the rest of their lives.

While it is a virtual impossibility given the nature of publicity in America, it should be said that Amanda, Gina, and Michelle should be let be and allowed to tell their story and reintegrate on their own terms, whether under the public eye or otherwise. Allow them every bit of privacy that we all enjoy, by simply not bothering them. The rise of social media has allowed us a society to show what may or may not be genuine sincerity surrounding highly publicized events such as this or the aforementioned Boston bombings; that being said, let these girls be. After a decade of being forgotten, they deserve to bask in the attention and love of their families, not would-be sympathetic strangers.

the sporting life.

This past Monday, a virtually unknown NBA player named Jason Collins sent shockwaves through the world of professional sports by simply announcing who he was. It might’ve been the most monumental news-that-really-shouldn’t-have-been in the history of the league.

Jason Collins, as a player, has been in the league for over a decade. He was drafted in the first round of the 2001 draft by the New Jersey Nets and was a part of two teams that made the NBA finals; that being said, he never truly lived up to his draft stock, having never averaged 7 points or rebounds for a season. His career has consisted of one-year contracts and being included as a “throw-in” to make salary considerations match in trades. He’s a backup center at best, good for little more than six fouls, a drawn charge or two, and taking up space in the paint. In his most recent stints with the Washington Wizards, he averaged .7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and hit 100% of his free throws – a phenomenal statistic….until you realize that he went to the charity stripe all of one time. Granted, he only played six games with the Wizards, but regardless.

Point being, Jason Collins is a pioneer for professional sports, but sort of a terrible athlete. The fact that his coming out party (no pun intended) is such a massive, sweeping story truly speaks to where we are as a nation, and how far we still have to go on the road to tolerance.

That’s not to discredit his accepting his role as the flagbearer; sports culture as a whole has an inherit homophobic persuasion. Basketball is seen by its participants and fanbases as a penultimate arena for modern-day gladiators to do battle; a competition between musclebound athletic demons that has no place for effeminate gestures. There is no love in war. Indeed, Jason Collins finally broke through after a dozen years in the league in hiding, which is much more of a statement than, say, a homosexual star in the NCAA tournament being drafted on pure talent. The latter is a form of publicized acceptance; the story of Jason Collins proves that it really shouldn’t matter.

The true impact of the Collins saga, however, will not be truly understood until the (likely) thousands of other athletes who feel they are forced to hide themselves can be comfortable in their own skin. I have a sinking feeling that a career backup center may not be the resounding, powerful voice necessary; Collins may be a story, but he isn’t rocking the sports world like an admission by a superstar of the game would. Collins is a courageous man, and I would like to believe that if he were to not land a contract this offseason, it would be based on the content of his lackadaise game rather than the buzz surrounding him. It would seem that the sporting world is fully accepting of his decision; Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker, and other giants of the game instantly praised Collins and cheered his decision. His twitter account gained over 30,000 new followers within hours after the announcement; he started the day with under 4,000. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and entire franchises have shown their support.

However, there is a darker side, seldom reported: Chris Broussard of ESPN went on record claiming that Collins could not call himself a Christian and a homosexual. After LeRoy Butler of the Green Bay Packers tweeted his support, a Wisconsin church cancelled a planned speech by the football player. Collins has recently received death threats via twitter. A somewhat related story broke back in February when San Francisco 49er Chris Culliver openly stated that a gay man would not be welcome in the locker room.

The age of social media and open communication has doubtlessly made an enormous and unexpected impact on the advancement of human rights, and will continue to do so. Bill Clinton tweeted that he is “proud to call @Jason Collins a friend;” truly a touching sentiment by an enormously influential public figure, but it is still just words. Until we as a nation can begin to accept every individual for who they are, we have not progressed; homophobia is as ever-present as it was before the Collins story, and will continue to be. Congratulations to the man, and thank you for taking that first step towards a better America; sports is truly the last and greatest frontier in gay tolerance, and we can all hope that you have made a difference. But you need not be a flagbearer, you need only show the world that you are a much happier man without hiding yourself, and here’s to hoping that thousands will follow and learn to understand.

only in america.

