Monday, August 3, 2009

Caring about Health Care


A big topic of discussion right now is health care and the proposal that Obama is hoping congress will come up with.

I have never claimed to be an expert. I am just one person with an opinion and a blog. The things I write about are things I care about, and I am always open to your interpretation of things when given constructively.

I have a very strong opinion on this topic, having lived in the U.S. for four years with no health insurance, and then having lived in a country with public health insurance for two years (Germany).

I'd like to address some of the common arguments against a public option, or "socialized medicine" that I've heard. Please tell me what I am missing, I'd like to hear other arguments.

It would force taxpayers to fund abortion.

To this, my response is that yes, you will have to pay for abortion to some extent because abortion, whether you like it or not, is currently legal in many states. I have to pay taxes that fund a war that I don't support where innocent lives are lost.

Keep government out of my business! This is socialism!
I think this kind of cowboy, fend for yourself attitude is unrealistic. I don't care for the type of people that would rather let their neighbors starve than have a government that lends a hand. The government is already involved in Medicare, medical care for the military, schools, libraries, fire departments, police forces, etc. People who think this step will mean socialism for the U.S. are ignoring the fact that the government is already involved and can be involved for good. Even if you don't agree with that, currently health care is dictated by the whims of health insurance companies and their shareholders. How is this any better? These people profit most when they give less care. Their incentive is to deny your care.

There will be long waits for health care like in frightening Canada and terrifying France!
From what I have personally experienced and from what I have heard from others, the wait in countries with public health care is not significantly different than that of the U.S.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Ostsee

Photos taken in Rostock, Germany last week (click to see full image).





Still Worse

As further proof that it can't get much worse than being an atheist in the eyes of believers, the Friendly Atheist blogs about an atheist ad that was rejected by a company for being offensive.

You've all probably seen this billboard by now:


The amusing and somewhat baffling thing about all of this is that the same company accepted the following billboards:


I find this amusing given the fact that most Christians think that sexuality will be the doom of our society. But apparently atheists are still #1 on the threat list.

To Twit or not to Twit


Well, I suppose it's called tweeting, but really, what do I care?

I've been fairly active lately with the twitering-tweetering-twatering, so if you are on twitter we should make a twitter bond.

I know some people are totally anti-twitter, but I love it for sharing interesting links and being shared interesting links with. I sometimes grow weary of my feed containing only atheist- and liberal-related content, and so I enjoy trying to mix it up and get a variety in there. I also try to share links on a variety of topics.

And of course, I wouldn't want to disappoint you: there are also the occasional updates on my mood and what I had for breakfast.

So if you are also on twitter, feel free to promote yourself to me and...well, probably just (who am I kidding?) in the comments.

Oh, and here is a post by vjack about the benefits of using twitter as a blogger.

Immodesty


I was reading a blog post* where someone was very offended by the fact that people walk around with very little clothing on, namely women showing cleavage or wearing bikinis.

If everyone just stopped dressing like a street walker we’d be one step closer to fixing what’s wrong with this country.
For some reason this really got my goat. Maybe because I think people shouldn't be allowed to forbid things just because they are offended by them. Or maybe because our country has a lot of other huge frigging problems that need solving besides this person's discomfort at seeing a breast. How very typical of conservative-types (and I'm making an assumption here about their political affiliation which I doubt is inaccurate) to think that the biggest problems in our society have to do with sex instead of the fact that our schools suck, people don't get health care and meanwhile in other countries around the world people are suffering and dying in terrible, degrading ways.

There is only one way that I can partly sympathize with this, and it is that I feel women are overly-objectified and feel they need to show their bodies while men do not.

However, I do not think that women should be forced to cover up. I think people should wear whatever they like as long as it does not endanger people around them. And that does not include hurting your feelings or making you feel squeamish.

I was raised Baptist and also am from the U.S. so I understand the gut reaction of squeamishness. I still experience it sometimes at the sight of a naked body or something sexual. But I now realize it is unnatural to feel such shame about something so natural!

Just last weekend I was visiting the Baltic Coast and saw my first nude bather. As an American and a former prude I was initially shocked by it. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed completely natural and the more my feelings seemed to be ignorant.

I suppose if you are unwilling to accept to the fact that we are animals then you may not agree with this point, but what could be more natural than the human body and why should it be hidden? Why should we be offended at the very sight of it?

