You’re Still Scared…

So the accusations of socialism haven’t stopped in the week since my last post.  Not that I expected them to at all.  But frankly, I’m tired of socialism being used as a buzz word to evoke terror in the electorate.  So in this post I will try to allay your fears a little.  First, everyone needs to mentally separate the idea of socialism from the corrupt and tyrannical governments that socialism is so often associated with.  The ideology is good, the practice is notoriously bad.  We can use elements of socialism without becoming evil.  That’s the first point I want to make.  

The other point I want to make is that Obama is NOT a socialist.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s misleading to say that Obama is so.  He has suggested some policies that are socialist-like and he has said, as the Republicans will not let you forget, that we need to “share the wealth” but he is not a socialist.  For an example of socialism in the US, visit the website for the Socialist Party USA and check out their candidate for president this year, Brian Moore.  I think it will quickly become apparent that Barack Obama and the Democrats have little in common with Brian Moore and the Socialists.  And that’s all I have to say for today.

The video I’ve attached is yesterday’s episode of The Colbert Report, in which he addresses Obama’s socialist-ness and he interviews Brian Moore.  Humorous and revealing.  (5:18-12:00 is the socialism stuff and the interview).

The Colbert Report

[this video kept playing automatically and was getting annoying, so I removed it.  you can still check it out on hulu.com]

Don’t Be So Scared Of Socialism

In the news lately, I’ve heard a lot of people (read: Republicans) talking about how they’re afraid that this or that policy is going to turn the US socialist.  I don’t want to get very deep into it, because I’m not smart enough to do so.  But I do know this: the US has a very long way to go before it will become socialist.  Anybody who has images in their head of a USA that looks like Cuba or China or Venezuela, or something like that, doesn’t have anything to worry about.  And another thing, perhaps more importantly, the nations that consistently score the highest on the UN’s Human Development Index [eg. Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Canada (my Home and Native Land)], while they are not “socialist” countries, all tend to have a lot of socialist-style policies.  No system is perfect, and a good system of government should certainly be a balanced one (capitalism and socialism can get along together), but I sure don’t think people should be as apprehensive about socialist-like policies as they seem to be.

Now I’ll lighten things up a bit and cap this post off with a quotation from Nobel laureate Thomas Mann: “Every reasonable human being should be a moderate Socialist.”

And with a song from my fellow Canadian, Sam Roberts, called The Canadian Dream

Peter Recommends…

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – I had heard great things about this film and it didn’t disappoint.  Very well-made, sincere and moving.  The combination of music and imagery in some parts was particularly meaningful.  And the whole thing is made even more remarkable by the fact that it is a true story, based on the book written by the protagonist.  It really made me reflect on my own life and joie de vivre.  I shed a tear in this one.  See it.  Read it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lars and the Real Girl – This one surprised me.  I had heard good things about it but I had the impression that it was going to be funnier than it was.  Don’t get me wrong, it was funny, but not in the way I expected.  And the humor was definitely not the center of the film for me.  It was remarkable to me how they could make a movie with such a ridiculous premise and turn it into one of the most endearing and heartfelt films I’ve seen recently.  I remember feeling a little ridiculous as I shed a tear in a movie about a man who falls in love with a sex doll.  See this movie.

Hello, Dear Blog Friends!

I think it has been quite long enough since you all have had the blessing of reading about me.  This post might still be a little disappointing because it will just be a brief update on my life.  Try to enjoy.  ;)

So, life kind of swept me away over the last couple of weeks.  That isn’t to say that I’ve been incredibly busy by any means.  Mostly my mind has been busy.  I’m feeling less certainty these days about which career, exactly, I want to pursue in grad school.  As an undergrad, I thought I had it all figured out, then I graduate and, whoa!  Good thing I decided to take a year to work before going to grad school.  Even then, the application deadline for grad school next fall is December, and I take the GRE in two weeks, so I still need to make a decision quick.  Many of you know already that my career goal throughout university was to be a counseling psychologist or something similar.  Now that I have to apply to a program it’s become much more complicated than that and I’m not exactly sure why.  I’m trying to decide counseling psychology or clinical psychology; PhD or PsyD; public school or private school.  And then lately I’ve developed an interest in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and have been seriously considering that as well.  One other thing that I’ve decided I want to do eventually is get my Master’s or something like it in Conflict Resolution and/or Peace Studies.  I think it would complement well whatever I choose to do.

So there you have it, that’s what’s been on my mind lately.  I know, “silly Peter”; this is something I probably should have figured out a long time ago.  But, in my defense, I thought I did have it figured out until recently.  Hopefully I can make a decision soon.  I am accepting advice from anyone willing to give it.

In other Peter news, I’ve been surfing a couple of times in the last few weeks!  So much fun!  That’s one major San Diego goal completed.  Now all I need to do is stay standing for more than 3 seconds.  