Only in America does the mass murder of twenty-six individuals, twenty of them being young children, bring a hailstorm of conspiracy theories and anti-government musings that sometimes roar louder than the national sense of grief and mourning. Only in America is this not only an acceptable attitude, but often a bonding belief.

Only in America does a random act of violence, in this case Monday’s bombing at the Boston marathon, immediately result in a plethora of memes and sarcastic comments ruminating on the gun-control debate – mostly revolving around that wisest of logical fallaces, the illegalization of bombs/weed/heroin/etc. certainly stops useage, just as the restrictions on carrying arms would stop shootings.

Only in America, does “not in my backyard” take precedence away from what should be national mourning over senseless tragedies.

The overarching theme of this newest breed of conspiracy theorists honestly believe that the Obama administration had staged the Sandy Hook shooting (or in some accounts, paid the shooter and shipped him to his own personal enclave), with the ultimate goal being a lockdown on gun rights and a step closer to utter control of the American population. Common sentiments among these devout morons is a firm belief that the Liberal agenda is hungry for utter disarmament (untrue), that Barack Obama is an evil man hellbent on the desolation of the American dream (with no real arguments to back this claim), and an unprecedented sense of patriotism (which often conflicts with their outrage at every government move or statement). The very nature of democracy fosters disagreement and debate and creates partisan splits; it comes with the territory, so to speak.

However, there are times when “freedom of speech” should truly bite its own tongue. No one is here to take your guns – shoot away, yeehaw. To honestly use tragedy and random violence to promote your own sense of gun love and so-called “American pride” when there are grieving and suffering families is utterly disgusting, and makes one question the real mindset of those who truly believe in a grand hoax. If Obama is inspiring the swarms of people to discredit the deaths of children and innocent bystanders, then yes, he truly is destroying America. I somehow don’t see that being his intent.

The United States was founded on a chief set of freedoms that were meant to be inalienable and could not be overruled by law; that being said, times change, and technology sometimes demands revision. America has, to date, essentially kept its gun laws intact, and as a result, the country has well above and beyond the highest rate of gun-related homicides in the world. New Orleans, if it were a country, would have the second-highest rate in the world by itself – behind, of course, the ol’ red and white and blue. Nations known for drug cartel and gang activity (Colombia, Mexico, Honduras, etc.) all have a significantly lower rate (per 100,000 population) than the United States.

Only in America is a hobby more important than peoples’ lives.

intolerance for happiness.

In what can only be described as a pitiful head-scratcher of an election cycle, the majority of recent conversation has turned to what should, in a perfect world, never even be considered an issue in the first place. President Obama confirmed his (likely longstanding) belief that same-sex couples should be granted marital rights, Mitt Romney has come under fire for childhood bullying of a homosexual peer, and in an act of mass homophobia, North Carolina voted overwhelmingly to deny same-sex couples marital rights- each newsworthy in that, for some unforgivable reason, we as a people see homosexuality as a “social issue;” something to be debated, something one can be “for” or “against.” In a country that claims to bleed freedom, happiness, and prosperity, we are denying a significant portion of the population basic rights that the rest of us take for granted. Why? Well, I mean…its a little gross, right?

Right wing pundits and news organizations have called Obama’s recent statements everything from pandering to a population to committing political suicide; in recent polls done by organizations such as the Christian Post, as much as 26% of Americans now find themselves “less likely” to vote for Obama in a major election as a direct result of his gay marriage stance. Whether true or not, it’s an absolutely sickening statistic – his affirming that all Americans be granted what should be an inalienable right actually disgusts enough people that it may swing an election against him.