If we were exposed to more nudity we would not have such shame surrounding our bodies. If we were exposed to average people nude we would not have such unnatural and unrealistic expectations about beauty, instead of only being exposed to airbrushed and surgically enhanced bodies. We would see all shapes and sizes, and stop feeling such shame about our own.

So to respond to this blog post, I would like to say that if everyone started walking around nude and getting used to the sight of the naked human body we’d be one step closer to fixing what’s wrong with this country.



*At the end of this post the blogger stated "Am I out of line here?" seemingly inviting responses, and so I responded in a comment to the effect of "Not everybody thinks that the human body is shameful and should be covered up. Since you asked, yes I do think it is out of line to try to dictate what others should wear because you are offended by it."

Apparently encountering somebody on her blog who did not share her world views was too much for this blogger and she quickly made another post apologizing for "ruffling feathers" because she got one comment politely disagreeing with her.

I seem to have ruffled some feathers with my last post. Sorry "me" but I don't think that if I'm sitting you down at my counter and putting makeup on you that I should have to look at your breasts. I agree with you that the human body is beautiful but there is a time and a place and we seem to be forgetting that. I wear shorts and tank tops just like everybody else but I make sure that I have my personal belongings inside my outfit. Sorry if that offends anyone....was just blogging my feelings on the day after seeing way too much.


And now, her blog is inaccessible. Deleted? Address changed? I have no idea.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The Burka



From Atheist Media, the Big Question discussing whether the burka should be banned in Britain.

First of all I want to say I am disgusted by the things the woman in the Burka is saying.

My biggest problem is with her insisting it is about freedom of choice, and her right to wear what she wants.

BULL! I'd like to hear her say that to all of the women in the world who have NO freedom of choice and are forced to wear the burka for fear of death.

I think her silence when asked why men shouldn't wear burkas was very telling. She kept insisting it wasn't about the subservience of women, but she had no answer for that.

I also think it is incredibly ridiculous to let women wear these costumes in public places. If a man wore something concealing his entire face and identity, the cops would be called on him!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Atheist Blogroll

I mentioned the Atheist Blogroll in a previous post, I have finally gotten around to applying.

You can check out the scrolling marquis with lots of awesome blogs written by atheists and agnostics in the side bar.

It is managed by Mojoey at Deep Thoughts, which is also worth a look.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Enablers

A great op-ed in the New York Times about the Right's silent (and sometimes not so silent) enabling of hatred, violence, and even terrorism.

It makes me pretty disgusted when I hear all the sensationalist and ridiculous lies that some on the Right are spreading. They are appealing to a very low and hate-filled segment of our population and I think that hate-mongers like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh should be accountable for violent acts like the murder of Dr. Tiller and the security guard at the Holocaust museum.

The fact that at a GOP fundraiser, Jon Voigt could say his wish was to "bring an end to this false prophet Obama" and then be praised for it by those present, is sick and frightening to me.

Vaccine Debate

Was reading Mojoey's Deep Thoughts blog and he introduced a new blog on the Atheist Blogroll (which I am meaning to join...any day now) called Ziztur.

Started by reading an entry about the vaccine debate and I really enjoyed it, so I will be following this blog in the future.

I liked a few points that were made about the silliness of the argument that pharamaceutical companies are profiting off of poisonous vaccines or by suppressing homeopathic remedies that work.

It was suggested that treating the illnesses would probably be more profitable for the pharamaceutical companies than selling vaccines for them. And that pharmaceutical companies could easily enter the homeopathy market and drive out the smaller companies, who, by the way, aren't necessarily struggling in their industry and are also making huge profits. Just as they claim that pharmaceutical companies have something to gain from driving them out, they also stand to profit from giving pharmaceutical companies a bad reputation.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Speak American

Found this very interesting list of correct American pronunciations.

Ashamed to say that I pronounce the following words incorrectly:

  • grocery (I say GROH-shuh-ree)
  • irony (I say EYE-ur-nee)
  • medieval (I say mid-EE-vul)
  • often (I pronounce the t)
  • parental (I say PAR-en-tul)
  • semi (I say SEM-eye)
  • spontaneity (I say SPAHN-tuh-NAY-i-tee)

They also have some interesting quizzes about regional American accents at that site.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

$125,000-a-Year Teachers

I read an interesting article in the New York Times about an experimental charter school being set up where they have hired eight exceptional teachers and will pay them $125,000 a year.

