Media is Murdering America

I think it is interesting that almost every-time you turn on the television or pick up a news paper you are either reading about an American caused tragedy or watching another business executive being marched off to jail. I read an article in the USA TODAY about todays high schoolers and their opinion on reading the news paper. Only a handful bother reading a newspaper anymore and those that do believe it should be censored. According to the USA TODAY something like 57% of our teens believe that the first amendment is somehow no longer applicable and that the government should censor what is being said in our newspapers. I personally am sick of the left wing media and the ceaseless assault on our country and its policies. People blame President Bush and his administration for all of the negative attitude towards the United States today. I would like to ask whether or not it has to do with our media. If we, the citizens, do not appreciate or respect America who are we to ask the rest of the world to?

Experience not age determines maturity!

I am so beyond upset at my peers. I am sick of people that for some reason think that they are somehow better just because of something as inconsequential as their age. A persons maturity is shown in how they act and how they respond to the normal AND extraordinary events in life. I know teenagers that I would put absolute trust in before I put it in the hands of an older and according to some social standards, more”mature” person. Don’t get me wrong I think age can be used as an indicator of maturity but it cannot be used as the bar by which we measure maturity. For kicks and giggles I am going to list the criteria I think we can use to determine a persons maturity.

Maturity Credentials:
* First and foremost has the person been exposed to the real world and the trials and tribulations that exist
out side of the houses walls. Have they left their “bed of roses” and seen the darker side of our society.
* Can the person look beyond themselves and realize the world does not revolve around them.
* Is the person comfortable with who they are and/or do they even know who they are.
* If put into a stressful social or work environment can they cope.
* Can they articulate their thoughts and carry on a ‘real’ conversation.
* Although this point may not necessarily directly indicate maturity I believe a person is much more mature if they
have the back bone to stop and help a friend in need.

Well those are extremely broad and only partially thought out but I will work on them later. Basically I would like to know what you think. Does age determine maturity?

“For even the pursuit of perfection may be sin, if it infringes the rights and needs of another soul. Better to fail a little, by turning aside to lift up another, than to pass by him in haste to reach our own reward, and leave him to solitude and despair. Better to labour in lameness, in fallibility, but holding up others who falter, than to stride forward alone.” -Cadfael in “The Raven in the Foregate” by Ellis Peters

We must be rational

At this point I am sick at the thought that many Americans believe that our great country is some sort of evil tyrannical nation focused on taking over the world and that this drive for ultimate supremacy is driven by right win-gist. Another frightening occurrence is people thinking that by being patriotic that somehow puts you into the category that supports this world take over. I believe everyone is entitled to their own ideas but there must be a limit to peoples imagination when there is concrete facts to work around. As Leibniz put it in 1670, “a distinction must be made between true and false ideas, and that too much rein must not be given to a man’s imagination under pretext of its being a clear and distinct intellection.” When a person gets up in my face and calls me names primarily because I dare to support my elected leader I worry for the integrity and strength of our democratic government in the years to come.

The current crisis in the middle east

I am MAD!!! I was discussing the conflict in the middle east and the person would not repeating that it was exclusivly president Bushs’ fault that we were there. I just want to clarify that that is not the case and at the time that he made the decision to move on Iraq he had been given information stating that there were weapons of mass destruction. May I give my fellow debaters a piece of advice…. no matter the nature of the argument do not get emotional or you just end up looking stupid.