Posts Tagged ‘politics and leadership’

Why I Can Be Proud On July 4th, 2013

Posted: July 4, 2013 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
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Whether I’m feeling particularly patriotic on Independence Day in the United States depends on a number of factors. For one, my homeland is always Israel, so although I was born and raised in America, Independence Day isn’t as big a deal for me as it is for others. Also, this country has its problems, and how those problems are being handled and who’s handling them can decide whether or not I want to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance or if I just wish it would be over so we can get on with the football game.

However this July 4th I’m feeling particularly proud. President Obama’s still in office, and while he’s not the perfect President (who is?), he’s a lot better than some other aspiring executive leaders I could name (but I won’t because I’m polite that way). Also, the Supreme Court (probably the most popular branch of our federal government) said last week that gay marriage must be recognized by the federal government, which means that I can now work for my own state of Ohio to adopt the practice. Not easy, considering that the rural communities are very conservative. But heck, Columbus is the LGBT capital of the Midwest, so that’s something to count in our favor.

And although the United States has some definite problems, including inequality, hungry children, an economy that’s constantly on the edge of another recession (seems like it, anyway), we’re a lot better off than some other nations in the world. In Egypt,  Morsi was ousted from the Presidency despite being democratically elected, and now key members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s party, are being arrested. While I don’t approve of the Muslim Brotherhood’s policy towards Israel, America, and religion and government, I can’t help but detect a whiff of dictatorship rising from all this.

And if you go northeast to Syria, you’ll see people still fighting after several years just to gain the right to even experiment with democracy. Meanwhile hundreds die everyday, and no meaningful action has been taken to quell the fighting.

And in other nations, democracy is marred by powerful interests, religious intrusion, rampant corruption, and several other problems. It makes me glad that I’m able to live in a nation where, at the very least, I have rights and access to things I desperately need to survive, such as food, water, shelter, and healthcare. I also have a shot at an education and maybe a job afterwards. And while I have all these things, I can work to fight for others who don’t have the same rights as me, both at home and abroad.

That’s something to be proud of, especially when strides are being made to rectify that inequality. Not many strides, but some good ones. And while I celebrate today, I’ll work to keep these strides coming tomorrow.

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

Why the Revolt Against Morsi Doesn’t Surprise Me

Posted: July 3, 2013 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
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A few years ago in January 2011, the people of Egypt began a mass movement for their freedom and for true democracy in their nation. The movement, the growing number of protests, and the backing of the military led to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. Afterwards the military took control until a government of, for, and by the people could be set up.

In June of 2012, Mohammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected to the Egyptian presidency. In hindsight, many said that Morsi was elected because his Muslim Brotherhood was better organized than other, newer political parties that wanted progressive reforms for the country. Almost as soon as Morsi took office, he took steps to solidify his power, passing a decree in November of 2012 that would allow for Morsi’s actions to be free of any judicial action, as well as imposing harsh Islamist policies on the nation.

Another dictator had been brought into power. But I wasn’t surprised. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood had stated as such that they were anti-Zionist, pro-Islamist policies, and wanted a government with Islam at the center. Excuse me, but it’s very hard to have a true democracy with religion at the center of it, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s policies go against most of what Egypt wanted: more freedoms, including freedom of speech; women’s rights; protections for Coptic Christians; and more government accountability, among other things.

But when Morsi created trumped-up charges against a TV comedian often compared to Jon Stewart for criticizing Morsi and went back on a number of promises he made, particularly on those of free speech and government accountability, people noticed. And this is a country that has gotten used to fighting back against their government, even when faced with death.

So now demonstrations have taken hold of the country, the military is (quite wisely) backing the protesters, and Morsi has been given an ultimatum to leave office either by choice or by force. Of course Morsi has said he won’t leave office, saying that he was elected democratically and “will protect his legitimacy with his life”.

It’s when people in power say stuff like that you know they’ve gotten too big for their proverbial britches and need a reality check. Of course, with Morsi’s supporters, particularly those in the Muslim Brotherhood, saying they would gladly become martyrs to protect Morsi’s presidency, it looks like that reality check may take a while to come. And if the military does oust Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president, things could be explosive in ways we have no way of predicting.

But whatever happens, I have no doubt that it won’t lead to a democracy similar to the United States (and to compare the US as stable when it comes to Egypt is saying something). Egypt is one of those countries that is still experimenting and trying to become a real democracy while power-hungry politicians try and secure themselves a large slice of the pie. If anything, what will result from all this will be a shaky leadership, and I doubt that whoever is in charge will learn from the lessons of Mubarak and Morsi.

But hey, let’s wait and see. I’ve been known to be wrong on occasion. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Let Freedom Ring!