The prevailing argument against homosexuality is that it is immoral and an abomination of God’s design; the major religions, for the most part, all claim that the lifestyle is in some way or another sinful. Or so it seems. In the case of Christianity (and, by extension, Islam and Judaism), Leviticus 18:22 reads “Thou shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination.” It has become one of the most quoted biblical passages in recent memory. On the other hand, the non-religious (or sometimes simply more tolerant sects and individuals) read Leviticus as an ancient text with a plethora of ridiculous rules and regulations: a bulk of the text explains how one must care for, punish, and distribute slaves, even referring to the difference between Hebrew and Gentile slaves (while Hebrews are to be set free upon Jubilee, Gentiles are not to be set free, only passed from father to son as an inheritance). Regardless, Jesus Christ never once spoke of homosexuality in any sense, and the Quran actually makes veiled references to homosexual acts taking place in the paradise of heaven.

Either way, it is a moot point. Discussing love between mature human beings as a horrid thing is an abomination in and of itself. It is an act and an attitude of hate, and the very idea that homosexuality “destroys the sanctity of marriage” or hurts society in any way is so unbearably ignorant that its nationwide acceptance as a point of debate is horribly depressing.

I do not write as a crusader bearing the rainbow flag, but as a man fed up with intolerance. That Obama’s statement is one of the biggest headlines of the year is incredible not because it’s important, but because it shouldn’t be. While there are certainly a multitude of differences between the debate at hand and the civil rights movement, the idea is the same: we are openly denying a people their rights because we think we know what’s right and wrong. In this case, what is so wrong, so evil, so immoral does not affect its detractors in any way (other than, I suppose, making them uncomfortable). On the other hand, there are thousands of people across the nation who battle with their own sexuality simply because they know they face a struggle if they were to admit who they are. They know they face ridicule and rejection. They are led to believe they have a problem; that their hormones and urges are akin to a disease or an addiction. While there are plenty of homosexuals that live happy, fulfilling lives, how many hide and end up depressed, confused, and embattled for the majority of their lives? How can one argue that it is a lifestyle choice to face unrelenting mockery?

Simply put, being able to live in peace because of some subtle lifestyle differences should not be up for public debate. I sure as hell do not want my happiness to hinge on a court decision or an annual vote, and I’m sure the 5 million homosexuals in America feel the same way.

alimony of the uninspired.

 

Success is a term that has a vastly different definition to every person on this planet; success in life can mean anything from attaining an ultimately unlimited reservoir of cash money to simply having enough to live from day to day; it can mean a lavish lifestyle decorated with yachts and ranches or a studio apartment with no company but a cat rescued from the local shelter: it really depends on who you ask.

The constant is that success is defined as a life goal achieved. In some cases, this is extravagant: a sizeable income or worldwide renown being likely the most common. In other cases, this is simply waking up every day with a sense of content: working the same dead-end job, barely scraping by, but being generally satisfied all the way. Success is all in the eye of the beholder.

I have for a long time regarded myself as a generally selfish individual: no marriage, no kids, my own best interest always coming first. This, in keeping with the theme, stems from my own personal definition of success – I will not die a happy man unless I know that my name will be known for years after I perish, that my existence will be known long after it has come to an end. I would do anything to increase my chances, and the view from my hole says that stopping to raise a family would accomplish the exact opposite.

That being said, so does a full-time job.

While I’ve come to experience success in the short-term and, as a result, am experiencing a current situation that has left me relatively satisfied, the creeping notion that it may be negatively affecting my future plans has occurred to me more than a handful of times. To put it bluntly, this is the first page I’ve written since picking up the forty-five hour a week job, a position that is hardly fulfilling beyond the reasonable income it brings in – and, to make matters worse, I’ve noticed a certain drip in quality in the prose itself. I can’t help but ask myself – is it a matter of rust spurred on by the sloth that comes with exhaustion, or something else?

To elaborate further, it would be the simplest explanation to simply blame my sudden decline in motivation on an exasperating work schedule; but at the same time, it seems like nothing short of a cheap cop-out. I can’t help but wonder – has the sudden onset of apathy towards my trade of choice ironically been ignited by short-term satisfaction? It makes me ponder if my mindset towards life is drifting towards the American dream – a blue collar lifestyle ridden with short-term satisfaction and long-term irrelevance.

It is a dilemma that has plagued me as of late as I’ve struggled to find the time or motivation to sit down and write again – I can only hope that it is the allure of the summer months and not the beginning of a sudden disinterest. I can only hope that this mindset does not carry over to my impending final school semester before graduation.