The school is looking to prove the theory that excellent teachers are what make the difference in education, not class size or revolutionary technology.

I am interested to see how this turns out. It's a shame that one of the most important jobs in our society is also one of the most under-valued.

Friday, June 5, 2009

More Sex, Please

This is an insert from Der Spiegel, which is one of Europe's largest weekly magazines with a circulation of more than one million per week.

It says "More Sex please! The movies have lost their lust."

I thought it was very amusing since you would never hear that in the U.S.

Instead there are people complaining about how much sex there is in the entertainment industry and how we're all going to hell and it's a sure sign of the coming apocalypse, and yada yada.

I have to admit that my childhood in the U.S. has had a big effect on me. While I don't consider myself a prude, I still feel a bit uncomfortable during sex scenes in films, don't feel comfortable with people who wear their sexuality on their sleeves, and I don't enjoy seeing nude women on the back of every newspaper in Germany or on calendars in the supermarket.

I guess my biggest beef is when the nudity is objectifying women or portraying unrealistic beauty. I think this gives both sexes unhealthy ideas about women.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Ladies

Whenever a woman is in a bad mood, is upset, is argumentative, is emotional in any way, inevitably someone will make a crack about how she must be menstruating or PMSing or whatever.

This is really frustrating and incredibly sexist. If I am rightfully angry about something this is used to completely invalidate my feelings and to shut me up.

So it is even more frustrating when a fellow woman says this to me. Stop perpetuating this nonsense! When I am angry, it is usually because someone has angered me, not because of my monthly cycle!

So try not to belittle the women in your life by telling them their feelings are just irrational hormones, because it is quite offensive.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Same-Sex Immigration Rights

This fall I am returning to the U.S. with my German husband where he will apply for a spouse visa to stay permanently.

If we were the same gender, this wouldn't even be an option.

An estimated 36,000 bi-national couples face the same dilemma each year, according to an advocacy group, Immigration Equality.

The issue will be discussed in Congress on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, after 10 previous attempts to have hearings on the Uniting American Families Act.


Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council which opposes same sex marriage, has condemned the bill as "yet another attack on marriage at the expense of U.S. taxpayers."

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from couples facing deportation and split because of the law.

Nineteen other countries, including much of western Europe and Canada, Brazil and Australia among others, allow nationals to sponsor same-sex partners for citizenship.


An attack on marriage? I will never understand how these people think a gay couple's marriage will affect their own. It does not affect mine whatsoever.

What this is, is an attack on freedom and on love.

Recently I have begun to see the possible benefits of having government not recognize marriage, but only civil partnerships, and to let marriage be only a religious rite.

But I am sure the same people will also find some reason to be against this because it is simply about their hate, not because their marriages are at risk.

Bing

When I think of it, I'll be trying to use Bing.com to do all my searching instead of Google.

It's supposed to be better at helping you find the kind of site you want.

We'll see about that!

Still waiting for Sims3, which wont arrive until next week. I need a break from my usual routine.

Might try to catch Obama while he is sightseeing in Dresden this Thursday.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Soda


I began wondering if soft drinks vary from country to country. And I'm not just talking about brands, but about the taste.

Does a coke in the U.S. taste the same as a coke in Germany?

Well, if you ask me, the answer is no.

I looked around on the internet and found that the variables in the equation are water and sweetener. So a soft drink can even taste differently in different regions, not just countries.

I found this interesting article about how people are smuggling cokes back from Mexico because they contain cane sugar instead of corn syrup like in the U.S.

Apparently the Coke in the U.S. used to also contain cane sugar, but they switched to corn syrup because of the costs. Now they are concerned that people are buying the product from Mexico, and that people are demanding a more expensive ingredient but are probably unwilling to pay the difference in cost.

Sorry, I was a business major, so I find case studies like this very interesting. Coke is now trying to tell people that there is no perceivable difference in taste.

But I don't agree. I have trouble telling the difference between Coke and Pepsi sometimes, but I can definitely tell there is something different about the coke in Germany. It is too sweet and not carbonated enough for my tastes. They also rarely have them in cans here, but that's probably because Germany is more environmentally conscious. I'm looking forward to a coke when I get back home, one that fizzes in my nose and burns my throat when it goes down. Sounds appealing, no?

