Reasons Why America is NOT "The Big Dog."

America is NOT the "big dog." Allow me to preface this list by saying that I love this country deeply, but I really hate the idea that "we're the best." We aren't.

Reasons why we kinda suck:
1) The Christian Right
2) The Regular Right
3) The Tea Party
4) Sarah Palin
5) Starbucks...everywhere.
6) Obesity (I'm one to talk, but still)
7) Supersizing
8) Corporations
9) Mortgage Foreclosures
10) Liberty University
11) The first amendment
12) The second amendment
13) All the deaths because of #s 11 and 12.
14) "Spiedi"
15) Ryan Seacrest
16) The fact that more people voted for American idol than for PRESIDENT.
17) Outsourcing
18) The show "Outsourced"
19) Madonna
20) Rap Music made by people like Vanilla Ice
21) Vanilla Ice
22) The South
23) Over-representation of rural, toothless podunks.
24) Our obsession with porn
25) People who don't like porn
26) Our lack of gay marriage
27) Our lack of health care
28) Our overabundance of unwinable wars
29) Larry the Cable Guy is the top earning comic of 2010
30) The fact that no more Kennedys are in government
31) We invaded an Island to control it only to lose control of it (Cuba)
32) Vietnam
33) Hippies
34) Fake tanning
35) The Jersey Shore
36) Hemp stuff...just any of it
37) Really, really cheap beer
38) We didn't kill the guy who thought "New Coke" was brilliant
39) McDonald's Happy Meals
40) Health insurance that pays for Viagra but not glasses
41) BOB DOLE endorses Viagra
42) BOB DOLE'S wife is still pissed off...how?
43) Tiger Woods gets more news coverage than dead soldiers
44) Live soldiers get no news coverage
45) The Westboro Baptist Church
46) The history of violence and destruction
47) The Trail of Tears
48) Everything the South currently stands for...
49) Everything the South used to stand for
50) Last but not least...Mel Gibson

Canada, eh?

Yes....Canada. Their national health care, their clean air, their scenic beauty that has yet to be ravaged by the tyranny of big oil companies, their law that makes Fox News illegal, their laws against hate speech, their gun control, their subsequent lack of gun deaths, their Tim Horton's, their utilization of old English spelling (i.e. honour.), their full-flavored beer, their calmer drivers, their delicious and highly alcoholic concoction that is the sweet nectar of "ice wine," their lack of litter, their mounties, their Queen!, their mild climate, their Niagara Falls being so much better than ours, their wildlife, their glaciers, their Labbatt Blue Light commercials, their national sport, their Michael J. Fox, their maple syrup, their Toronto-based band RUSH!!, their ability to allow us to watch Drake get shot and spend time in a wheelchair, their mounties, their bacon, their fishing, their crystal clear lakes/rivers/streams, their wild salmon, their banishment of Fred Phelps, and last but not least...plaid flannel.

After all of these wonderful things, I think we can forgive Justin Bieber.

What crosses the line?

I missed the class that we discussed the assassination of Bin Laden. But I did learn about people's feelings from facebook.

Pretty much all week there has been a slew of serious, semi serious and mockery statuses. I've already read a couple of posts concerning the views on this.

I never see the death of a human being to be a cause for celebration. Though he was an internationally wanted terrorist, I can see where people are coming from. I also understand the atrocities he committed were disgusting and awful. Having said that, no matter how awful the crime and how completely abhorrent he was the human race, reacting with praise and high fives makes us at fault as well (CERTAINLY not to the same extent, but still). I have a similar attitude towards the death penalty. Fighting murder with murder just doesn't seem right to me.

Having said that, Erin made a very valid point that Bin Laden's death might start a new era of higher acceptance for Muslims in the US who have been the subject of MUCH stereotyping and racism since 2001.

Diversity Meeting

Since this class began, I've been super fired up about racial/sexual/orientation related discrimination on this campus.

I mean I was fired up before, but this class awakened this intense desire in me to fix things.

I attended the diversity meeting with president on Wednesday evening. The room was almost completely full. The stories that people told were incredibly alarming. We got through 2 hours of stories and there was still more than a handful of people waiting to speak.

I am skeptical to the actual progress that it's going to make. The president did very little to assure us that action would be taken. I think that based off the blatant racism, sexism and homophobia apparent on campus, action needs to be taken immediately.

It is incredibly unjust that people on this campus have been fundamentally disrespected on the deepest level. We need to be able to feel like equals and human beings.

I am hoping that my final project will tackle this issue and will yield some results.

National Anthem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLpuF9UMvk

Everyone makes fun of Canada but everyone knows at least the first line to their anthem. They take pride in their anthem, they sing it at the top of their lungs to it. I wish we did this, sure sometimes we sing along and mumble the words, but this country the singer stops so the crowd can continue. I would love to join in on this, I want Americans to begin to do this. I have been to sporting events where I get an evil eye for singing along. I am sorry I take pride in my country but there is no reason why I can not sing along. I get it, its an honor for the person singing and its "their" moment but why should our country's song be a one persons song. To me it sounds better in a big group anyways. Everyone should sing along to the national anthem, as well as Canada's.

Post 24: What we have learned.

Well, another semester has ended, and we have learned quite a bit, whether about race, sexuality, or just ourselves. I'm certain that for the most part, this class has bettered us, and has made all of us more open to viewing certain actions in a different light, and are not looking to just better the world whether through simple means or maybe even manners more complex. This class have been a joy to take part in, and hope to continue learning as college, and life continues.

Post 23: Oh Canada

Well, this week was most certainly interesting with all that we discussed about Canada, but honestly I think Canada has started to take the proper first steps, that we are long over due from attempting. I don't remeber there being a full open apology from the US government to the native american people. By being willing to apologize they are definitely opening up to possibilities for true change, instead of the same issues over and over again.