- Flying the flag at half-staff for VT students, but not soldiers: This issue found some way to cozy up to me because I'll admit when it first was printed in the Stars and Stripes, I felt the same fury that the soldier that wrote it did. Why aren't the flags lowered when one of our own dies? I think it should be considered how much mainstream America is used to seeing the ticker at the bottom of the news channel showing how many died in the war today. Hell, they don't even show the names anymore, just numbers. Needless to say, I started to get pretty pissed. But then I understood the other side of this issue too. If we lowered the flag for each soldier (nationally) then it would bring more people to be against the war and try to bring us home sooner than there currently is. And truth be told, we all signed the dotted line and knew that as a soldier, you fight wars. In a war, people die. You have to consider that a possibility when you enlist. Not saying we're expecting it, but you'd expect it a lot less if you are sitting in the middle of your German class behind the girl that always wears her pajama bottoms rolled down to her hips. This issue actually leads into my next one-
- Should we stay or should we go? I watched an episode of The Daily Show recently and the guest happened to be an Iraqi that played some vital role in blah blah blah. The important thing is he commented on the VT shootings. We (as a nation) lost 33 people that were not expecting to die simply for being who they are. In Iraq, this happens every day. You can open any newspaper and read of 27 civilians executed or 100+ killed in car bombs. This madness happens everyday in Iraq. And no, those 27 or 100 civilians are not executed for being collaborators or something of that sort. That happens in smaller numbers. These civilians are killed because they are Shiite or Sunni or Kurds. Imagine for a moment that 100 people in your city are killed today for being a Christian. 20 miles away, someone blows themselves up in the market, killing 30 and injuring 60 because they are Catholic. You can't even really fathom something like that in the U.S. But it happens every single day in Iraq. And yet some think it is best to leave right now, so this can continue to happen every day in this country. Is it right to allow thousands of civilians to get slaughtered in order to prevent the death of us soldiers? It depends on your morals, values, and beliefs. Some would say yes, that's my soldier, son, daughter, etc. I've always believed (being raised in the Christian faith) that the greatest thing a man can do for another is to lay down his life for him. Now I don't say this to say "Kill me now". I say it to point out that as a military, we can not turn our backs on innocent people. Our military has a history of doing this and it has always caused us to have more enemies because we didn't follow through. Listening to me, you may think I'm all against our military or the mindset of patriotism. This is completely an exact opposite. I consider myself very patriotic and would do what my country asks in a heartbeat. My point is I think we should stay for several more years until at least a foundation of government, military and economics gets established in that country. We started it, we need to finish it. This is what I think.
- Should Rappers be censored? My answer is 100% absolutely NOT. With the recent Don Imus issue in the news, this has become an issue since rappers use words like "ho" and don't get chastised for it the way Mr. Imus did. Yesterday they had Russell Simmons and several others on Oprah talking about it! Everyone said that these rappers had a responsibility to society and the industry should control them, etc. What a bunch of crap! Only one lady in the audience said that she takes responsibility as a mother and checks her kid and his friends when it comes to how they talk to a lady, listen to music, etc. THANK YOU! More people should take her lead. I am so sick of society not wanting to take responsibility for their world. They want to blame it on everyone else. Hmmm...Rapper comes up in a world where all he knows is drug dealers, hoes, etc and raps about it. Then he gets famous and realizes that people want more of his music. Some artists grow and talk about other things, but some will say "I'll give the people what they like last time". The same people getting mad at these rappers are the same ones that still go to the club and dance to their music!!!! If you didn't support them by listening to their music or going to the club that plays it, they would get the idea! Oh, but that's not your responsibility. You shouldn't have to do that. That's right. Pass the buck. You know, the industry should make notice of these things-I agree. But it is not up to them alone. Those who don't like it need to get off their asses and fight it everyday. Not just by showing up on Oprah. If you really believe in it, raise your kids right, call your cable company and tell them to cancel BET (late night), turn off your radio station when it plays a song you don't like, write a letter, etc. The list goes on. Either do something real about it or shut up. But don't tell someone to censor what they have to say if it is what they know, or to stop saying it when they know it will sell because you will still dance to it.
That's all I have to say for now. My mind is drawing a blank on some of the other issues I wanted to put out. I'll get back to them later.
