Ground Zero Mosque

I have decided to weigh in on the Mosque at Ground Zero. First, a warning to my ultra-conservative friends: you are not gonna like this post. Sorry.

Let me start by saying that the Right of Religious Freedom is just that: a Right. This means that any citizen has the Right to practice their religion in this country.

Now, that said, this does not have anything to do with what I believe the majority of Americans have expressed as their views. After all, the majority of Americans support the constitution. I believe that the majority of Americans understand and respect the Right of Religious Freedom. And, I believe that the majority of Americans are simply expressing their desire to have the mosque built some place else. They do not want to impede anyone's Religious Freedom. Rather, they would just like for people to be sensitive to the location where the mosque is to be placed. And, to some degree, I think the majority of Americans are both disappointed and angry about the apparent lack of compassion from the organization that is trying to build the mosque.

I think that is enough said about the mosque topic. And, frankly, I do not consider this to be news worthy. This goes to my next point. This mosque is becoming a political football. And, I think this needs to stop.

To be clear, this all started when the President decided to provide his position on the mosque. And, to be honest, what he said was quite literally correct.

1. The constitution provides for religious freedom
2. The issue is more about the "judgment" rather than the legality

Here's the deal:

• The president should stop trying to have beer summits every time two people have a disagreement; there are lots and lots of other issues which are far more important (e.g. jobs, border security, government transparency, etc.)
• The conservative media should stop trying to pin this mosque on the President - yes, he stuck his nose into yet another social issue, but, enough is enough

I will agree with the conservative media on one point: the President only seems to focus on those issues which will continue his celebrity status. Lets face it; why on earth would the President feel the need to get in the middle of every little dispute? By sticking his nose into this (and other similar issues), it is providing fuel for the conservative media. It just helps to fuel the image of the president as the head of a government that is out of control (even drunk) with power. Mr. President, is that what you want?

Yes, building a mosque next to ground zero is really bad judgment. But, don't we have more important things to worry about right now?

Mom was right!

Mom, I know you have been waiting a long time to hear this, but, you were right.

When I was younger, my mother continuously told me that Television was evil. And, that if I watched too much Television, it would rot my brain. Well, like every other kid in America (at that age), I thought my mother was crazy.

I admit: it took me a really long time to figure it out. In fact, it was not until about four years ago that I started to realize that there was something disturbing about some of the television shows. Up to that point, I would just watch the shows and be entertained - just like everyone else in America. Then, I started to notice patterns in the situations that were being portrayed in the shows. These were situations that were not really that prevalent, but, these situations were being portrayed as being very prevalent. At first, I thought the choice of situations was based on dramatic license; doing something that was out of the ordinary in order to keep the interest of the audience. Then, I realized that the scenarios were aligned with liberal social issues.

I started to pay much closer attention to the plots; noting the messages that were embedded in the plots. And, over time, I realized that the plots were crafted to garner sympathy (or tolerance) for certain social situations. You see, when someone sees a certain situation over and over again, they begin to adjust what they consider to be normal. If you are curious about the psychological principles, your should read about hostages and the Stockholm Syndrome. The messages have been extremely subtle over that last couple of decades - kind of like boiling a frog. :-)

I would like to give you a scenario. Now, what I am about to say is going to sound really strange. When I first wrote this blog (months ago), I could not bring myself to publish it, because I was afraid that it made me sound like some kind of nut. But, I remembered something my mother told me: "Don't let someone else think for you - that is why God gave you have a brain". I decided to go ahead and post this blog; with the message that readers should use their brains, and make up their own minds about things. And, now that I have given the disclaimer, I will get on with the scenario.

The thing about Television is that it enables viewers to immerse themselves in a fantasy world. Viewers can experience all kinds of scenarios and situations through the drama of Television. The problem is that viewers can begin to adjust their perceptions on things, based on repeated exposure to a particular theme from certain Television shows. You see, the brain (over time) will treat the Television shows just like any other real-life experience. And, repeated exposure to a common theme will effectively brain-wash a viewer. Believe me, I know how crazy this sounds. It has taken me four years to finally come the realization: mom was right!

Here is the really scary part: imagine if a person or group of people could have their perception modified over time. People would not know who or what to believe. Or, they would only believe, based on the major source of the information that was used to form their perceptions. In other words, if they are basing their beliefs on what they have learned from Television, then it is likely that they would trust the Television more than any other source. Got goose bumps yet?

Lets take this one step further. Why would anyone want to manipulate the perception of a population of people? Well, the answer seems to be very straight forward. If people are thinking for themselves, then they are more likely to ask questions. And, if they are more likely to ask questions, they are less likely to just blindly do what they are told. So, it's all about control; the ability to control a population. In fact, with Television, it's not likely that the viewers would even know they were being manipulated. It's like: The Matrix. :-)

So ... mom ... I know you have been waiting decades to hear this. Here goes. You were right about Television. God gave us all brains, and we should be using them to think for ourselves. I know it took a really long time for me to figure this out. But, I finally did!

Thanks mom!

Border Security: What Happened?

What happened to all the discussion about the Border Security???

No one in the media is covering this topic anymore. And, I am sure (since I live in a border state) that the problem has not gone away. Yeah, sure, they put a few National Guard troops on the border. And, I understand that they are going to hire more Border Security personnel. But, a month ago (or so) none of these plans were good enough to address the problem. Now, all of a sudden, its like we have given up and moved on to a new "hot topic".

This is not about immigration - this is about security. My concern is about the drugs (and who knows what else) that are being smuggled into the country across our southern border. One of the most important roles of the federal government is to protect the Nation; that includes border protection. And, if things are still being smuggled in, then I do not think they are doing a very good job.

Have you flown lately? You are practically strip searched prior to entering the boarding area. Then, even in the boarding area, there are TSA agents walking around constantly asking for your identification papers. This is so ironic, given the Democratic claims that the Arizona law would violate people's civil rights. Well, what about being repeatedly asked for my identification papers, while I am waiting for a flight within my own country!?! An even bigger irony is that it's the same government agency that is hiring lots and lots of TSA agents, yet not hiring enough Border Protection Agents. That just smacks of political agenda to me.

So, do we have a problem with border security or not? Is there a solution that will fix the problem, or not?

This administration has time for beer summits for all kinds of topics that are best left to local governments. I think it is about time for this administration to focus on the things the federal government is supposed to be doing.

Well folks, I think this is a serious problem. And, I think we need to stay on the administration until the problem is completely resolved. If we do not stay on them, they will continue to "wait us out" on issues where they (the administration) want to do something contrary to the majority of us working class Americans.

Border Security needs to stay on the front page until we are sure the problem has been resolved. We should not be playing political games with our Border Security.