With that being said, I can truly do nothing more than to force myself to write – I have no greater aspiration than to be known for my work, and sulking over what is probably a minor quibble in my development is simply a waste of time. I write this as a memo to myself – you are bred for success in the long-term, not a life of small satisfactions.

“Look, I’ve never had a dream in my life because a dream is what you want to do but still haven’t pursued – I knew what I wanted and did it till it was done, so I’ve been the dream that I wanted since day one.”

collegiate rumblings.

 

“Where do you go to school now? What’s your major?”

Long-lost high school companions, often stifled for conversation, use this as their go-to method- feigning interest in the path their peers are taking. Or, at least, the path they seem to take. Majoring in Communication? What do you want to do?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Despite reports from TIME magazine and other contemporary literature detailing enough post-collegiate misery graphics to discourage even the most forward-thinking high school graduates, college enrollment is at an all-time high; deans, professors, and the government would like to tell you that the youth of the nation is, as a whole, becoming more focused and intent on success. However, the true reason lies somewhere between self-fulfillment and impressing each other.

A sizeable sum of those currently spending their first or second (or even third or fourth) year in higher learning have no idea what they’re going for, what they’re majoring in, or even where they want their life to take them. They’re in college because they feel compelled to, because their parents have pushed them there, because all their friends are doing it; realistically, they probably don’t need it as much as they need training in a certain skill or to find themselves in a good position with an established company. They’re taking classes not for higher education or increased learning, but to pass the time to acquire a piece of paper that says they’re a successful person. Essentially, the overwhelming sentiment among the American populous is that a lack of college education is akin to intentionally setting yourself up for failure: those that do go may have no direction whatsoever and make less at their part-time job, but in the eyes of the American elite, they are leagues above the factory worker making just enough to get by and being perfectly fine with that.

We do this because humanity as a whole is an insecure and subsequently judgmental creature: not a day goes by where we don’t think about how stupid that guy looks in that too-small V-neck shirt, how disgusting that girl’s rolls are, or, to stay in tune with the present conversation, how trashy that guy working behind the counter at The Exchange looks, how that kid we went to high school with hasn’t grown up and is still working the same deadbeat job. In short, we take everything at face value as a society, to the extent that we almost give attributes a numerical score: and currently pursuing a college degree is the double headshot tactical nuke that all but ensures good standing.

As you may already know, my initial tenure at Cleveland State University is rapidly coming to a close, and I feel like the date given for my graduation in December has all but put a ticking clock on how long I have before I have to grow up and get a career, a time bomb on when the fun stops and the future becomes the present. I have “X” amount of days before my life changes, for better or for worse.

And I have no idea what I’m going to do about it.

Call it anxiety, call it overreaction, call it cold feet, but I am genuinely frightened by the prospect of my life changing. I’ve wanted to write since I can remember, but early into my college venture I realized that my unrealistic aspirations must be met and maintained by a true goal. I opted to major in Communication – a path equally as generic and potentially useless as such degrees as “Business” or (fittingly enough, my minor) “English.” My goal is to work in advertising or media, and I have taken absolutely no steps towards this end aside from finishing my schooling.

Conversations with my peers (not just at CSU, but Baldwin-Wallace, Kent State, Bowling Green, Case Western, and any number of schools) have revealed that I am not alone: I am near the end of my schooling, and instead of relief I am met with anxiety and confusion, having no idea where to go from here. The overwhelming perception here is that life will not change, aside from saving a little bit on gas by not driving downtown two or three days a week.

That being said, I still have a semester to go – here’s to hoping things will change.

nick gilbert is cleveland.

