Remembrance Day

Watching a dvd special about 9/11/01 and it's bringing back that pain and fear I felt that day and in the months afterward. We have to move on from it, but I think it's also good to recall those feelings. We cannot forget. But we also cannot let it become who we are.

Hopelessness and hate are powerful motivators. And where there isn't hope and love, those two will fill the void. Angry people who want to shape the world will use hopelessness and hate to control the actions of others and help fulfill their vision. Responding with equal hate only fuels it more. Only with hope and love can hopelessness and hate be conquered. They are the strongest motivators in the world.

When we can reach out to one another, with open hands and arms, not bombs, could people learn to love? When people see that we are all the same, whether we come from a land of deserts and sand or a land of green flowing grasses, whether we are Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or Atheist. Tolerance is not enough. Acceptance is necessary to the survival of humanity. Either/or, you're either with us or against us, us/them, none of these strengthens people. It only weakens us.

But we must have hope. Hope that love will out. Love will be stronger than hate. Hate can and will eventually be defeated. Because it must. Period.

Eid's a Wonderful Life, or Is It?

Just read an article on CNN that left me feeling pretty upset. Eid this year ends around 9/11/10 this year, and because of the perception that Muslims would be celebrating 9/11 instead of the end of Ramadan, many celebrations are being canceled. In the meantime, a group of so-called Christians are planning a "Burn a Quran" day for 9/11. So, people who are supposed to have the freedom to worship in this nation are being forced, though admittedly not by the government, to not worship as they want to, and at the same time, another group of people is allowed to disrespect them and their beliefs. How is this fair? Grrrr!!

Why "My Fair Lady" Outrages Me

I am watching this again and we'll see how far I make it before turning it off. It was never one of my favorite musicals, and I didn't really know why when I was younger, but I can safely say that I know now why. This movie promotes prejudice against entire groups of people based solely on how they talk. This professor guy takes this poor lady under his wing and teaches her to speak "properly". And then he decides, when she can finally speak "properly", that she's worthy of his affection. But if he'd been all, "Hey, I love you no matter what, and I don't want you to change your identity just for my selfish needs," I think I'd have been a much happier viewer. I think they ought to remake the movie, and remakes generally outrage me as well, but this warrants it. When they remake it, I think that's the twist ending they should go with. He says, "To hell with this accent crap, why don't I just love you for who you are?" and the speech lessons end. I think the real transformation in this story ought to have been the professor and not Eliza. Cuz he's pretty much a douche. And that's why this movie outrages me.

Monday's Shooting Downtown

I have been on vacation this week, so I wasn't at work when the shooting occurred Monday afternoon. But had I been at work, I would have been there at the time. It happened where I go on my afternoon walk each day, only about an hour after I usually go.

I saw the victim's picture on the news and realized that I've seen him hanging out around my building. Always begging for money, as so many of the others down there do. And as always, I shook my head and ignored him whenever he asked for change. I feel strange having known of this man, though I didn't know him. I struggle with conflicting feelings like "why didn't I give him money" and "if I'd given him money, he'd only have drunk it away..."

I feel bad that this happened to him, but I feel like it was ultimately his choice to let alcohol rule over his life. Sure alcoholism can be considered a disease, but it's sort of a disease with an asterisk after the word. A disease in which it can sort of be conquered, if one wants to. And this isn't the reason that all people are homeless, of course.

I suppose all of this blathering is to say that I can't fix the problems that make homeless people homeless in this world, and that I shouldn't necessarily feel guilty for having passed this man by countless times, paying little to no attention to him, because there was nothing I could really do to help him. It doesn't make me feel any less bad, however...I don't really know how to resolve this...