Where are we going so fast? And why are we in this handbasket?

I'm going to rant for a bit. I apologize in advance.

I don't know about any of you, but I see our country slowly becoming a police state.

Our freedoms are slowly being taken away from us, and nobody seems to notice.

It is now legal for you to be strip searched if you are arrested for anything whatsoever. You don't even have to be charged with a crime. The don't even have to suspect you of any wrong doing. The just have to think that, perhaps, you were doing something wrong, can arrest you for it. Take you to the police station, strip search you and hold you for 24 hours.

There's a bill being proposed in the House of Representatives called CISPA. It's a "cyber-security" bill. Basically, it states that any website that has your personal information (facebook, etc.) can go through your personal correspondence, save it, give it to the government for any reason. They can even intercept it, and block it's destination. This is all in the name of "something might happen, so we'd better fix it now." They don't even mention what agency of the Government would handle this traffic. NSA? FBI? CIA? They all have different responsibilities.

Any phone that I have had in the past 13 years has been tapped. This is not paranoia, it's a fact. I had a Top Secret security clearance for the Army for a long time. They listen to make sure I'm not giving away any secrets that I've learned since I joined. Obviously, I'm not, because I don't know any of them. Well, maybe a couple. But, that's a reason to spy on me. I had access. A 14 year old girl in rural Arkansas is not a threat the the Federal Government. Her messages on Facebook really don't need to be forwarded to the NSA. I don't think they give two shits about her problems with her boyfriend.

There are actually people in this country who support Presidential candidates like Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. Mitt is a con artist, and Rick is a bigot.

Both of these men will make abortion illegal. Now, whether or not you would actually have an abortion is up  to you. But, the option is there. Even in cases of rape or birth defects, they still wouldn't let a woman make their own decision.

 

Mitt Romney is a multi-millionaire who only wants more power and money. He has said things that are completely untrue, then went back and changed them because he got caught in the lie. His poll numbers didn't go down. In fact, they went up! He's been caught bold face lying, apologized, and more people support him? WTF?

Rick Santorum once said, IN PUBLIC mind you, "Homosexuality is a threat to the American Family."

How?

To quote Lewis Black:  "Well, maybe there is a group of 'Gay Banditos', who wander the countryside from village to dell. And slowly, they make their way to that cul-de-sac, where only one house stands. They don their black capes and hoods... and matching pumps (very tasteful), and sneak up to that house. And when they get there, they start FUCKING EACH OTHER IN THE ASS!! And another family is destroyed!"

Makes perfect sense. They just use religion to back up their opinion that is coming purely from a place of hate and fear. I lump Rick Santorum in with the Westboro Baptist Church.

That's right, I said it. Those people are loony. "God hates fags, so we're going to protest military funerals!"

What?

So, the military is gay, and you hate gay people. No? Oh, so, God hates fags and soldiers dying abroad is punishment for this. Yes? That makes no sense. Oh, so, just the soldiers who died are gay. No? I'm having trouble following your message. 

Now, I understand crazy. I'm fluent in it. Some guy talking to himself? I get it. Somebody thinks that I'm on of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Ok, I can see where you're coming from. The problem is, these people seem to try to make logical arguments out of non-nonsensical beliefs. Even Neo Nazis wouldn't get behind their rhetoric. Mostly because Nazis know they're full of hate, and go with it. 

At what point with we, as citizens learn to keep our opinions and beliefs away from other people? I mean, I'm agnositic, pagan, Pastafarian. Those aren't completely my beliefs, but partly. Now, I have friends of a lot of different faiths. Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. They're all my friends. The don't judge me because I don't believe the same way they do. According to most religions, I'm going to hell. I guess I am. However, these people don't treat me differently because of that. I'm still here, and I have an effect on their lives, a positive one, at that.

I read this the other day... I'm Christian. Unless you're gay. Very well written, and I agree with it. Not the statement itself, but the message of the article. Just read it, you'll understand. What I found even better, was the response from a 15 year old boy to this article. It's on the same blog HERE. 

Here's my point on this point:

For over 100 years, we've been trying to live up to the Constitution. Civil Rights act of 1875. Civil Rights act of 1964. 14th Amendment. 15th Amendment. Disabilities Act. This is just to name a few. We've almost rid ourselves, as a nation, of racism and sexism. Hell, we even made it so we can't discriminate against sexual orientation when hiring people for a job. Now, they want to ban them being happy? Isn't that a GIANT step backward?

George Zimmerman wasn't immediately arrested. Even though he just killed someone. Don't even get me started. I could go off for days about the racial and sociopolitical implications of that case.

Soldiers in Afghanistan have murdered civilians and EACH OTHER.

After Whitney Houston died, the Governor of New Jersey ordered that all flags on New Jersey public buildings be put at half mast. For a singer. Not a public servant. Not a hero. Not a soldier. Not a former President. A singer that had so many drug problems that 4 different trips to Rehab didn't help. Now, I'm not saying that she was a bad person. I didn't know her. the 15 soldiers that died in a helicopter crash that day barely got any press. It wasn't news worthy because shit like that had been happening for the past 8 years. It's not news anymore. It's not sensational. However, some person who had a singing talent, and died of a drug overdose was more important than soldiers who laid down their lives? I don't think so.

Ok, my rant is at an end. I can't think anymore. I'm going to get a drink. After work.