All Down the Drain

There is air, water, land, plants, and animals. The air is dirty, the water is polluted, the land is drained of resources, the plants are few and far between, and the animals are mutated. If these all have to be in balance, then the entire scale seems to have gone down the toilet. The air needs the plants to have high oxygen content. The plants need water to grow so they can provide oxygen for the air. The animals also need the water so they can grow, and also so that there is plants to eat. The land needs to be rich and fertile so the plants can grow, so the plants can make oxygen and provide food for the animals. Unfortunately, humans are supposed to fit into the animal category, yet we have separated ourselves from the entire system. We pollute the water, the air, deplete the land, cut down the plants and push animals toward extinction through overhunting, overfishing, and hazardous conditions on land, air, or sea. We ruin the land, air, sea, and plants, leaving nothing for the animals. But we are the animals. We may not think we are, but what were taking from the animals, were actually ruining for ourselves. The environment and balance of nature hasn’t seemed to be of much concern to anyone until recent years. But even now with better fuel efficient cars, greener production and trade, and cleaner energy sources, it doesn’t seem like were doing nearly enough. We have already caused so much damage, most of which we cannot undo. Our efforts to stop our trail of destruction have only made our path a bit smaller. We are still ruining the world we live in. The environment can only take so much more until it will eventually collapse in on itself. Each aspect of nature supports the other. Once one is taken out, all others will fall.

            The only reason that the aspects of nature are still in balance, is because the environment is incredibly resilient. No matter what we throw at it, nature can somehow bounce back to a stable state. In today’s conditions however, I don’t think the environment can take much more. We’re moving at an exponentially faster rate than we were even a few years ago. We expand and grow and create more and more waste, without giving nature any time to catch up. Even though we are trying to slow down, we’re till leaving the environment in the dust. We do just enough to keep people happy, because that’s all we’re focused on. People complain about the environment being in a poor state because it is affecting their lives. We do just enough to make it not our problem. We keep people happy, not animals, or plants, but people. And we will continue to keep people first until the balance of nature completely collapses and threatens to bring people down with it. But by then, it will be too late to save the environment, and therefore too late to save people, because the balance of nature will be forever lost.

Not Where, But When?

If I could travel to any time period it would be to before the discovery of America. I would want to live with the Mayans and learn all about their mysterious culture. They were light-years beyond their time, and yet somehow mysteriously disappeared. They had bizarre sacrificial ceremonies, enormous pyramids, and an advanced calendar system that was shockingly accurate. They are one of the only civilizations that we all know about, yet know nothing about them. We know some of what they have done, but we know so little about how they actually lived, and how they actually accomplished these magnificent feats of construction, invention, and massive ceremonies. Other time periods were interesting yes, but that’s also the reason why they are not interesting. We already know they were interesting times. We have no recorded history of the Mayans. They disappeared in a flash. They simply vanished with no warning. We don’t know if their time period was interesting or boring, or anything about what it was like. We know they had sporting events, but we don’t know exactly how they were played, when they were played, how important they were, if they had any meaning, if it was just a way to pass the time, if it was a large part of their society, or anything about the sport. That is just a sport. There is so much more to a society than just a sport. Imagine how much we could learn form such an advanced society.

            The Mayans can also teach us so much about the colonization by the Spanish. Most of what we are taught in school regarding the discovery of America is very pleasant information. What really happened was quite gruesome and gory. The Mayans fought the Spanish harder than any other civilization. They had no capital city, so the Spanish had no central target to take out. Instead, every city fought tirelessly against the Spanish. They refused to surrender. Their culture is so unique and interesting, that no other time period compares.

            Specifically with the 2012 predictions lately, it would be interesting what the Mayans would say about it. Would they say “We just decided to stop making calendars”? Would they say “Yea you guys are screwed”? Or would they have no idea what were talking about? We assume the Mayans had this elaborate idea about the end of the world, and had accurate predictions about the exact time of when it would occur. But is any of this true? Is anything we know about the Mayans true? How much of what we know is accurate? How accurate is the information we know?

            Are the Mayans that much different from every other culture? Were they so advanced? Or is it just the mystery of their culture that makes us want to believe that they were advanced? Maybe they were much more primitive, but because of the lack of information, we fill in the pieces with interesting, plausible information to make the Mayans seem so much more amazing.