Oh and by the way, I was using the term coke very generally (unless capitalized) . I am a Pepsi drinker.

Bigotry

I am absolutely disgusted by the bigotry being displayed here by the criticism of Sotomayor.

We should be embarassed of this.

Are we actually using this woman's race and gender to insult her? Are we really going to insinuate that she is stupid when she is obviously educated? Would we ever do this to a white man?

Oh how I wish we could just judge her based on her record.

Now Buchanan is mocking Sotomayor for learning how to speak English from elementary grammar books and children's stories.

I'd like to know what fracking foreign languages Buchanan can speak and if learned them some other way. What an idiot.

Value of Life

I've been thinking some more about the murder of Dr. Tiller.

I often try to empathize with the other side of an argument. To try to understand why they would feel that way. But I'm having a hard time in this case.

I understand that they think abortion is murder.

What I don't understand is them thinking that a fetus' life is more important than the humans who are dying and suffering every day.

There are policy makers who send soldiers to war and every day they kill human beings.

These human beings have a sense of self, they have a personality, they have memories, they have friends and family.

A fetus, in my opinion, does not have these things.

I have heard the argument that unborn babies are innocent and that human beings are not. But I don't buy this argument. Are the children who die because of war and starvation and abuse every day not innocent as well?

And since I am familiar with Christianity, I know that they often times view this life as painful and miserable, and just a waiting room of sorts to get to the afterlife.

So I also have trouble understanding why they think it is so bad that a fetus has been deprived of a life if they believe it is going straight to heaven.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Dr. Tiller

Reading this, I was pretty disgusted with whoever thought they had the right to take the law into their own hands and execute this man. Disgusted with whoever is now proud of what they have done and thinks their god is also proud of them.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Cultural Differences My Ass

When the first words you say upon meeting a new person are,

"Your German is really bad!"

you are a jackass.

I don't care if you are German.

I know Germans who would never say such a thing to me.

So quit using your country as an excuse to be such an asshole.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Time Suck


Ok so I guess I haven't been paying much attention, but apparently Sims 3 comes out next week.

I played Sims 1 & 2...I would say I spent a fair amount of time on them, but I think the part I liked most about the game was creating characters and decorating homes. I usually would scrap a family to make a new one before too long.

So that's why I'm thinking I might buy the new one because there are supposedly limitless possibilities for customization. So I can waste even more time choosing the colors of my couch cushions and socks.

Just not sure if I have the time to waste on another game when I have just become an officer in my kinship in LOTRO (nerd alert!).

Wow, I better soak up this lazy-ass lifestyle while I have the chance this summer. Because it's job-searching time for me this fall when I return to the U.S, assuming there are any jobs left, of course.

Is This Guy for Real?

Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies blogged that he thinks people shouldn't pronounce Sotomayor's name correctly by putting the emphasis on the last syllable because it is unnatural for English speakers.
"...insisting on an unnatural pronunciation is something we shouldn’t be giving in to..."
Umm...I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was such a difficult task to say a person's name correctly, Mr. Kry....Kree... oh to hell with it, your name is too complicated for me. I can't be bothered.

What a bonehead.

via Think Progress

The Others

This news story is slightly old, but I was really horrified when I read it.

I got to thinking, would this soldier have commited such a crime when he was at home? Would he have raped and killed an American girl and her family and would fellow soldiers have helped him?

Maybe so.

But I get the feeling that both the war and religious differences are making it easier for soldiers to dehumanize these people.

They don't see them as fellow human beings, but as enemies & sinners who are beneath them.

I think that's one of the terrible things that both religion and war do to people.

On a much lighter note, I finallz got mz laptop back from being repaired (please don't ask me how much it cost, atleast it was cheaper than a new one), but have now become accustomed to using a German kezboard during the last week, and am now having trouble with switching mz Ys and Zs. Hmmph.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Fear


Um...there's some really creepy imagery associated with religion.