 

On Tuesday night, May 17^th, fourteen NBA franchises were represented on national TV for the annual ‘ping pong ball lottery,’ an event that determines the order of the upcoming draft. The Minnesota Timberwolves sent President of basketball operations David Kahn, the Washington Wizards sent rookie phenom John Wall, and eleven other teams sent similar representatives: executives, players, ex-players. However, one team sent a representative that clearly stood out: 14-year old Nick Gilbert, a short and physically awkward boy donning the thickest of glasses and, most notably, stricken with neurofibromatosis, a nerve disorder that causes tumors to sporadically and quite literally randomly grow throughout the body. Nick Gilbert is the ambassador for the Children’s Tumor Foundation; having been born with the illness, he has experienced numerous operations, including no less than three major brain surgeries to remove rapidly growing tumors.

In other words, Cleveland presented not only the most pitiful figure, but perhaps the most empowering.

Nick Gilbert appeared on national television and instantly became a trending topic with awkward, pseudo-witty responses (upon being asked how he felt about being referred to as his dad’s personal hero, Nick fumbled over his words and replied “I mean…what’s not to like?”) and a genuine display of emotion at the results before him – when Cleveland received the #4 pick, he pounded his fist on the table loud enough to be heard off-screen, and when it was revealed that Minnesota had fallen to the #2 pick (thereby ensuring the Cavaliers the top spot), he clenched his mildly deformed fingers into what semblance of a fist he could muster and pumped it into the air.

Critics may see this as a pity ploy, an attempt to garner even greater sympathy for the stricken franchise – but Nick Gilbert, despite being a Detroit native, is the ultimate physical demonstration of Cleveland, a phoenix rising from its own economic plight and utter irrelevancy to find itself in a stronger and more exciting light in the new millennium.

The majority of, if not every viewer of last night’s NBA draft lottery are certainly fans of the sport, and are therefore well aware of the tumultuous year that the Cleveland organization had went through – to be precise, arguably one of the worst seasons in franchise history, posting a 19-63 record and enduring a 26-game losing streak, the longest in league history; the viewers were also well aware that this season came on the heels of two straight seasons posting the NBA’s best regular-season record behind the leadership and explosive talent of MVP Lebron James. His departure left him a pariah in his own town and the franchise in shambles – but we’ve all heard the story, and since then a victory over his newfound super-team and general acceptance of the future has all but allowed the franchise to move on – a process that would begin with this draft, and therefore was arguably the most important in team history.

And to reiterate, for this occasion, they sent Nick Gilbert.

The boy represented the plight of the franchise, but also the city’s troubled history, in the form of a debilitating disease that threatens to take his life; and he represents the city’s endless persistence and strength of character in his defiant demeanor and triumphant poise. Sports fans generally saw the Cavaliers’ incredible luck in the lottery as redemption for what had transpired a year earlier; and with Nick Gilbert as the face of the city, viewers couldn’t help but applaud Cleveland and wish the city the best.

Cleveland was once known as the city of the burning river, a staple on the annual misery index, and a long forgotten industrial wasteland: a dying metropolis that was slowly eroding from the inside out, just as Nick Gilbert’s disease had done to his body. However, Cleveland has found itself again, and is experiencing a rebirth; a sentiment captured by Nick’s charming appearance on national television.

We are not New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or Miami, but we are Cleveland, and we are proud.

america loves death.

 

Almost a decade ago, the world was shocked as images on major news networks displayed Muslims and citizens of Arab nations dancing in the streets and celebrating the deaths of Americans. For the past two days, in what is being described as a newfound eruption of patriotism, America is doing the same thing: celebrating the end of a life.

What’s being sold on the public is “closure:” the notion that the death of a single individual somehow brings peace to those who lost loved ones, that somehow killing a mountain man on dialysis makes up for the billions spent and the additional thousands of lives lost in searching for him. While this is all fine to use as a sort of emotional justification, the fact of the matter is that the United States of America likely used significant funding on a man that had already been rendered an irrelevance, a moot point lost in the shuffle of two wars. Simply put, he no longer mattered, and expending additional effort (as well as risking more American lives) was nothing but a publicity stunt. The greater powers that run our world are too busy to focus on petty revenge.

When you break it down, given that Osama Bin Laden had essentially suffered media death as it was, the United States seized the opportunity to celebrate murder: just as they had done in such shocking fashion years before.