And one more thing I’ll mention concerns my singing.  My voice teacher brought up a few weeks ago that I might like to try out for the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus; she thought I had the kind of voice that would work well for it.  Well, long story short, I auditioned and got in!  They said I had a good voice and good range, but my theory and technical skills were hurting a bit, but they were willing to let me in if I promised to bone up on my theory.  So I’m gonna be a choral singer for a while.  Neat, eh?

And I’ll leave it at that.

Most Annoying People

There are some people in the world that drive me crazy.  This post is dedicated to them.  This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, these are just the first ones that popped into my head.  In no particular order (except Nancy Grace):

1. Nancy Grace – My first, most annoying person is Nancy Grace.  She is without a doubt the most obnoxious, irritating person on TV and as far as I can tell, in the world.  I can’t stand her.  It’s a combination of things; it’s her voice, it’s her volatile, argumentative personality, it’s her permanent scowl and I think she just naturally gives off a bad vibe.  But it could be just me.

 

Paris Hilton/Britney Spears/Lindsay Lohan – They are a terrible trifecta of annoyance.  They might as well be the same person.  Any talent any of them have is completely eclipsed by their ridiculous antics and stupidity and the fact that the media is super-saturated with them.  I just don’t care.

 

Dr. Phil - I’m not sure what it is about him, but he just rubs me the wrong way.  He’s probably a good psychologist, but all I see when I see him on TV is a pretentious quack.  You barely have to be a psychologist to do what he does.  Which is evidenced by the multitude of non-professional self-help literature and personal gurus that exist today.  What do you really have to offer Phil?

 

Billy Mays – I don’t know how his style of selling became so successful, but some people must have liked it because he is constantly on TV, selling me everything from laundry detergent to cookware.  And sometimes it’s just too much.  Too much happy yelling about products I don’t care about.

 

Carrot Top – He just irritates me.  In the 90s he was a mediocre comedian who looked and sounded irritating.  Today he’s a mediocre comedian who looks like a body-building gargoyle and hangs out with Criss Angel.  I don’t know how he’s as popular as he is.

 

Mary Murphy – You’re on the “most annoying person” train!  If you’ve seen So You Think You Can Dance, you’ll know what I mean.  She screeches and cackles and has instantaneous mood swings and it becomes way too much very quickly.  She easily earns a spot on this list.

 

Sylvia Browne – I’ve written about good ol’ Sylvia before.  She’s old, sounds like she’s been smoking since she was five, wears too much makeup and she’s a psychic who preys on the gullibility of the masses.  She’s smug, too; like she knows she’s getting away with a huge scam.

 

George W. Bush – It hurts my soul a little bit to have to include the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world on this list, but the truth hurts sometimes.  He annoys me so much.  He always has this “asleep-at-the-wheel” sort of demeanor that makes you wonder how he ever got in a position to wield so much power.  On the bright side, the political cartoons of him crack me up.

Ashlee Simpson – I have more talent in my pinky toe than little miss Simpson.  I think what’s so irritating about her is that she has had so much success, all while making repetitive, no-talent music that has all the qualities of a deadly virus – contagious and destructive without treatment.

 

Tom Cruise – He’s actually a pretty good actor, but he’s a wacko.  Why does he have to be so weird?  All the great movies he’s made are going to be overshadowed by his insanity.  In the movies he can act like a normal human being, why can’t he pull it off in real life?  Another waste of talent.

Make Poverty History

I don’t know how many of you know this about me, but I think I have a bit of an activist’s soul.  I’m not really an activist outwardly, it’s more like an inner passion to see a lot of change in the world.  But I realize how little being inwardly passionate accomplishes so I’m trying to help it become outward.  

Generally, my passion could be described as a desire to end extreme poverty and inequality.  There are so many other issues that come along with that, but that’s the best place to start.  I could write several posts on my feelings about this and many other issues, but for today I just want to share a short video; an act of outward activism for the day.  

This video features Bono, legendary musician and humanitarian, and my hero.  It is a few years old, but its message is still just as current now as it was then.  And just a thought to keep in mind, I hate that it has become such a cliche to see an emaciated ethnic child on TV.  I implore you, when you see this video, and others like it, don’t see a cliche, see a human being.  See someone whose life is intertwined with yours – because it really is.  For the religious, it is the believer’s duty to do unto others as if to their deity.  For everyone, it is our responsibility born from our very humanity not to allow such suffering to occur.  In a world as connected as ours now is, it would be naive to think that we can afford not to do something.  Most people simply don’t appreciate how much their lives are affected by global poverty and inequality.

I have many more thoughts on the subject.  If you’re interested in hearing them, let me know.  I’ll try not to be one of those preachy zealots. :)

And I think I can fit in one more outward activist act in this post.  To find out more and to get involved at a political level, check out the Make Poverty History Campaign in Canada or the One Campaign in the US.  And think about this as you vote this year.