This picture was taken outside a church in Dresden, Germany.
Scary gargoyle babies.
Enough said.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Futility

Signs that the debate you are engaging in is futile:
  • Instead of answering any of your points, they attack you and your expertise/knowledge personally.
  • They deny saying things that they said, even when provided with quotes, which usually leads to...
  • They accuse you of quoting them out of context, even when the context does not change the meaning in any significant way.
  • They become condescending and tell you they feel sorry for you because you don't agree with them.
  • They continue to repeat an argument that you have already refuted.
  • They accuse you of taking things too seriously for continuing the debate, even as they are continuing it.
Just a few I have encountered recently. Anything to add?

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Logic as a Flaw


Why is it that on tv shows or in movies when a character is logical and rational,this is usually seen as a flaw, something to overcome? They are usually depicted as cold and unfeeling, and the irrational people who live by their gut are the ones who teach them how to 'feel'.

A few examples come to mind: Temperance Brennan from tv show Bones, Dr. House from House M.D. and Spock from Star Trek.

With ideas like that constantly being shoved down our throats by popular entertainment, it's no wonder our country elected (and re-elected) a president that made decisions based on his gut feelings, and it's no surprise we seem to have a population of people who embrace irrational ideas in favor of using their brains.

Can you think of any instances in popular entertainment where logic and rational thinking were seen as virtues in a character? I mean, besides Scooby Doo.

Just curious.

Illuminati

So I went to see Illuminati (called Angels & Demons in the U.S.?) last night, mostly because it is rare when they play movies in English here and I missed going to the movies.

I have to say I had trouble seeing why some religious people would get so upset about this (you know, besides the fact that some of them just like to get upset over anything). I mean, this film is clearly a fictional work. And I don't even think that it portrayed religion in a bad light.

In fact, the message I think I got out of it was that science and religion could co-exist, but that science was naive and religion was slow to adapt. I think.

Truthfully, the only thing I enjoyed about this film was how hot Ewan McGregor looked in his robes.

Oh, and I also was drooling through the previews for Public Enemies, a film about John Dillinger starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale coming out this year. Yes, please!

Tonight I'm going to see Star Trek, and from what I hear, it should be a lot better than this film.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Health Care

Health care is another one of those things that I give a damn about.

I can't believe that seemingly intelligent people fall for this crap about socialized health care being bad. I'd like to send these people to any Western country besides ours, and show them just how 'horrible' it is. In fact, I think it would do a lot of Americans some good to actually leave the country and see that other cultures and ideas exist besides their own, and that they are not the center of the universe.

It's so terrible not having to worry that if I get sick or something bad happens to me, I wont be able to afford it! And this nonsense about having to wait forever? The waiting times in Germany to get health care are barely discernible from those in the U.S.

I have to think there is something just fundamentally cruel about people who want to deny health care to people who can't afford it. This whole mentality in the U.S. of 'sink or swim' and looking out for yourself while not giving a damn about others is so disgusting to me.

When I turned eighteen I was no longer eligible for my parents' health insurance and all throughout college, until I came to Germany, I was uninsured.

Any time I got sick, on top of not feeling well, I would be completely stressed out about not being able to afford it in addition to my school expenses.

This morning I received 'scary socialized medicine' in Germany. The typical German doctors' total disregard for modesty aside, I was quite pleased with the visit and to learn that I will receive a service here for 31€ that would probably cost 10x as much in the U.S.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Logging Off

I just read this article from CNN, New services promise online life after death.

It's talking about the fact that a growing number of people have various accounts online that will be unreachable after their death, such as domains, bank accounts, email accounts, online auctions, and even online multi-player games and social networking accounts.

There are now some services popping up that offer to reveal passwords and online account information to beneficiaries when you die, for a fee.

One concern is that these services will be prime targets for identity theft.

But if they find a way to do this securely, I can definitely see the appeal. I think our lives are only going to become further dependent on the internet as time goes on.

Nerd

So I play this MMORPG called Lord of the Rings Online.

And sometimes the scenery in the game is just so beautiful that I have to stop and take some screen shots.


Moments later I was killed by a group of other players (this is a player vs. player region and I was playing my monster character). Uh, Turbine, could you make the game a little less beautiful so I don't get distracted and die again?

An Exercise in Futility Pt.2

So I posted this video clip on my Facebook profile about the National Day of Prayer. The headline chosen to display with it was 'Do we need a National Day of Prayer?'



Now I did not necessarily intend this as a question, because I already know that we do not. I just wanted to share the points made in the video with my friends.