It’d be foolish to declare the man as anything but a demon, a hatemongering criminal who stood for evil in the 20^th century; and so yes, it is a rare case in which his demise, despite his aforementioned irrelevancy, could be heralded as a blessing. And yet, as was the case in 2001, there are two sides to every story, and just as there are people who loved those who burned in the towers, there are certainly people who loved the man who died on Sunday (not to mention the oft-forgotten thousands of Afghanis and Iraqis who died by American hands). To celebrate his death is to go against what we, as a nation, should stand for.

For the better half of the 20^th century and beyond, the United States has adopted a mantra of the world’s lone superpower; a nation that stands head and shoulders above the rest on the basis of sheer economic, technological, political, and certainly military supremacy. As a result, we have often seized opportunities to spread our influence where, honestly, we shouldn’t: Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea. If the USA is going to lead the world as a superpower, it will need more than deft, resolute action: it will need to maintain an image that says “we are better than them.”

The images from the middle east in September 2001 were horrifying because of their absolutely inhuman nature: these were hordes of people, celebrating the violent deaths of other people. The images from these past couple of days showed Americans in tears of joy, showing a devout sense of onset patriotism – because of the violent death of an individual.

I am by no means defending Osama Bin Laden, or disregarding the fact that (inane conspiracy theories aside) he was responsible for the deaths of several thousand Americans; I am also by no means damning or condemning the actions of the USA in hunting the man down and, ultimately, disposing of him. I am simply of the firm belief that the United States presents itself as the world’s older brother, setting a good example and attempting to spread its influence. Given this, celebrating the death of anyone is a show of disrespect, no matter who he may be. Some simpletons were offended by Osama’s immediate burial at sea; conversely, I was proud, as it was America acting how it should: respectful and mature.

Death is, simply put, never something to be celebrated.

atheism is for children.

 

A few months back, I was invited to attend a meeting for a student-run organization/group at CSU that has been gaining prominence as of late; while it shall remain nameless, the organization is meant to bring together students who share a similar belief: atheism. While I have dabbled in student organizations throughout my collegiate career, I never quite found a suitor I could stick with; and so while I never truly thought that this organization would be any different, I opted to give it a shot regardless, given that I am, indeed, an atheist (or something close to it). Perhaps I should have used some discretion; after all, what is an “organized group of atheists” but another religion that the so-called nonbelievers are so devoutly opposed to?

Without attacking a particular individual or even the group itself, I can say without question that all I was able to get out of the experience was an organization rooted in self-righteous elitism. A picture of a mantis with its arms on its hips, appearing to be lost in thought adorned the flyers to be passed out to recruit members: a “thinking mantis,” a character so completely founded on the concept of superiority that its relative cuteness is utterly lost in a façade of smugness. The conversations and “topics at hand” included ridiculing a picture of the pope, crude jokes at the expense of the Middle East, and a solid half an hour of anti-Christian drivel and puns.

Without falling prey to the same elitist tendencies that discredited the aforementioned organization (in my eyes at least), is it not the purpose of atheism to be a freethinker, one who is able to grasp the concept of independence from what one may deem the constraints of a religious-based lifestyle? The concept of living “god-free” is not inherently evil, but the atmosphere in such an organization is one of ill-mannered disdain to another lifestyle; one could go so far as to call it religious war in the most liberal sense. Indeed, I was drawn to atheism not because of my inability to grasp the concept of a superior being, or a belief that I am somehow better than those that spend their life in some sort of servitude to said being; I was drawn to an ultimate belief in a godless universe because it is empowering to imagine that there is no being that has absolute dominion over me. I was drawn to atheism because to live a humble, religious life just seemed too unfulfilling to a man who lived a life dreaming of admittedly unrealistic aspirations.

What’s lost on atheists such as the members of this group and renowned writer Richard Dawkins is the fact that living a religious lifestyle is in no way inferior, and in some ways presents a distinct advantage; is there truly any way to argue that a man who places his full faith in a higher power will find it easier to find hope after losing a job or loved one than a man who believes in virtually nothing? Yes, atheism is certainly a lifestyle based on the empowerment of self, but there are times that even the strongest and most stable of men will find themselves questioning, and need to turn somewhere else for solace.

