The Future of American Government: As Told by Ted Williams.

Take a nation- struggling to break out of economic catastrophe: hopeless, desperate, frustrated.
Add one man- still dizzy in the aftermath of addiction, thrust into the big break of a lifetime.
What do you get? A former addict who becomes a nation-wide symbol for the American Dream, whose success in sobriety will ultimately lead to the restoration or the final demise of America's optimism.

Ted Williams has no idea what he, unwillingly, has gotten himself into. At a time when our country struggles to restore its own stamina, when Democrats and Republicans battle relentlessly over government regulation, there is no way that this poor man, thrust into the position of national symbol, will ever be able to slip back into normality, whether he is successful in his attempt to clean up or not.

If he succeeds, then maybe there's hope, right? Maybe if this one man, who has made so many wrong decisions in his life, can find an inherent sense within him to take this divine opportunity and make a good man of himself, then society really does have a chance. Maybe the individual is good, and maybe capitalism can be a success.

But if this man falters, the notion of the "truly rational" individual will be crushed forever, swiftly followed by an onslaught of government regulations in an abundance that this country has never seen before.

The saddest part is, when you look into Ted William's timid, helpless eyes, he has no idea the kind of martyr he will become.

"I Do" but I Don't

There seems to be an aversion to marriage that, in our society, is becoming increasingly more popular and acceptable in younger generations. From TV shows (like ABC's "Better With You") to popular songs (like Train's "If It's Love"), the idea that a marriage may, in fact, not be a commitment that feeds the growth of love, but rather a burden that hinders it, seems to be gaining more and more supporters every day. Though I have not decided where I stand personally on the issue, I do think that both sides hold strong opinions about their opposers that tend to leave them rather narrow-minded. It can be difficult to accept either mindset if you're not aware of the intentions of the form of commitment. So let's examine the two options:

A Daily Commitment
I can see where these people are coming from. I really can. As Train says, "I'm afraid when I hear stories about husband and wife, there's no happy ending". I can respect the people who choose not to get married. There are some people who, with marriage, would simply stop trying. Sure it's not a respectable mindset, but it happens to the best of us. The idea of making a commitment without getting married is centered around that concept of waking up every morning and choosing to love your partner. Similarly, you are working constantly, daily, to fill the role of the ideal mate, to keep your partner happy and make sure that they never feel a lapse in your love. Without marriage, the goal of every day is being so good to your significant other that they couldn't possibly leave you. In marriage, it can be easy to fall into the trap of taking each others love for granted. Every day you awake and know that no matter what kind of shit you pull off, your wife is still gonna be your wife the next morning. Especially after the hundreds of dollars she payed on that white dress and ice sculpture. If she wanted to get rid of you, she'd have to go through a big hassle, which would take a lot of time. Essentially, it allows you almost too much time to make up for your mistakes, possibly resulting in a generally bitter relationship held together by the fact that each party is too lazy to go through a divorce. Some call this daily guaranteed love "unconditional love". But if your spouse is truely to love you no matter what you do, what's going to stop you from doing something completely awful? Others argue that not being married encourages a relationship in which both parties are free to see whoever they want, which is not true at all. There is still a commitment, still a monogamous bond. It's just in this bond, each person agrees to live their life winning the love of their partner. In marriage, the promise is to love their partner despite their imperfections. Being married doesn't necessarily keep one from having relations with someone who is not their partner any more than simply making a commitment does. Essentially, the goal of making a non-marital commitment is to spend each day pleasing each other and promise never to take each others love for granted.

Marriage
Marriage is a good idea. That's probably why it's been going on for so long. We all know it's implications and importance from a religious aspect. But there are so many other glorious benefits to marriage as well. First of all, two people use this ceremony to pledge their lives to each other, to commit to loving one person for the rest of their life. Being able to trust your partner enough to make this commitment implies a very strong, unbreakable connection between two people. And if you're willing to celebrate the fact that you will see this same person every day for the rest of your life in front of all of your family and friends, then it is obvious that the depth of the relationship being solidified is truly remarkable. If you can accept that you will never be with another lover for the rest of your life, if you are content, even thrilled, to spend the rest of your life becoming part of this one person, then marriage is a statement of weight. It means more than just a ring and a title and a pretty ceremony, but it means, quite simply, that you are happy- that your partner never has to prove themself to you.