Posted: June 26, 2013 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Social Activism
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Today I woke up to some wonderful news: the Supreme Court of the United States had declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and had struck down Proposition 8, both laws that had negative consequences for same-sex marriage. The former, signed into law in 1996 by Bill Clinton, prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, even when legalized by the states, while Proposition 8 was a ban on same-sex marriage in California that was overturned by the state courts.

At this point, it’s unknown what the exact ramifications of these rulings are. However at the very least, the government in Washington will have to recognize same-sex marriage when legalized by the states, whichwill mean a lot more people will be filing joint tax forms. I’m not sure what Prop 8’s ruling will mean exactly, but I think it may affect all gay marriage bans across the nation, of which there are more than a few.

As a long-time supporter of gay rights, let me just thank The Supreme Court for siding with liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is unfair to so many when their marriages are recognized by the states but not by the government that’s supposed to have their best interests at heart. Your ruling has been a great success for gay rights, civil rights, and human rights everywhere. I can only hope that this leads to more tolerance and more good news as time goes on.

And to those who have worked tirelessly to see that these laws were struck down, the lawyers, the activists, and finally the people filing the suits in the first place, I cannot congratulate you enough. Your hard work has helped many people, and I salute you. Because of your efforts, I will be able to stand this Independence Day proudly and be glad I live in a nation moving towards tolerance for all.

Have a wonderful and hopefully colorful day, everybody.

Helping My School Out

Posted: June 4, 2013 in Social Activism
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Earlier this week, it came to light that E. Gordon Gee, the President of Ohio State University, had said some things about the University of Notre Dame and Catholics in jest at an athletics meeting. Some took the comments as offensive,  He apologized for his comments and Notre Dame formally forgave him. Most of the Catholic students on campus and on Facebook have agreed that they didn’t find the comments offensive. Heck, I’ve heard more offensive comments from comedians on TV (Jeff Dunham and his dummies come to mind).

But today, President Gee announced his retirement, effective July 1st, because of the controversy his remarks led to.

Naturally, I and several other OSU students are devastated. President Gee was a positive influence on the campus. He brought a smile to us with his bowties and jovial nature and kind and quiet manner of speech. To many students, meeting President Gee was a milestone in their OSU careers. I even met one student who said she came to Ohio State just to meet President Gee, right before she took a photo with him at the student union. To us, losing him because of this little incident will be a big blow to the morale of the university and to the students.

This is me with President Gee back in my freshman year. He was an inspiration. I hope he stays that way.

This is me with President Gee back in my freshman year. He was an inspiration. I hope he stays that way.

Which is why, after discussion with some other students and a lot of thought about the subject, I started a Change.org petition to get the Board of Trustees at Ohio State to let President Gee keep his position and continue to serve Ohio State as he’s done for several years. So far, 125 people have signed, and I’m hoping that I can get that number up to 10,000, or about one-sixth of the Ohio State student population.

I’d appreciate it if you signed the petition, and possibly shared it on your own blog or Facebook. This means a lot to me, and I’m trying to make a difference as best as I can. If I can, I want to see this petition reach the goal count. If you can help me, that’d be great.

If you decide not too though, that’s okay. I respect your opinion and your choice and I hope we can find other things to agree on. But if you feel like it, please do sign the petition. You don’t even have to donate money to do it! And the best part is, you’ll be making a difference for about sixty-thousand students.

That, my friends, will be the best part.

Some Thoughts On Children Lost and Children Harmed

Posted: May 8, 2013 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
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This week alone, several stories have surfaced in the news of American children being killed by guns in their homes. Two children, shot accidentally by their siblings. One child was killed by his uncle’s handgun hidden in a backpack. Another was shot in the crib while their 14-year-old brother was using his .22 rifle, which was given to him as a birthday gift.

The two cases listed above didn’t end in saved children. Instead, the children died en route to the hospital. The parents and siblings of these dead children, the rest of their families, the communities, and everyone who hears of these cases can only wonder, “Why?”

There are a million reasons why: negligence, misfires, simple intentions to see a gun, the belief that guns actually don’t kill, the crazy belief that giving a gun to a teenager is a good idea. However, debating the reasons why these tragedies happened won’t do any good. These children are wounded or dead, and it happened by weapons kept in the home.

Now I won’t try to argue the Second Amendment or the dangers of automatic rifles and machine guns this time. I believe that if it’s for legitimate reasons, people should have access to firearms like handguns or hunting rifles. However, when children are involved it’s a whole other issue. Children have a habit of getting into places they shouldn’t, and they think things that are dangerous are fun or sometimes cute. And even if a child seems mature, no child should be given something that’s main function is killing, be it animals or people.

The worst part of this is that these tragedies could’ve been totally preventable. The parents and adults could’ve locked up their guns better, or at least made attempts to lock them up. They could’ve waited until their kids were teenagers to teach them to use guns, and then only when they were 18 would they have been allowed their own guns. Or better yet, they could’ve never have bought the guns in the first place! After all, there’s a significantly higher chance that if you bring a gun into your home, it’ll do more damage to your family than any would-be intruder.

