I think too much.
This is not a left handed compliment to myself. Actually, I wonder if left handed compliment is the right word to use here. I cannot find the right word or phrase where the speaker seems to be criticizing himself yet it is really a compliment.
See what I mean, I think too much.
So, as I lay in bed this morning taking the usual 15 minutes before I actually get out of bed, the thinking began again. I cannot remember all the topics I went over in my head but the ones that stuck will be covered in this blog post.
I asked myself, why am I thinking so much, can I just think about nothing for a few minutes? It didn’t work. I wonder if this is due to the massive amount of information we “internet people” receive on a daily basis. For me, I have already scanned the major news articles, checked FB and planned out the day before I get out of bed. I tell you the tablet is a great great invention but perhaps it is adding to this problem of thinking too much.
So, what did I think about this morning that inspired me to write this blog post? Let’s go in order.
1. TMC debuts “All-American Muslim reality tv show
– At first blush, I am glad to see that through the popular medium of the American Reality TV show that Muslims will eventually be going mainstream in the USA. This was bound to happen sooner or later given the increasing population of Muslims and what better way to do it than through the ubiquitous “boob tube” that so many Americans are glued to on a nightly basis. Further, as this will be a trend, it is good to see it move along from the boisterous, angry reactions that often accompany any major change in society.
The first part of the article reads:
Shadia Amen has plenty of piercings, a few on her left eyebrow and 20 on her ears. She says her hair changes color monthly, “anywhere from pink to blue-black to black to whatever tickles my fancy.”
And tattoos cover 40 percent of her body, including one that depicts “the rock star sign with the hand” shaped like the devil’s horns. Despite that, the 31-year-old Dearborn woman — who calls herself a hillbilly at heart — is a proud Muslim.
From these opening paragraphs Americans should understand that many American Muslims are just as delinquent as any other major American religion! See my American comrades, she has a “rock-star hand tattoo,” she can’t be all that bad! 🙂
I guess this is a tactic which shows the complete opposite of what is generally believed and thus tries to change opinions. Americans tend to think that all Muslim women are oppressed but have never heard of one with crazy hair color AND a tattoo!
But again, the change in society is happening and the sooner we move off all the angry denunciations of everything Muslim the better in my opinion. Time to start being inclusionary.
2. So the Republicans are going to attack Iran
This the actual title from The Jerusalem Post. The journalist states that he did not learn much from the Republican debate and neither did I since I didn’t watch it.
Is this any big surprise? The Republicans have been on war footing for the past 20 years and even though the USA is already engaged in two of them they would like to engage in a third. It does not matter that they hound Obama for prolonging the debt of the USA and that the levels are the worst they have ever been. It does not matter that the reason the USA is in debt is due to financing these wars. If there is another war to be started, let’s all just hop on board that train if they believe the electorate will like it!
Taking a step back and looking at this from a 35,000 ft view, and revisiting themes such as American being an Empire, is this not what Empires do? I’m not offering any opinion either way here I just want to point out that America is indeed an empire and I just wish the citizenry would accept that.
Instead, the refrain is “Protecting Freedoms.” People in the USA want to be free ergo, the USA must go attack other countries. As I’ve mentioned before, this “Protecting Freedoms” is so surface, so trite, so……. non-thinking. Why can it not be called out as it is?
a. America is an Empire and protects its interests regardless of the complexity of this idea called “justice,” or considering what is “fair.” When did “fairness” ever play a role in politics, geo-politics or diplomacy? As far as I can tell, the game is take what you can when you can. From history we know that other nations play by these rules so why should America be any different now?
b. America has various influences and the strongest win. The Israeli lobby just happens to be extremely powerful in America and thus America will now do what Israel wants.
– Again, I’m not passing any judgement what so ever, just pointing out the glaring truth.
3. Prayer in American society
This is a pretty big topic but I just want to narrow it down quite a bit. This thought occurred to me when I saw various sports teams saying a prayer before their games on Saturday. I also saw it after the running back knelt down after scoring a touchdown.
My first thought was about how Americans would feel should a sports team from a Muslim country do the same. Would the first thought not be one of fear, of condemnation, of exulting the values of a secular American society? However I describe these reactions I think it is safe to say that this would make an average American uncomfortable.
Yet the Americans do the exact same thing but are blind to the hypocrisy.
Secondly, I really wonder about the requests in these prayers. Perhaps it is because I’ve been watching “Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.”
I am completely astounded by these big ideas and the absolute awesomeness of the universe. By watching these films I am made aware of the extreme limits of my own brain and how much I do not understand. Mr. Hawking always does a great job of explaining these mind bending theories to the lay person and it always leaves me in a state of wonder.
So here I am, pondering the nature of the universe as fervently as my small brain can, like a blender running at 30000 rpms. Then I see the sports teams praying and I have to ask, in the immensity of the universe and all that a supernatural being would be capable of are they asking the following?
“Please let us win this game.”
I have to say this puts me at a loss. Out of all the grandness of the universe, the mystery the ultimate question of “Why am I here,” and “Is there a purpose,” and “Why do I exist,” the players are simply asking to win a game?
Going back to the beginning of this post with the Muslim reality TV show this statement also confuses me.
Amen-Fawaz, 28, also stopped wearing the hijab around age 18. But this year, she started donning it again to become closer to God.
Would this awesome supernatural being who may or may not be present in our universe (perhaps in others, maybe he forgot about us?) really care if these life forms called humans wear something on their head or not? (This goes for pretty much all Orthodox religions mind you).
Going further, there are a myriad of rituals, such as genital mutilation, sacred water, specific garments, sacrifices both real (killing things) and symbolic such as Communion. Would the divine really care about all of these things or are they rituals that our species have just made up?
I guess I’m just having a disconnect with my thoughts on the extreme immensity and wonder in the universe verses all the seemingly superficial rituals we perform here on our planet. Stephen Hawking has explained to me how we arrived on this planet almost to the beginning of everything. I say “almost” because I’m still waiting on what existed before the big bang. I would also like to know the following.
1. Do other universes exist?
2. What is the absolute nature of reality.
3. What existed before our universe, do these “spheres” of reality continually get bigger, one encompassing the other and if so does it go on for infinity?
4. Does the divine exist and if so are they still here in this reality or did they move on?
5. Why do there appear to be ghosts or supernatural phenomena but we cannot explain it.
6. Is there an afterlife?
Now, if it were me and I was made to pray before the big game (since I do not want to be the only one who does not participate) I would be asking the above, not simply, please let us win the game.
As I warned you in the beginning, I think too much. Should there be any doubt about a self compliment here, I realize I comprehend very little and that everything I think I know may be wrong.
Ok, enough with these issues. As I have planned out my day I have to get back to figuring out why my Windows XP can no longer see my data D: drive. I’ve tinkered enough with recovery, deleting various registry keys and messing with DOS. It appears I’ll have to actually take the drive out and take it to the computer store. This is the third time in my life I could not fix something by myself and I have to tell you, this is a serious matter! Good news is I have it backed up but did so 4 months ago, so it is not that recent.
Or perhaps I could just pray for it to work again. If God is answering the players requests to win the big game, then I am certain my prayer to make the D: drive work again will take precedence.