I will be very curious to see, in the future as these non-marital commitments become more popular, whether they experience the same complications as marriages, or if the relationships formed through these kinds of bonds will actually operate more smoothly. It will be difficult to track, obviously, being that a divorce is much more widely publicized than a break-up. But I think our society can learn a lot about human nature and the future of society by keeping tabs on these innovative individuals.

A Rant of Frustration

This post deserves no opener, no segway, no introduction, because, frankly, I tried to write one and not only would none suffice, each consecutively horridly written paragraph drained exponentially from the stream of furry I was feeling. So I deleted everything I wrote, stopped to make this small explanation of circumstance- I have come upon a rare homework assignment that actually inspired me to do something not-required- and began my rant:

In a certain article found in this past week's newspaper I located an editorial by a grouchy, perpetually frowning, slightly asian, disconcerted man by the name of Cal Thomas: Columnist. He wrote about the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, and why it should not, under any circumstances, be repealed. This man has officially made my uber-naughty list for the Christmas season, and assuming that I am able to locate his address online, he may be getting a very very large lump of coal shoved somewhere very very uncomfortable in the very very near future.

It is not the subject or opinion of this guy that really tick me off so bad. It's the pure doucheyness of it all (a word which, but the way, I have become quite found of mutilating into different parts of speech when I can find no better words to describe someone of complete rotten guts). The subject matter could easily be handled, by a more mature and considerate man, in a way that could come off almost objectively. Instead, it seems this man went miles out of his way just to make a point about his pure hatred of homosexuality. I don't mean just a "side-trip-to-Starbucks-for-a-quick-soy-mocha-latte-break" out of your way. I mean a "side-trip-to-a-remote-Costa-Rican-coffee-plantation-for-an-authentic-strawberry-coffee-brewed-by-locals-on-my-way-to-the-grocery-store" out of your way. And while we're there, let's insult the Costa Ricans for not being a creamy white wrinkly Asian mix like me. But really. Here are just a few of the audacious quotes that flow through this man's conscious thought:

"Why are we witnessing so many challenges to what used to be considered a shared sense of what is right? It is because we no longer regard the Author of what is right."

"Perhaps Gate should re-read the Constitution..."

"The military is one of our primary national upbringings. So is marriage. No wonder the gay rights movement seek to undermine both. There are consequences when foundations are destroyed"

And my personal most-detestable:
"The Congress has a duty to save us from the pursuit of our lower nature if we won't listen to that other voice. If they care."

What is this man ON?! Oh yes, because all the people that don't shun homosexuals as a lower species, as a life form that has chosen a path of perversion out of their own desire for pleasure are disobeying God? Because we who allow human being to speak what they truely are and don't force them to contain their identities for the contentment of others are serving Satan. By George, Cal. You've just condemned quite a large, welcoming, and much more congenial than yourself chunk of society to Hell right there. I hope your blind submission to the multiple translations of people hundreds of years ago gets you a high chair in heaven, though you might lose a few points with the Big Guy over the section on "loving your neighbor" which you seem to have overlooked. But wait, maybe that's a translation error. Someone must have missed the assertion after that which states "unless he can design a mean sweater vest" (excuse my intense stereotyping).

And truly Cal, you're advising others to read the Constitution? What about a little piece of that document that guarantees "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"? If I'm not mistaken, liberty means freedom; having the right to be yourself. Would you ask a black man to deny his color to get into the military? A woman her sexuality? No. Would a black man in the military have angered men years ago, made the bond between soldiers difficult? Like hell. But how many of our soldiers are black today? How many of your "264,600 men and women" projected to leave early if Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed would not have been there today if it weren't for African Americans in the military? And why must it always be that those who want to fight most, who are most loyal, are the ones that our soldiers are too ashamed to be fighting for? How can men be expected to go out and fight in honor of, to protect, to represent their nation, when they can't even learn to accept the people in it? Why should the freedom of individuality be a privilege that is decided upon by a count of the people who won't accept it? Why are the voices of those who cry out with 'why things shouldn't be' translated into laws, while the voices of those crying out with 'what could be' are quieted. Why do we inquire of the opposition "why not", but never of the advocates, "why?"?

If you can't put your feelings into words... make one up.

Of all the words that can be randomly generated, I am surprised that a word has not yet been conceived for the yearning to write ideas but the inability the think them. This has been happening to me increasingly more often as of late and it is exceedingly frustrating. Some might call this phenomenon writer's block, but it's more than that. It's this overwhelming... stuckness. Nothing I write sounds... right. Generally, my syntax is experiencing some kind of unpleasant spasm that leaves me spewing the most surface level vocabulary and awkwardly basic sentence structures.