An argument of those most vehemently opposed to organized religion is the multitude of evil that has arisen from it, ranging from the Christian crusades to Jihadist radical Islam. Sensationalist acts by devout religious enthusiasts often come down to little more than coincidence; do not blame the religion, but the disturbed individual therein – after all, while Christianity did breed Adolf Hitler and Timothy McVeigh, look instead to Pope John Paul II, Mother Theresa, and your local churchgoers for the religion’s true potential. This goes as well for Islam, Judaism, and almost any other major religion: these are nothing more than a way to spend your life, a guide to existing as a righteous individual and well-meaning community member. How one interprets the holy book is their own concern.

In short, I am an atheist, and pending a sudden revelatory moment, it is likely I will be until the day I die, whence I believe I will rot in the Earth, my soul returning to where it was before October 31^st, 1988: non-existence. However, I will never discount those who believe that their soul will live eternally, escaping from their bodily constraints to a greater afterlife. I will never discount one whose faith allows them to wake up in the morning a better and happier person, one whose faith guides them to help their fellow man.

Besides: while I may not believe it, they might be right after all.

america the fragile.

 

This past Tuesday, the 12^th of April, NBA star Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers was sent to the bench after receiving a technical foul; as you can see in the video above, he wasn’t very happy about it. However, as the cameras zoomed in on the flustered, furious player, he clearly yelled what is being portrayed as an offensive, homophobic slur at a referee: “fucking faggot.” Since then, he has been fined an unprecedented $100,000 and been forced to apologize publicly amid accusations that he is just now revealing his true, homophobic self.

Give me a break.

We live in an America built on slang terms and what can only be described as filthy language. Pass your average middle-class child at the playground, and it’s hardly shocking to hear them drop vulgarities at the slightest provocation. Due to an unclean, often hardening upbringing, the brutally inappropriate has become fittingly casual.

Over the past few years, numerous public figures have seen their reputations tarnished and careers destroyed by slips of the tongue; most notably, a few years back when marginally successful stand-up comedian Michael Richards saw his lifelong career ruined by exploding at the audience with repeated racial epithets. On a similar note, some have used the words as a method to further their own reach and name recognition; rapper Nas, immensely popular in the late 1990’s, revived a career gone stagnant in 2008 by controversially naming his latest album “Nigger.” His reasoning was protest against burgeoning racial undertones in the media; the true motive was clearly to drive sales.

To say that hate due to sexuality or racial differences has declined would be an incredibly ignorant proclamation, so don’t misinterpret my message; it is just simply incredulous that simple slang words are given such weight and meaning in an overtly sensitive public society, when we as a whole are well aware of the language commonly thrown around behind closed doors. President Richard Nixon was a known slanderer, dropping every racial slur imaginable so long as he wasn’t in the public eye.

Simply put, a word like “faggot” has, for the most part, become more a term for frustration than a homophobic slur. Kobe Bryant is a professional basketball player, a sports icon built on a reputation that he thrives on competition. In other words, he spewed a meaningless series of words only given weight by their harsh nature and vociferous tone. Perhaps it is moreso the nature of his status as a global icon that creates controversy; again, he has been forced into public remorse and apology for a comment commonly spewed by anyone who has an Xbox Live account on the daily, homosexual or otherwise. Today, April 20^th, a segment of ESPN’s Sportscenter has been designated to an interview with Kobe, where he once again expresses what supposedly passes as remorse, as he apologizes, alludes to paying tribute to the struggles of those coming to terms with their own sexuality at a young age, and essentially pauses to reflect on what else his agent told him to say. That’s not to say he’s heartless, or expresses no remorse; it’s that he shouldn’t, just because he’s a bigger name who happened to have his aggravated utterances caught on camera. Or at least, he shouldn’t to the extent that he was forced to.

I guess, in paying due respect to the counterargument, it’s true to say that we should not be teaching our children terms like “faggot,” because we have to keep them protected from the first time they hear it on the playground around first grade.

Stop being so fucking sensitive, America.