Life Sentence for Everyone

If I devised a prison system, it wouldn’t be ideal, mainly because it would be considerably more expensive than our current system. However, I think it would be more effective at not only punishing criminals, but also changing them into better people. Not by forcing them to change, but by exposing them to the consequences of their actions, and keeping them until they realize how their actions and way of life is negatively affecting themselves and those around them. It would be similar to how the scared straight program works. Instead of punishing juvenile delinquents, they are shown what outcomes can come from their actions. In the prison system, prisoners would be shown the effects their actions have already had. Murderers would not be murdered. This prison system isn’t about punishment but about redemption. Instead of telling prisoners they’re bad and they need to be locked up, it tells prisoners they’re good, and they need to see why what they have done is wrong. They need to understand the impact of their crimes and truly regret them. Murderers will be shown the entire funeral service and grieving family. Relatives, friends and anyone who knew the victim would be allowed—while supervised—to share their thoughts with the murderer. Then murderers would need to be shown what it is like to have a relative or close friend taken from them. They would be shown what it is like to lose someone. There would be less prison guards and more psychologists, working to change how criminals view crimes. Rather than seeing how their crime would benefit the criminal, they have to learn how their crime is hurting so many more people. They are taught a lesson in morality. In my prison, there are no sentences. You are not put in prison for a set amount of time. Everyone goes in and doesn’t leave until they are deemed fit for society. Some may spend the rest of their live in jail. Others, would learn their lesson, maybe after a few years, how their actions were bad. Once they accept responsibility for their actions, are sorry for what they have done, and all of this is confirmed by a psychologist, they can gain their freedom. Young kids making stupid mistakes would get out earlier, to be productive aspects of society; the most evil and cruel criminals would spend much more time. If they can’t see what they did was wrong, their jail time did nothing but anger them. Once they get out, they aren’t going to be any better. They are just going to go right back to their old ways. In my prison, people wouldn’t be able to just serve their time. They would have to prove that they can abide by the laws. Everyone is trusted to follow the laws until they break them. Then they have to prove that they can be law abiding citizens, and that their crime was an exception to their usual behavior, and not routine, nor will they be repeated.

Wildcard Topic Results in Nonsense Blog

Wild Card! This reminds me of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. I think I’m just going to write every thought that pops into my head in the order they do so. I have to pee. I’ll be right back…..ok I’m back. So..what to write, what to write, what to write? Hey if I just think that over and over I’ll finish. But I don’t think I’ll get an A on it. Hmmm… This is weird because I think of something and then write it down and then think it again as I write it. Does that mean I can write everything twice? But then I’ll think it again. Could I just write one word over and over because I’m thinking it over and over? No, that would get me a bad grade too. I have to stop thinking of shortcuts. There aint no rest for the wicked, money don’t grow on trees. Oh sorry I’m listening to music and I had a break of thought. This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Damn wild card topic. Why do you have to be so generic? I wonder what we’re doing in school tomorrow. Oh I hope I don’t get stuck in Rob’s volleyball team again. It was much more fun with the other senior team. Only 220 words. Great I’m almost halfway there. (that was sarcastic) this is taking much longer than the other blogs. What does that say about how active my brain is? I think I just insulted myself. I just have to hit that 500^th word and I’m done. Even if it’s in the middle of a sentence. My feet are cold. Where are my socks? I thought I just took them off. Oh here they are. My feet are still cold. Isn’t Kevin supposed to be in bed by now? It’s like 9:00. well, almost. 314 words now. I think I’m going to be checking that quite a lot. 328 words now. 331. ok stop checking that. As it turns out, I have few short thoughts. I think it’s because I have to write them down, I can’t continue thoughts because I’m writing down other ones. I’m learning a lot about the inner working of my brain with this blog. It sure turned around compared to the beginning bit. That was just nonsense and rambling. I think my thoughts are getting slightly more intelligent. No, they’re flowing together more. They have more continuity. 412 words. It’s ironic that I would abruptly halt thoughts after writing the word continuity. I find that to be quite funny. Apparently I’m quite easily entertained. I want to check the word count, but I know I shouldn’t. I know I’m not there yet because I can see 412 and I’m not that much further. What kind of food do we have? I’m hungry. I hope we have some of those brownies left. Ok word count now. 490 oh so close. Well I’m going to get something to eat and I should be over 500 words now.

Where in the World?

I want this. Unlimited money and three months to travel wherever I want, experience a plethora of different cultures and ways of living, trying new and exotic foods, meet fascinating people, learn all about the people, cultures, and societies we share this world with. I would go to 6 or 7 different places. I would go to the United Kingdom for 2 weeks. I would go to Brazil for 2 weeks, I would go to Africa for 2 weeks, I would go to Australia for 2 weeks, I would go to China for 2 weeks, I would go to Germany for 2 weeks, and finally end up in several countries across the Middle East for another 2 weeks. I know I’m going over the time a bit, but I’m across the Atlantic Ocean by now, and you can’t stop me. If I could go to more place I would, but I;m already over the time limit. I would try to stretch it out across the whole globe, to all different cultures and societies. From the rainforests of Brazil, to the deserts of Africa; from the vast plains of Australia, to the mountains of China; see the rough history that once separated the UK and Germany in brutal war; and end it in the Middle East that has long been the center of war and controversy. Each location has its own geographical and cultural differences and unique traits. And within each location, there are even more unique levels of sub-culture. This is where the 2 weeks in each is important. You see, at each location, I would spend the first week with the unlimited money as a tourist, stay in the finest hotels, eat at the best restaurants, see the sights, and see the finest of everything each has to offer. The second week, I would spend little to no money. I would live on the street if I had to, or with locals. This week would be more exciting and interesting than the first. The second week is much more of a learning experience. I would see how the average person there would live every day. Learn their foods, their routines, their daily activities, their fun, how they live their lives. These people could show me more in one day than unlimited money could show me in even twelve months. I would learn all about the vastly different cultures of vastly different places, most of which I currently know little to nothing about. Everyone should be able to do this at least once in their lives. War would not exist. We as people would be far more united as a common species of one planet rather than individual countries of individual lands and seas. However people may not use it as intended, most likely spending all their money in one place, staying in the nicest hotel, ordering room service and rarely leaving the room. But people should be able to more easily experience other cultures, religions, races, ways of living, foods, and societies. There would be far less judgment in the world.