So the NRA may be having a party in Houston and saying that guns are here to stay, that taking away guns will lead to a dictatorship, and that the only thing protecting our children are guns. But they can’t shut out the facts, no matter how many senators they buy off. Guns are dangerous tools, and until we have some common-sense legislation, all this violence and death will only stay the same, or possibly get worse.

Change For The Dead

Posted: April 20, 2013 in Poetry, Politics and Leadership, Writing
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After this stressful week, I figured I should do something to commemorate that we all got through it. And since I’m still very upset with the Senate for its failure to pass sweeping gun control measures that would’ve benefited many people, I decided to write a poem, something I don’t do often but that I think for this situation can be very helpful to get the point across. So before I do, I’d like to remind people that you are free to agree or disagree with me, but please be civil and respectful in your comments.

So without further ado, I’d like to bring you Change For The Dead:

We say that I’m against our right to bear arms.
What about our right to feel safe on the streets?
We say after every massacre that more guns is the remedy.
Are we going to tell Boston that every citizen needs a bomb?

We say gun restrictions don’t work,
That there are people who won’t submit to them.
Tell me, if I decide not to follow our laws on stealing, drugs, or traffic,
Should the nation do away with those laws?

We say we fear a dictatorship if we change our ways.
How about the fear of children and the fear of their families?
We say this is the way of America,
But I thought that was life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Our constituents wanted action.
Why did we deny them that?
We won’t do anything for the living.
How about we bring change for the dead?

How about I do a séance on the Senate floor,
Summon the many who’ve died?
They are legions, they are many,
They want only that no more join them.

Can you hear their cries?
Can you listen to their complaints?
Many lost all potential before they could achieve it.
Are we going to let them down?

Listen to them, open your hearts.
Don’t let your fear keep us from helping them.
Something’s wrong with this world,
But now I hope we can make it right.

The Events of This Week Are Giving Me Stress

Posted: April 18, 2013 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership
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I tell you, it isn’t even blogging about this right now. I had to have a bowl of ice cream with a side of cherry cola, watch a crime show on my computer, and then listen to two hypnosis MP3s before I felt comfortable to write this blog post. After all, a lot has happened this week: Monday we had the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Tuesday showed only false news leads and a bomb threat at Ohio State that, while it turns out to be just a false alarm, freaked out the entire school. Wednesday we learned that the Senate had voted down gun restrictions that 90% of Americans had said in polls that they wanted, particularly when it came to universal background checks. And this morning, I heard about an explosion at an industrial plant in Texas. Luckily that one was just faulty equipment, but still it freaked me out. It didn’t help that Cal State LA had its own bomb threat today. And then there’s a million memes floating around the Internet, each with a thousand positive and negative comments.

You can see why I’m stressed. I see destruction, carnage, and fear everywhere and only so much being done about it (or in the case of the Senate, nothing being done). It makes me worry, it makes me stress. This sort of stuff, in my opinion, shouldn’t happen outside of books and movies. And yet it’s happening.

But after all my stress relief, I realize that when I look back on this years from now, I’ll realize that I survived this horrible week, that afterwards I did great on my finals (I’m assuming, at the very least), and it can be a story I can tell my kids (I’m assuming I have kids at this stage) about bad weeks and that they go away.

Still…that doesn’t excuse the fact that two men (they do have suspects now, says the FBI, and sorry Jon King, they’re not “dark-skinned” as you thought) caused three deaths and several injuries. And the Senate placed reelection ahead of common sense solutions to gun violence, only passing a “privacy clause” for firearms and funding for mental health services (only the latter I really agree with, though I have a feeling its help will be limited). And the NRA probably played a huge role in keeping those solutions from passing, all in the name of their paranoia. I’m very upset, but I’m not going to let it get in the way of my life and living happily.

Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to do some editing work that’s long overdue. I need to do it and it’ll relax me, I’m sure.

France and Uruguay and England Are Doing It. Why Not The United States?

Posted: April 12, 2013 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Social Activism
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Today I’m checking the news on AOL and I see that France’s Senate has passed a bill allowing LGBT couples to get legally married. The bill was passed despite huge protests and opposition from conservatives and Roman Catholics wanting to preserve their definition of marriage. Yesterday I read how Uruguay had done the same thing, passing a bill allowing members of the LGBT community to marry and adopt. And quite recently, England voted to have same-sex marriage. So that’s three countries within the past three months that will allow same-sex marriage in their countires.

My question is, why hasn’t the United States jumped on board yet?

