Work is getting slow at the tax forms job, which means more time for blog writing.....yay!......but a lot less money......boo! I guess life has its trade-offs. I get to be poor and you get to read my inspirational words. Wait a second. I think I got the short end of the stick.
I dislike the saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." It is totally false in every way. If you have a disease, does it make you stronger? I don't think so. If you get repeatedly punched in the head, does it make you stronger? No way. If you are verbally abused every day of your life, does it make you stronger. I'm thinking no. So why do people always say it? Do they mean, "What doesn't kill you makes you mentally stronger to be able to deal with difficult things more easily?" Maybe. But even that isn't always true. People can get beat down mentally as much as they can physically. A truer saying would be, "What doesn't kill you really sucks and will probably make your life miserable for a while, or even to the end."
I'm not saying all this because I think people should have a negative attitude or give up when life gets hard. I'm just saying that sayings don't usually help. They are over-simplified, overly-optimistic, sometimes false, ways of looking at the world. If you want to make someone feel better, don't give them sayings. Give them help, give them REAL words from your heart or a quote from a beloved author. Before you say it, quotes are not the same as sayings. Quotes can sometimes turn into sayings if they are too simplistic or over-used. But quotes usually have so much more depth and meaning and are more than one line. Quotes come from a thoughtful approach rather than carelessly dropping a one line saying.
All I want people to know is that humans are more complex than sayings allow. Most problems will not be solved with a simple saying. People seem to forget more and more to put thought into what they do. If anyone wanted some advice from me, I would urge them to talk less and think more.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
People Kill People
Gun control is a really hot issue right now, so I thought I would put in my two cents about the matter and then people can go back to bitching and moaning about one thing or another. I believe, the less guns the better. See? Right there I lost all the radical gun rights activists and all the moderate ones are already fuming. Hear me out.....or don't. I don't really care. I believe less guns are better because guns make it really easy to kill. I'm sure that's what the gun rights people want, because they have a lot of fear about who or what may be lurking out there that they many need to kill. But I think guns make it TOO easy to kill.
Think about it. How many stories can you think of where someone was murdered, or accidentally injured or killed by a gun? I can think of quite a few. Now, think of stories you have heard where people where saved by guns. Police and military stories don't count, because they are not average citizens in average circumstances. I am drawing a blank. The truth is, if you own a gun, you are much more likely to be accidentally injured or killed by it than you are to be saved by it. And, yes, that includes people with gun training. Even people with training have accidents with guns.
The next point I would like to make is that the government will never take away all guns. I know that is hard for activists to believe, but think about it. What is the government? The people. What do the people want? To keep their guns. If you want to keep your gun, why would you worry that you would take it away from yourself? The government (meaning some of the people) only wants to make it a little harder for people to get guns. That means more background checks, more gun safety training, and more restriction on what kinds of guns you can get. That's all. Now that's not so bad is it?
Well the gun rights activists will point out that the government may somehow get too much power, and then we will all be ruled by an oppressive regime. I'm not too worried about that in America, because the people here would not stand for a government like that for long. There would be guns and fighting, yes. But then we would either restore our fair and democratic government, or there would be anarchy and we would have to protect ourselves from all kinds of terrorists and gangs and evil people who want to take our guns, our freedom, or our lives. In that case, having a gun will solve everything. Not. In an extreme, end of civilization and order scenario like that, I would be much more worried about surviving the elements than surviving the other human beings who want to kill me. Nature is a much more indiscriminate killer than people. I would be worried about learning how to survive off the land without electricity or running water or any modern conveniences. I would not be worried about getting a gun, that once out of bullets, would be useless to me.
On the internet I read a quote by gun activists that said, "If guns kill people, then do spoons make people fat?" Of course spoons don't make people fat. People make themselves fat. The same goes for guns. Guns don't kill people. People kill people. If there are more guns around, it only makes it easier for people to kill people.
Think about it. How many stories can you think of where someone was murdered, or accidentally injured or killed by a gun? I can think of quite a few. Now, think of stories you have heard where people where saved by guns. Police and military stories don't count, because they are not average citizens in average circumstances. I am drawing a blank. The truth is, if you own a gun, you are much more likely to be accidentally injured or killed by it than you are to be saved by it. And, yes, that includes people with gun training. Even people with training have accidents with guns.