I must have randomly generated about 30 word today before I gave up, frustrated, and decided to create my own word: syntlapse. It is a lapse of effective and artful syntax. Appropriately, when pronounced, the tongue gets a little tripped up in the "ntl" section, causing the word to come out in a sketchy, unsure auditory area somewhere between two and three syllables. In essence, it is clumsy. It makes you feel like an idiot to say. It embodies that feeling behind its definition.

I have created a beautiful creature here- this syntlapse of mine. For years to come- okay, my writing is increasing exponentially in its... ugh. I'll just... eh. I- stop. I'll just stop.

Space, the enter key, and other interjections of nothingness.

It never ceases to amaze me how much power is in space.

This is not a philosophical aphorism (though I should receive commendations, and perhaps several brownie points for using the word "aphorism" in context), but rather a shockingly suface-level observation. When I say "space", I do not refer to that big, vast universe in which we float. Not the space that is "big. Really big. You just wouldn't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is", as Douglas Adams would say. No, I refer to, quite simply-       . Space.

The space bar, the enter key, the tab button (I assume, in rare, awkward situations) are all marvelous tools when it comes to blogging. Tapping just one of these can convey an entire facial expression. They can begin a whole new idea, they can add blunt humor to any otherwise boring and foreboding block of text. Best of all, they help lazy people see all the interesting parts of the blog, and skip the dull commentary.

Because people who just read the short sentences are lazy.

You, the reader, receive commendations and brownie points in abundance if you read only that sentence while skimming over this entry. I would stop writing now, but I need enough dull-looking text here to balance out the entry. If I stop now, the single sentence won't stand out. Perhaps there's an art to directing the mind's eye around a piece of work. Perhaps it is like a painting. I'll consider this an experiment. Test one.

"There's a reason for the world- You and I"

Sometime every grain of your existence seems to shift at once, seems to sink down, seems to join forces with all the other specs of negativity in your life and overpower the good, so that all at once, in one thunderous jolt, your very foundation experiences a stomach-turning second of free fall. That second is horror. That second might be a day, a week, a year. But ultimately, that second is just that. In the universe, it's a second. The hardest part is not questioning that second. As you're free-falling, as you're sinking, if all you do is ask yourself questions- why am I doing this? why is this happening to me? does it get any better?- then how can you ever know when to stick out your arms and catch yourself? If you're so preoccupied with introspection, how can you ever be prepared to land? One day, things will get better. One day, you'll overcome that fear. You'll reach that goal. One day they'll get along, and along the way, you'll learn to get along without them. But you have to be awake enough to realize when you've hit the ground. You have to stay conscious, even when all you want to do is shut your eyes and sleep, so that when the fall ends, you'll be ready to land.

Blogs

In a quest to learn more about blogging, the art of recording pointless musing in a public forum, I stumbled upon a stunning realization. In fact, blogging is not synonymous with my definition in hardly any account. Blogging, to my complete surprise, is more commonly utilized for the sharing of political, technological, or otherwise innovative ideas.

Go figure.

My blogs can  be described as none of these. In fact, if there were a verb to most accurately describe my writing, it would be "extrovative". In other words, the exact paradox of innovation. Oh, how naive I was.

But why is it, as I search for famous and popular bloggers, that my google results are consistently and relentlessly polluted with websites guiding me to a list of marketing strategies, or a rambling on the newest java update, or an accumulation of commonsensical ways to reduce stress; ridiculously over-explained by closeted egoists and peppered with humbling comments arrogantly suggesting a completely fabricated inferiority complex? I see no benefit of these forums to society. Trust me, the American people do not have an intense longing and desire to hear more political rants, more argumentation, more exploitation, more invection. They have no moral or emotional need to comprehend the exact guidelines of every web program. They are not improved by reading "10 ways to simplify your life" or "5 most effective ways to show your husband you care"; wordy and modern recitations of age-old proverbs that, when carried out, seem eerily similar to most of the acts commonly included in the embodiment of elementary respect.

I realize that this post has become somewhat hypocritical, but it is not to become habit. It is a promise and a disclaimer. I will never again write a post against a subject, on politics, concerning technology, or offering advice, unless from a purely philosophical standpoint...

Or if they happen to come up on my random word generator.

In my blog, admittedly, I waste time. But I don't waste words.