October 2nd, 2017 — Las Vegas Shooting

by | Oct 2, 2017 | Miscellaneous

I woke up today, reached for my phone, and opened up Twitter.

 

This was the first tweet that I saw. I continued to browse my timeline and began to realize the severity of what had happened. 58 people dead, and hundreds (400+) more injured to a man firing his weapon from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay. 58 people dead because they went to a country music festival.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/10/mandalay-bay-shooting.html (This article has some footage of the event. Puts the terror into perspective. It is a pretty horrific scene, no blood just fear.)

Before I continue, I would like to extend my thoughts to everybody impacted by this senseless tragedy. Thoughts and prayers probably mean very little in dampening any wounds, but regardless, my best goes out to everyone affected.

So, here we are again. 58 people dead, 400+ injured. Time for the NRA to go silent for a couple of days, gun control advocates to push their agendas (“this is why guns are bad…”), gun advocates to push their agendas (“this is why we need guns…FOR PROTECTION”), and for everybody in the world to send their thoughts and/or prayers. I feel like I have sent my thoughts out to victims of mass shootings almost too often to be genuine anymore.

  • October 1st, 2017 – Las Vegas, Nevada: 58 dead and counting, 400+ injured.
  • June 12th, 2016 – Orlando, Florida: 49 dead, 58 injured.
  • December 2nd, 2015 – San Bernardino, California: 14 dead, 24 injured.
  • September 16th, 2013 – Washington, D.C.: 12 dead, 8 injured.
  • December 14th, 2012 – Newtown, Connecticut: 26 dead, 2 injured.
  • July 20th, 2012 – Aurora, Colorado: 12 dead, 70 injured.
  • November 5th, 2009 – Fort Hood, Texas: 13 dead, 33 injured.
  • April 3rd, 2009 – Binghamton, New York: 13 dead, 4 injured.
  • April 16th, 2007 – Blacksburg, Virginia: 32 dead, 23 injured.

Our thoughts and prayers were probably felt in all of these tragedies, but when does that not become enough? How is it that this happens too many times to count? I was eleven years old when the Virginia Tech shooting happened. I have grown up with this. It is normal to me. This whole process, it is just what happens. It is a safe assumption that once a year a mass shooting will happen, and ultimately nothing will change. Entire generations of American’s do not know what it is like to live in a society where mass shootings are not normal.

Maybe it is because we do not know what to change? Maybe our political institutions are too slow and corrupt? Blame whoever you want. Blame hatred, blame Trump, blame Obama, blame ISIS, blame Christianity, blame Islam, blame the internet, blame the media. It really does not matter because everybody is going to blame someone else and nothing will get done. How are we going to get something done when half the country thinks more guns are the answer and the other half thinks no guns is the answer?

The scariest part of this is not that nothing will get done. The scariest thing is that it is probably just going to happen again, the normality of such tragedies is terrifying. Everyone is going to send out their thoughts and prayers, tweet about what they think the resolution is, and then forget it happened.

We are going to wake up in a couple of months, years if we are lucky, rollover to grab our phones and we will be right back where we started.

#MakeAmericaDreamAgain

by | Sep 8, 2017 | Miscellaneous

Our president, Donald Trump, is bringing back the American Dream. Let me explain.

The idea of the American Dream once inspired millions of people to make their way to the United States with the hopes of economic prosperity. An opportunity to pursue life, liberty, property, and happiness. What a wonderful concept, the idea that if you worked hard enough you could be anything you wanted. You could walk on the moon if you set your mind to it. With the rise of economic disparity in our country, you can easily make an argument that the American Dream is dead. Growing economic disparity (click that hyperlink to #StayWoke) clouds opportunity for middle and lower class citizens. College is more expensive than it has ever been, and young people are forced to strap themselves with student debt to get a degree. The trust of our American government and institutions is abysmal. The last time Congress had above a 40% approval rating was in February of 2005. That is right around the time the first Razor Flip Phone hit the market. Probably the greatest phone in history, but that argument is for another day. Back to the point, the America dream, to me, was a bit of a myth. I saw it as a marketing scheme and a political sentiment past its time. Not anymore, though. I’ve been reinspired! How? By who? Well, by none other than the 45th President of the United States of America.

#MakeAmericaDreamAgain

 

Donald Trump, a man who was recently assaulted by Stephen Colbert, has done something I thought no person could. He has bought back the American Dream. As of today, I have blossomed from a cynical, wannabe intellectual, college liberal into hardworking American that believes anything is possible. Why?

Well, if Donald Trump can be president of the most powerful country in the world, what can I not do?

Maybe Trump is struggling to make America Great Again, but he has certainly, if nothing else, made America Dream Again. I, because of Donald Trump, now believe all of my wildest dreams can come true. I, because of Donald Trump, now believe all of your wildest dreams can come true. I, because of Donald Trump, believe WE can make OUR wildest dreams come true.

In any future debates, please feel free to take me out of context in the above paragraph.

#MakeAmericaDreamAgain