Comfort Food

What is comfort food? There’s so many things that can bring us comfort: a hug from a family member, a warm blanket in the cold, a familiar face in a crowd of strangers, a home. But why food? How does food bring us comfort? It can bring back childhood memories, give us a literal as well as psychological warm feeling, happy thoughts of a loved one that has passed on, a feeling of being home. So food can give us very similar thoughts and feeling of comfort that other things do. And comfort food can be anything; it can be any food, and snack, any appetizer, any dessert. Comfort foods are different for each and every person, and each food for a different reason. I like pizza; I like cake; I like cereal and milk; I like steak; I like sandwiches; I like iced tea. But what is comfort for me is not comfort food because it gives me memories, or because it’s my favorite food. The foods that give me comfort, that make me feel good, are fresh fruits. On the contrary, foods that give me no comfort are quite interestingly the foods that are comfort food for many other people, this food being fast food and junk food. These foods give me no comfort, but instead make me feel almost sick, and physically less healthy. A juicy apple on the other hand, is my comfort food because after eating an apple, I feel like I can take on the world. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and in my opinion, that make a lot of sense. Fruit is what makes me comfortable, it makes me feel healthy. Grabbing an apple in the morning kicks my day off on the right foot. An apple rejuvenates me after a long run. Strawberries and bananas are a great dessert, ending my day with more comfort food. It’s interesting that most people’s comfort food is chocolate or candy or junk food, mostly foods you should limit in your diet. Strangely I can’t eat more than a little of these foods without starting to feel sick. If I eat too much sugar, I feel sick to my stomach; too much chocolate, I get nauseous; too much junk food, I begin to feel tired and lazy. It’s strange how these foods can have such a strong impact, seemingly being so minor. And when I eat fruit, I feel clean, healthy, and ready to take on the day. Comfort food is not something to make me feel ok when I’m sad or lonely, it’s something to get me going, to get me up and out, to motivate me to live. Comfort food is a strange concept to me. Mainly because it does not have the same meaning to me that it does to most other people. Comfort food is not a tub of ice cream and a spoon, it’s an apple, an orange, a banana, or a grapefruit. Fruits are my comfort food.

Deep Questions

How can people be so oblivious to their own actions? Why has society become so self-centered and selfish? What happened to looking out for one another? What happened to treat other the way you want to be treated? What happened to being human? Aren’t humans supposed to be pack animals? Aren’t we supposed to work together as a society? Isn’t that what being human is all about? Why is everyone so concerned with trivial problems in their own lives? Why are they so focused on how they look, what other people think of them, how popular they are, how much money they make, how much money it looks like they make, how much money other people make, how cool they are, how many friends they have, how much alcohol they can drink, and how many parties they attend? Why is the cast of the Jersey Shore so popular? Why are those people idolized? When did these traits and behaviors become acceptable? Why doesn’t anyone care about anyone but themselves anymore? Am I the only one that thinks this way? Are there still some kind-hearted young individuals out there somewhere? Or has everyone become ignorant, uncivilized, selfish creatures with either an inability or a refusal to learn anything outside what they currently know, a blatant disregard for the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of others, that assume they know everything they need to know from what they have encountered from their experiences, their view, and their thoughts? Why does no one realize how bad our youth is? Have children, teens, and young adults always been this way? Is this a more recent trend? Will it ever change? Will it change for the better or worse? Why is there such a lack of culture or sophistication? Who is to blame? Is it really the fault of the children? Are they just following what they see? Is the whole world as evil as it appears? Am I wrong? Am I the one that is unusual and different? Is my way of thinking the wrong one? Is either way of thinking better or worse than the other? Does anyone else think about this? Does anyone else at least share my thoughts, but not necessarily my opinions? Do I think too much? Do I look too deeply into things? Or have I just escaped the trap of ignorance and undeserving pride that has befell my many classmates? Am I as smart as I think I am? Am I misinformed? Do I have a false sense of pride in my own opinions and life choices? How do I know? How can I determine what is right and wrong? If what is true and fact is merely what the majority agrees on then aren’t I the minority? Doesn’t that make my thoughts wrong? But my thoughts are based on what everyone agrees it means to be human, so I can’t be wrong right? Can I be right and wrong at the same time? Is everyone being hypocritical? They know what is right, but why do they still do wrong? Is it just human nature to conform? Is it really that hard to avoid peer-pressure and choose the right path? Am I ignorant to the full power that peer-pressure truly can possess? Why can’t I get away from the degradation of civilized society? Why do I somehow not share the same mindset that everyone around me seems to have?