With the Presidential elections coming up in a little over a month from now, there are a few things on my mind. The obvious points involve picking a candidate, paying attention to the debates, so on & so forth. For the record, I will make it known that this has got to be the worst Presidential election cycle that I've ever experienced.
It truly feels like I'm living in a South Park joke. Do I vote for the Giant Douche or the Turd Sandwich? Do I vote for the idiot who looks like an overgrown Oompa Loompa with a bad hair piece and worse temperament? Do I vote for the idiot that lost thousands of emails and botch Bengazhi while avoiding prosecution? Either way, the biggest losers is the American public.
No matter who wins, the rest of us are in for a long four years. I'm not a religious man, by any means, but it truly feels like an End of Days scenario coming up. This is really feeling like something out of the Bible. If I was religious, I'd be expecting the Second Coming of Christ.
I'm already expecting major problems to go down, regardless of which candidate wins. I seriously fear that it's too late to ask for some sanity as that train left the station months ago. Maybe I'll be so fortunate to see an independent candidate do well. I'm not holding my breath on this happening.
Still, if America is going to show any sanity at all, we need a strong third party, a party that will force the Democrats & Republicans to change their crap. Without a strong third party, I personally feel that we, as a nation will slowly become a third world nation. Our education system is horrible, considering we're supposed to be a super power. Our economy should be far stronger. Our infrastructure should be in far better shape.
If my fellow Americans care about the future of our country, shake things up in the capital. Show those in Washington that we're tired of the petty bullshit that we're forced to suffer through.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Respecting the flag?
It wasn't that long ago that Colin Kaepernick created some controversy by kneeling during the national anthem, prior to the start of the 49'ers games. Started in the preseason as a way of protesting social injustice in America. Now, it's turned into a bit of a controversy, to put it mildly.
Was Kaepernick right for what he did? Was he just a disrespectful piece of crap? Seems as though everyone has an opinion on this issue. There are several points to think about. He does have Freedom of Speech. This is a form of speech, in a manner of speaking. Speech does come in many forms, not always vocalized.
I understand that when you work for anyone else, whether it be a Burger King, an accounting firm, or even a major sports league, you have a code of conduct you're expected to follow. I realize that when you're acting as a representative of your job, you have to maintain a certain image. However, it's hard to maintain that image when you're a public figure. Everything you say and do is going to be scrutinized, anyway.
I suppose people like Kaepernick are going to be in a no-win situation, anyway. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. How's he supposed to get his point across if he's expected to maintain an image? If he puts such opinions on a blog, Facebook, YouTube, or other source, how many people are going to notice? How many will even care what he thinks?
When done in front of cameras on a program that millions of people watch, all of a sudden, you've got everyone's attention. There are people who would argue that it sometimes takes drastic actions to become noticed. Could that have been what Kaepernick thought?
What I know for sure is he now has everyone talking. His protest has expanded to teammates, as well as other athletes on different teams and different sports. If Kaepernick was looking to get everyone's attention, he certainly succeeded. Whether or not he intended to show disrespect for the flag or the country is no longer the point. One of the big points people are discussing, from what I've seen, is whether or not he was right or wrong. People are either on his side or against him.
Doesn't seem to be any middle ground on this issue. Those that are on his side have stated Freedom of Speech as one of their arguments. It's also been argued that protests are rarely seen as being popular at the time. People only seem to see the benefits of the protests long after everything settled down.
Opponents often argue that there's a time and a place for protests, stating that the playing of the National Anthem during certain events is neither that time or place. It's also been argued that our troops didn't serve or die just for people to disrespect the flag.
I think it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Will Kaepernick succeed in getting his message across? Will he continue being vilified over this? Only time will tell.
-JD Storm
Was Kaepernick right for what he did? Was he just a disrespectful piece of crap? Seems as though everyone has an opinion on this issue. There are several points to think about. He does have Freedom of Speech. This is a form of speech, in a manner of speaking. Speech does come in many forms, not always vocalized.
I understand that when you work for anyone else, whether it be a Burger King, an accounting firm, or even a major sports league, you have a code of conduct you're expected to follow. I realize that when you're acting as a representative of your job, you have to maintain a certain image. However, it's hard to maintain that image when you're a public figure. Everything you say and do is going to be scrutinized, anyway.
I suppose people like Kaepernick are going to be in a no-win situation, anyway. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. How's he supposed to get his point across if he's expected to maintain an image? If he puts such opinions on a blog, Facebook, YouTube, or other source, how many people are going to notice? How many will even care what he thinks?
When done in front of cameras on a program that millions of people watch, all of a sudden, you've got everyone's attention. There are people who would argue that it sometimes takes drastic actions to become noticed. Could that have been what Kaepernick thought?
What I know for sure is he now has everyone talking. His protest has expanded to teammates, as well as other athletes on different teams and different sports. If Kaepernick was looking to get everyone's attention, he certainly succeeded. Whether or not he intended to show disrespect for the flag or the country is no longer the point. One of the big points people are discussing, from what I've seen, is whether or not he was right or wrong. People are either on his side or against him.
Doesn't seem to be any middle ground on this issue. Those that are on his side have stated Freedom of Speech as one of their arguments. It's also been argued that protests are rarely seen as being popular at the time. People only seem to see the benefits of the protests long after everything settled down.
Opponents often argue that there's a time and a place for protests, stating that the playing of the National Anthem during certain events is neither that time or place. It's also been argued that our troops didn't serve or die just for people to disrespect the flag.
I think it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Will Kaepernick succeed in getting his message across? Will he continue being vilified over this? Only time will tell.
-JD Storm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)