The next point I would like to make is that the government will never take away all guns. I know that is hard for activists to believe, but think about it. What is the government? The people. What do the people want? To keep their guns. If you want to keep your gun, why would you worry that you would take it away from yourself? The government (meaning some of the people) only wants to make it a little harder for people to get guns. That means more background checks, more gun safety training, and more restriction on what kinds of guns you can get. That's all. Now that's not so bad is it?
Well the gun rights activists will point out that the government may somehow get too much power, and then we will all be ruled by an oppressive regime. I'm not too worried about that in America, because the people here would not stand for a government like that for long. There would be guns and fighting, yes. But then we would either restore our fair and democratic government, or there would be anarchy and we would have to protect ourselves from all kinds of terrorists and gangs and evil people who want to take our guns, our freedom, or our lives. In that case, having a gun will solve everything. Not. In an extreme, end of civilization and order scenario like that, I would be much more worried about surviving the elements than surviving the other human beings who want to kill me. Nature is a much more indiscriminate killer than people. I would be worried about learning how to survive off the land without electricity or running water or any modern conveniences. I would not be worried about getting a gun, that once out of bullets, would be useless to me.
On the internet I read a quote by gun activists that said, "If guns kill people, then do spoons make people fat?" Of course spoons don't make people fat. People make themselves fat. The same goes for guns. Guns don't kill people. People kill people. If there are more guns around, it only makes it easier for people to kill people.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Reminiscing
I just did a search for my blog, and I have to say it is kind of cool having my own web page pop up in the search results. I remember the days when web pages were a new thing and I remember thinking that I would never want one, let alone have one. How things have changed. I may only be 31, but it feels like I have been around a lot longer than that. Already, kids are growing up in a totally different world than what I grew up in. Kids today don't know what it's like to not have cell phones or cds and dvds. They couldn't imagine not having cable tv or the latest video games. They are totally surrounded by technology, and I wonder how they would adapt if all that where taken away.
I always thought I would never grow into one of those adults who says, "Back in my day......." But now I believe it is just something that happens to everyone that can't be avoided. I don't know if the past was necessarily better. Some things probably where, and some things probably weren't. But no matter what is in the past, it seems to have a powerful effect on people. It always wants to draw you back into it. Sometimes you remember the happy times and you are sad because they are over. Sometimes you remember the sad times and you can hardly bring yourself to get past the pain.
I have found that it is usually best to not dwell on the past, happy or sad. If you do, you will not fully live, because you will be neglecting the present for something that is already over and can never be again. I used to think about the past a lot before I realized this, and I think my life is better now that I don't let the past dominate my mind.
I have also come to realize in my years of living that change is a constant and cannot be avoided. This may seem obvious to most people, and I guess it is. But I used to spend hours and even days longing for things that where in the past. Once I accepted change, though, it really helped me let go of things that where already gone.
The past will always be a part of our lives as long as we can remember it. It is wise to learn from the past and even to reminisce about the past from time to time. But don't ever get stuck back there, or your life will move on without you.
(I think it is funny that I didn't start writing this post intending to write anything about the past. It just goes to show the tangents that my mind is always taking.)
I always thought I would never grow into one of those adults who says, "Back in my day......." But now I believe it is just something that happens to everyone that can't be avoided. I don't know if the past was necessarily better. Some things probably where, and some things probably weren't. But no matter what is in the past, it seems to have a powerful effect on people. It always wants to draw you back into it. Sometimes you remember the happy times and you are sad because they are over. Sometimes you remember the sad times and you can hardly bring yourself to get past the pain.
I have found that it is usually best to not dwell on the past, happy or sad. If you do, you will not fully live, because you will be neglecting the present for something that is already over and can never be again. I used to think about the past a lot before I realized this, and I think my life is better now that I don't let the past dominate my mind.
I have also come to realize in my years of living that change is a constant and cannot be avoided. This may seem obvious to most people, and I guess it is. But I used to spend hours and even days longing for things that where in the past. Once I accepted change, though, it really helped me let go of things that where already gone.
The past will always be a part of our lives as long as we can remember it. It is wise to learn from the past and even to reminisce about the past from time to time. But don't ever get stuck back there, or your life will move on without you.
(I think it is funny that I didn't start writing this post intending to write anything about the past. It just goes to show the tangents that my mind is always taking.)
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