Getting All Political

*I just want to say first off that I am posting this while listening to the new cd from Muse. I have only listened to it from start to finish a few times but already I am singing along to the words. It's really good, but not good in the way I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be rocking circa Stockholm Syndrome, but it has a very solid sound throughout. A lot of people have said it, but it really comes through -- the comparisons to Queen. If you barely like Queen, you will like this cd. Just sayin.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have had a couple things I have wanted to get out of my head and into my blog. One of these things is something I don't think I have ever talked about just because I haven't really wanted to get into it, but this post is politics related. (If you are reaching to close this window already, my apologies)

Last Friday marked 8 years since that dreadful day in New York that rocked the entire nation. The Pentagon was hit too, but it's clear that NY is the city that bears the saddened hearts on 9/11. I remember the day like it was yesterday, and probably always will. I was a freshman in high school, sitting on the steps of my football field (don't let me fool you, I didn't actually play football) during weight training chilling with a friend when the coach came up and said that the Pentagon was hit. We went inside and watched TV to see the images of the towers being hit. I wish I could say that right there my world was changed forever. That I became saddened, frightened, and furious at the same time. I wish I could say these things, but I can't. My reaction was "this is getting boring seeing these same images over and over again." I really didn't grasp it. In my defense, I was a fresh teenager on my way to 14. I guarantee if another attack happened, my freshman in high school cousin would probably not be as emotional as the majority of people. However, a few weeks later I saw a video on the internet and it was showing other people's reactions. Family members that lost loved ones that were either in the building or part of the men and women who tried to help. That's what it took -- a few weeks. And then the emotions came.

Fast forward 8 years later and those emotions are still there. Except instead of anger, there is confusion. Instead of patriotism, there is embarrassment. Confusion because 8 years later and we are still fighting a war with no end in sight and no true reason for going in the first place. I know this is a very touchy subject and I have respect for all sides. I have plenty of family and friends in all branches of the military, and I am proud of them for their decision to serve and I will support them no matter where they go. I just wish we had answers to all the questions we have.

However, even though I have been talking about a subject as serious as 9/11, that is not the main point of this post. Above, I talked of embarrassment replacing patriotism. Don't take this to mean i'm not proud to be American, because I love it here. (And best believe when the World Cup starts next year you will be seeing me wave my flag proudly). But it is killing me to see how the country that I live in and support is acting towards our newest president. Before I go any further, I will put it out there -- I voted for Barack Obama. I believe not only in his words, but I agreed with most of his policies. So you may say I am biased for what I am about to say, but the way some people are acting right now is appaling. It is bad enough to have citizens come to town hall meetings and shout down people with misinformation. It was even worse to have a person who came a hair away from being the vice president of this country (don't even get me started on Palin -- that is a whole nother story) post on FACEBOOK about "death panels." But the worst thing of all occured last week when during a speech, a representative from South Carolina shouted "You lie!" to Obama. Now here is where I will show why I have stayed away from political posts. I don't know all the details. So I'm not even going to try. However, I will say it is one thing to have your opinions, it is another to shout them at YOUR president.

The other thing that has really gotten me heated lately is when Obama addressed children in schools, some districts gave parents the choice for their kids to opt out of the speech. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? How are we allowing this. I read one blog post where she spoke of the principal's decision was "we don't want to show favoritism to any party." You do realize that, while he is a democrat, he is also the president. And not the president of the democratic party. He is THE president.

Here is also why I stay away from these posts. I know my opinions are skewed. I watch the Daily Show religously. I know it can be stupid at times, but there are certain segments they show that point out how absurd the Republican party has become. And I firmly believe it is because they lost. And that's what sickens me. I didn't vote for McCain. But if he would have won, I would be giving him my support. Why? Because he would be OUR president, just like Obama is. I didn't like Bush. I felt like he was vague about a lot of stuff. However, I had respect for him as our president, as he was democratically elected to be. If he came to Auburn (which he did, but before my time), I would go and I would be excited to go. I wouldn't have been thinking "what can I shout at him" or "what kind of crazy sign can I make comparing him to Hitler?"

It's just sad to me. Sad that we can't come together at a time that we really need to. But I may not be good at explaining myself, so I will let my good friend Jon Stewart do it for me.