A 'friend' (such a loose definition on Facebook, isn't it?), however, made the mistake of deciding he would answer the question (the poor bastard!) and then resort to condescension to tell me how sorry he felt for me that I don't support the National Day of Prayer.


So apparently if I can't win the argument with my rational debate, I can win it by outlasting their interest in continuing it.

An Exercise in Futility

So I spent a good deal of my life keeping my mouth shut because I was not very sure in my convictions and was also (and still am) very shy.

But lately I have felt the urge to tell people what I think more often, and perhaps this will get me into trouble soon.

I am no longer able to just let someone get away with some stupid passing remark or the spreading of ignorant nonsense. I find myself compelled to respond.

Now recently my friend made a remark on her Facebook status, which may have been more of a statement than a question, but I chose to answer her to the best of my knowledge.

However, soon, her mother-in-law decided to get involved by making what was, in my opinion, a stupid and vague comment. I was not in the mood to let this one alone, and apparently not any of her further stupid comments, either.

Ok, so I get really angry when I hear people talking about how "dangerous" vaccines are. This nonsense is not only stupid, but really harmful.When I discover that I am debating with people who do not seem to have much value for rationality or honest arguments, I tend to become a little more loose in my discussion techniques. So please, let me know where I slipped up. If I ever have a discussion with an intellectual I would be sure to be a lot more cautious.
At this point, I decided to back down and respect my friend's wishes to end the discussion. It's not like I was getting through to this woman anyways.

But wait....there's more.

Now Friend's Husband wants in on the action. Apparently coming in to rescue his poor mother's cause, he sends me this private message:

And here is my reply:



I am still waiting on a response.

I wont be holding my breath.

And also...what is up with this belief that both sides of an argument are valid? I support a person's right to believe whatever they like, but that does not mean that their opinion is necessarily valid or worth considering. This is a faulty assumption that I've seen a lot of people making (i.e. Teaching the Controversy).

"A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it". - David Stevens

Transparency

So, I was thinking a bit about these torture photos and whether or not I think they should be released.

At first I wasn't sure what to think, because I do believe that the Abu Ghraib photos (rightly) angered many Muslims, and could have quite likely contributed to more of them resorting to violence as a way of expressing that anger.

I do believe that the release of the photos will increase bad feelings towards the US (if that's even possible!), and at first I could understand the concern that this would endanger soldiers' lives.

But then I read something on Think Progress that really hit home:
It’s not the pictures that recruits suicide bombers; it’s what the pictures depict.
The people responsible for authorizing and carrying out these despicable acts are the ones who should have considered the violent reaction if discovered. They are the ones responsible for endangering soldiers' lives, and revealing the truth about it will not change that fact.

If the US is responsible for these actions, then we deserve the bad opinion of the world for them.

Quit Your Apathy

While choosing a name for this blog, I looked up the definition of the word "apathy"

Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.
I suppose my intended use of the word was to describe a general tendency that I've seen in a lot of my peers to be resigned or uninterested as far as current events or topics of heated debate are concerned.

I used to be very apathetic, which I mostly attribute to my blindly accepting everything that my family, peers, and Sunday School teacher told me.

Once I started to form my own opinions, I became passionate about them. Before they were my own, I was quite indifferent.

The most interesting thing I found out about the word "apathy", however, is that in the first ages of the church, the Christians adopted the term to express a "contempt of earthly concerns", and it was considered to be a positive attribute.

No matter what side of the issue you are on, there is a reason for passion and interest. Like they say,

"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

Growing Out of My Apathy

I spent roughly 20 years in apathy, of which I believe some of the first few can be excused. College expanded my horizons and I started to question things I was taught.

I began to blog about religion under the pseudonym "Amiable". If my family knew about my religious opinions (they may have their suspicions) they would probably blame my change of heart where religious matters are concerned on my university education, and they would be right. It was education that led me here, and I am puzzled as to why this would be considered a bad thing.

After a while I abandoned my blog about religion, as I eventually do many of my interests. I run kind of hot and cold that way.

My feelings about religion have not changed, but my interests in other things have expanded. I no longer want to only write, discuss, or think about one topic.

On a side note, I recently learned that only one space is required after a period, not two. I am working to amend this habit, although I can't understand why it was taught to me in the first place, as I never have used a typewriter.