Deatrophication of the Brain

This morning I get up around 7:15 AM, like I normally do. I finally roll out of the bed around 7:30 AM. I go to the bathroom and get into the shower and stand there for a few minutes trying to get woke up. I wash my hair and then as I grab my bar of soap I notice a bottle of Axe body wash (It’s not mine, I don’t live on my own). I got to reading the back of it as I lathered up my washcloth. The back of the bottle basically says “If you buy and use Axe soap, you’ll get girls.” The first thought that came to my mind was that these people are being offensive to the GLBT community. Secondly, it bothered me because there are actually idiots who will buy that soap and actually think they are going to “get some ladies.” I then remembered that I’ve been wanting to write a post about consumerism, so here I am.

I’ve been wanting to buy a new computer for a while now. I haven’t been able to because at the moment I don’t have a fulltime job. The computer I want is a MacBook Pro. The problem with me is that I feel I need a lot of things. I feel as though I need a MacBook Pro, then I want a couple of PC desktops. One desktop to act as a file server, local network test web server, virtual machine server, etc. The other desktop would be the one that I use for running Windows and Linux in a dual boot environment (at least I didn’t say 3 PC’s so I could have Windows and Linux on their own). Oh wait, maybe I need 4 so I can have one to tinker with. Then at the same time I feel as though I need a new camera. A dSLR to upgrade the Sony Cybershot that I have outgrown. At the same time I want a good video camera so my videos will look better. But you see, it doesn’t stop there. I also need software. Software to work on photos, videos, web design, etc.

Yesterday I got to looking at a website that showed some of the most world changing photos. There were some photos of young men in Africa that really bothered me. They were so tiny. They were young boys who couldn’t find food. There was even a photo of a young boy who was being stalked by a vulture because he was so tiny. The vulture could have attacked him and the boy would not have had a chance. A child of that age in this country would not have been stalked by a vulture because children of that age in this country are much larger than the vulture.

I go into the kitchen and I see food that we don’t really like but we have it on hand because it’s cheap. Ramen noodles for instance. They’re extremely cheap. Most people don’t like them, I actually kind of like them. The thing that bothers me is that if food like ramen noodles is so cheap, why aren’t we taking ships full of it to places where people’s bodies are so frail and they are just wasting away? I know it’s not the healthiest food on the planet but at least it would put some meat onto their bones.

I think about those things a lot. It really bothers me a great deal. It makes me wonder if people really care. Do people really care in this country? Or are people in this country only concerned with the latest celebrity gossip and the latest and greatest gadget, currently the Apple iPhone.

All of that makes me realize that I need to think and question myself before I buy anything. As a healthy consumer I should be asking myself, constantly, Do I really, need this? It makes me realize that I need to look at an object and ask myself if I really need it or if the people who market the product are just trying to convince me that I do, when I really don’t.

As Americans we are born consumers. Everything we do involves consumerism. However, we very seriously need to think about the things we are consuming. Question every single thing about it. Question the reasons why we need something. Question, Question, Question. That’s what we as citizens of Earth need to be doing! Question everything! Don’t just go through life blindly. If we don’t start asking more questions, things are only going to get worse.

Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, technology, macbook pro, axe, body wash, soap, consumerism, consumers, americans, earth, deatrophication, deatrophication of the brain

I’ve been sitting here this morning watching Democracy Now. I usually listen to the broadcast in podcast format while I’m working but for some reason I didn’t get yesterdays and am having to stream it from their website in video format. None of that matters. I just needed an entry. What does matter is that I am so sick of watching the news. Every time I sit down to listen or watch the news I cry. Everytime you turn around there is something else bad happening on this planet. A lot of the bad is happening here at home in the United States. Freedoms are being taken away left and right. Citizens are being spied on warrantlessly. The list goes on and on. It’s just so difficult to listen to it. I do listen to it everyday because if I don’t know about it, then I’m just a dumb, ignorant sheep. I want to write more on this blog and I hopefully will be able to soon. I’ve just gotten busy with working on client projects. The biggest problem with writing on this blog is that there is so much happening. Most of it bad. It’s so hard to keep track of everything.

There are times that I want to leave this country so badly. I feel as though things are only going to get worse. Last November we voted and we felt as though we were going to get people into our government that would make things better. No. We were wrong. They’re no better than the Bush administration. They’re passing the laws that he wants in place and I’m scared to think what else they’ll pass and allow him to do.

I have came to the conclusion that we cannot trust someone based on party. I’ve decided that in the coming elections I refuse to vote for someone just because they have a better chance of winning because they are in the Democratic party. That does not make a difference anymore. Democrats are just as bad anymore. All they care about is money and it’s extremely disgusting.

The problem is there are no candidates to vote for. I’ll be completely honest, I don’t know everything about all of them. I plan on changing that as soon as possible. I want to write posts about every one of them. I need to know what each and every one of them is about when I go to the polls for the primaries next year.

The other thing that I keep thinking about is I have heard from people who voted for Bush in recent days that they think it’s so horrible that all anyone in this country is concerned with is money. Also I had one to tell me that they think that the government is just trying to keep everyone down (reminds me of Power of Nightmares). Although these people are correct, the problem is that they do not understand that the person they voted for is causing these problems. The scariest part is that they would vote for him again or the person he recommends.

I’m trying to control my rage. There is a lot of rage in me at the moment. I’m just so sick of people not being able to see what is happening. I mean, really happening in this country. Not some bullshit that is happening on the television. I have a mini rant: I’m sick of podcasters who continually just re-iterate what the TV is spitting out to them. Do what I did. Turn the TV off. I turned the television off in November of 2005 and I seriously think I’m a lot better off now than ever. I see things. I know what is happening.

I guess I should shut up. I just really needed to get some of this out. Honestly, I don’t feel any better after writing this because I know it’s not going to matter, no one is going to care. No one is going to do anything about anything. The government is just going to continue to take our freedoms away and the cows in the pasture are just going to keep grazing.

I know I could probably be writing about more important things this morning, however, this story struck a nerve with me because it hits home so closely (as in I know people like this, too many in fact). In this article a mother who is concerned with the books that are in her child’s school library goes to the school and uses the computerized card catalog system (wow, she knows how to use a computer!) and types keywords that are offensive to her and she is shocked to see books on the subjects she enters into the search.

The main reason I am even talking about this is because it makes me so disgusted, mainly because I know people who would do this sort of thing! I have heard of mothers in this area of the country, the Bible belt, who will rip pages about homosexuality, abortion and atheism out of brand new encyclopedia and dictionaries that they purchased for their children. These same type of people homeschool their children because they are so scared to death the kid is going to hear a curse word on the playground. I have news for you mothers out there, the kids already heard you screaming and moaning in bed. If it came out the natural way it’s already came into contact with your vagina! GET OVER IT! Life is full of sex! We’re sexual beings!

In actuality what I think people are afraid of is the fact that they know they can no longer keep their children brainwashed. It’s either that or they are scared to death to re-think life since they were probably brainwashed as a child.

Technorati Tags: homosexual, homosexuality, atheist, atheism, abortion, library, stupid mother, bigots, bigot mother, vagina, sex