Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Cars Suck

Cars suck. They're simply planned obsolescence engineered to become so much a part of our lives that we have to do everything in our power to appease them. My car needs repairs to the tune of 2 grand. And that's if I don't get everything done, which I won't cause I don't have 3 grand. Yikes. I feel like I'm working to pay off the debt incurred to keep my car on the road to get to work. I'm really hoping that when I retire we can actually move to Bloomington, IN and live in town so I won't need to drive anywhere for my daily needs. Granted, I'd still want a car but it would be nice to only need one car between the two of us because I could walk everywhere I needed to get to on a daily basis.

I miss the city. I never thought I'd say that once we moved out of north Jersey, but I never realized how convenient walking everywhere could be. I took it for granted, I know, but I truly miss it now. Of course, Orange NJ is not the place it was in the late 50s and early 60s, but I miss the idea of being able to live without cars. Walking, buses...what great ideas. And such an easy way to stay in shape. Fitness without the hefty gym dues. This is my idea of a dream life.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Your freedom of speech is my hate-filled invective

Curse my lack of writing discipline! Anyway, I'm back with so many thoughts in my tiny little brain that I must write or risk a cerebral explosion.

Our world gets crazier every day. The whole Kanye West thing disgusts me, because once again man's inhumanity to man becomes so much gossip column fodder. The disgusting part is that while people whine and moan that what he did to Taylor Swift was horrible, what no one's saying out loud is that it's merely a symptom of a much larger problem. It's not just a lack of manners we're dealing with here--it goes back to the whole entitlement issue. "I'm a star and entitled to have my say" or, "I disagree with the president and entitled to call him names during his speech." Since when are we all entitled to say and do whatever we want with impunity? Yes, we have the freedom of speech guaranteed to us, but what people fail to realize is that this freedom stops when it begins infringing on someone else's rights. Just as it is unacceptable to yell "Fire" in a crowded theater because it can then infringe on someone else's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it is unacceptable to say things that are hurtful and detrimental to others. It is unacceptable to speak with such blatant disrespect to the leader of our country, despite our difference of opinion. And it is unacceptable to crush someone's shining moment just because we thought somebody else deserved it. There, I said it.