The Blog Of Stephen

A stoplight. You’re in your car, face down, as the homeless man passes you by. So long as you can ignore him, you can keep your conscience clear. Well, ignore him, and then create the reasons inside your mind that you believe best justify your actions. “Why should I give him money? It will just go to drugs, alcohol, or any number of other addictions.” “It isn’t my fault that he is where he is, it is the result of his own decisions, circumstances, or any other number of other reasons.” But the truth is, this is you merely reasoning your way out of a situation in which you could have truly helped someone else. Maybe not in the sense that society promotes, where in order to significantly help anyone you must give more than you can afford. Instead, this is a scenario where you could have improved the quality of life of your fellow man, even if it were for only a brief amount of time. But you’ve reasoned your way out of it, convincing yourself that either he doesn’t deserve the money or you will do more with it than he would. And this is the line of reasoning that has become ever more prevalent in today’s society. The type of reasoning that says giving is immoral. You worked hard for your money, why should you have to give it to someone else, no matter their circumstances. You have been programmed with these cynical ideas that create in you a selfish and constantly skeptical human being. A human being that can’t possibly understand that not every other human being in need is actually just a wolf in sheep’s clothing attempting to steal your every last dime.

Now, my goal isn’t to encourage you to part ways with every cent that you have. Instead, it is to urge you to look past your negative views and see that there are many in this society who could genuinely use your help. America, as a whole, is a giving nation. We provide much needed aid to multiple countries around the world. And yet we look upon providing aid to our fellow citizens with skepticism, ignoring their plights, all the while convincing ourselves that what we’re doing is both right and moral. It seems that negative rhetoric and clouded reasoning have effectively shattered our individual moral codes, and we, as individuals, have no desire to pick up the pieces.

I Choose To Be A Carpenter, Not An Onlooker

Disclaimer: The following piece is based entirely in the realm of opinion. And for those feeling like I single out any given group, I do. But my word of advice to those of the Tea Party everywhere, is that if you don’t want all of the negative attention then try casting a more intelligent and entirely less ignorant spotlight upon yourselves.

I am an American citizen, which in other words, means I’m generally an onlooker. I make a point to gawk at all that goes on around me for as long as I possibly can. And the great thing about living in America is that there are never a shortage of things to stare at. I mean, take a look for yourself.

The Debt Ceiling “Debate”

Sadly, this is no debate. Now, that isn’t to say that there is a shortage of childish arguing and teenage posturing going on, because there’s plenty of that to go around. The problem is that in a proper debate each side is usually trying to say the most intelligent thing, not the most idiotic. The issue with a Washington full of ideologues is that we no longer properly debate any given subject, instead we see which of us can yell “No, it’s your fault” the loudest. And all the while, we, the American citizenry, sit back and look on as if to condone this behavior with our indifference. Now, I understand that not every American citizen falls under this umbrella of insouciance, because to say that would be to undermine the great work currently being done by the Tea Party to voice our societal concerns. The only issue there is that Tea Party activists are, in short, one of the main causes of the current debt ceiling stalemate. I’m not trying to say that speaking up for your cause is a deplorable action, I’m merely saying to try and do it in a more realistic way. The constant repetition of the same phrases, “Don’t budge an inch Republicans, or we’ll no longer consider you conservative enough for us,” or one of my favorites, “Things really won’t be that bad even if we don’t raise the debt ceiling, so stand Republicans, and refuse to compromise or collaborate in the name of the American people,” doesn’t accomplish anything, except to further exacerbate a chasm that has been growing just fine on its own. (Obviously, I understand that these are not exact quotes from any individual member of the Tea Party, at least not to my knowledge anyway, but they do succeed in getting my point across while also, I believe, giving insight into the mind of a Tea Partier.) I fully understand one’s desire to stand behind their principles and project an appearance of unwavering dedication to their ideals, however when that desire becomes a detriment to what is obviously a necessity for the continued advancement of an entire nation, you may want to rethink your course of action. Now, before you go taking the wrong ideas from this, you need to know that I am in no way encouraging compromising your principles on a day to day basis. Instead, I am suggesting that when the situation warrants a true and intelligent discussion on a subject that you find morally abhorrent, you look deep inside yourself and try to find the person there that understands that your ideals do not speak for everyone. I also understand that to most people, liberals and conservatives alike, this idea of flexible morality is obscene. Nowhere is this more glaringly apparent than in Washington. But the fact remains that the only way to reach a true compromise, and thus a solution, is for those on both sides of the aisle to stand up and accept that some of them need to move slightly to the right, and others, slightly to the left. And we, the American people, need to stand up and hammer the nail of this point into their wooden brains. Second Disclaimer: I am in no way encouraging or condoning the actual hammering of any literal nails into the brains of our politicians.