I know the Supreme Court is debating DOMA and Prop. 8 in its chambers these days, but even if the ruling is in favor of gay rights and same sex marriage, I’m a little worried aobout the outcome. First off, there are some justices on the Supreme Court who have called same-sex marriage “an experiment” that is “newer than cell phones” and may vote against gay marriage due to their conservative principles. And even if they don’t vote against it, I doubt the Supreme Court will mandate that same-sex marriage will be allowed nationwide, especially if they don’t want some states to sue the federal government for interfering in the states’ right to decide for themselves what legally constitutes as marriage.

Not to mention that in some areas the LGBT community still face horrible discrimination in the workplace, bullying is common for students who come out of the closet, and in Montana, a hospital forced a man out of his husband’s hospital room and treated him like just touching him could get them AIDS and later said they forced him out for being “loud and belligerent” (even though the patient’s brother was supposedly much worse than the husband). If we really want gay marriage to take hold in this country, first we need some serious attitude changes.

Luckily the gains made in the past four years for the LGBT community have been incredible, so I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next 10-15 years gay marriage became legal nationwide and discrimination against the LGBT community was sought out and abolished. But like I said, it’ll take time and attitude changes. So whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling, I hope it brings some positive change in the years to come.

I Can’t Believe The Entertainment Industry Is Taking Most Of The Flack

Posted: February 10, 2013 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections
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Today on the bus downtown I was reading my latest Entertainment Weekly, and there was an article talking about how the entertainment industry is under increasing scrutiny for gun violence in the United States and different perspectives on the debate. Not long after that, my friend and fellow blogger Matt Williams posts an article about how two Swiss human rights organizations have recommended taking certain aspects out of video game violence because in the real world those same aspects might constitute war crimes if performed (for said post, please click this link: http://storiesbywilliams.com/2013/02/10/war-crimes-in-video-games/#comment-8258).

Has the world lost its mind?

First off, the movies, TV shows, books and video games are all fictional. FICTIONAL! Not real, never happened, the product of someone’s imagination and transferred to us using words, visuals, and (increasingly) technological gizmos. If you can mistake something in a movie or a video game for real, I think that points to some underlying psychological disorder.

And that’s the problem here, isn’t it? People with psychological problems getting their hands on guns, and often they get them through legal means more often than they get them illegally. In fact I read the other day an article about a man who was released from a mental institution after being incarcerated for murdering his mother. Not long after he got out, he bought up a ton of assault weapons and wrote in an online diary that he thought about killing all the time. It wasn’t until a police officer noticed the man had bought the guns, realized who the man was, and that he shouldn’t have guns in the first place did the man get arrested again. Seriously folks, we need more help for the mentally ill and better protection from dangerous weapons.

By the way, nowhere in this article did video game violence come up.

In fact, not a lot of killers are actually influenced by the entertainment industry to become killers, if any at all. Eric Harris was a sociopath who influenced Dylan Klebold, a manic depressive, into becoming a killer. Adam Lanza seemed to have Asperger’s syndrome and a few other problems, plus access to a bunch of guns in his mother’s house. The guy who shot the Sikh temple in Wisconsin was a neo-Nazi who believed he was doing the world a favor. The guy who shot up the first responders in New York was inspired to kill by Adam Lanza! The guy who kidnapped the child off the bus in Alabama seemed to have a thing for conservative pundits on the radio (not very entertaining, right?) and possibly suffered from a persecution complex. And James Holmes? Well, I’m not so sure The Dark Knight is wholly responsible (I have my own theories on what drove him to murder, but I’m not a psychologist, so unless asked to tell I’ll just hold off).

In fact, our psychological state of mind is based on biological, sociocultural, and environmental factors. So if James Holmes’s biology, culture, environment, and his social circle was defined by The Dark Knight, then maybe we might have to examine the entertainment industry. Besides, there are no studies that indicate a link between video games and gun violence. Not even a correlation, which is only a possible indicator of causation. Emphasis on possible. And the people who say that there is a link that just hasn’t been found yet, such as Wayne LaPierre, are usually in favor of gun rights or are actually paid to advocate for gun companies. Should we really believe these guys when they say the guns they own and try to sell say that guns can’t be apart of the problem our society is facing?

Besides, I still believe that humans are rational beings with the power of choice. Most people know that killing is wrong, that firing a bullet at someone means they probably won’t get up again if they’re hit, and that the soldiers in video games or the serial killer I created or Bruce Willis’s character in the Die Hard films are not real and therefore so is the gun violence, which means the cool gun violence in those examples are as real as the tooth fairy. And most people choose not to kill others. Those who do, and do it with assault weapons are, like I’ve said before, are mentally ill and need pscyhological counseling.

So stop blaming the entertainment industry. Yes, there’s more violence in media these days, but that’s a response to both the world and what the world wants in its media, but if we start censoring our TV shows and video games and movies, I think we’re doing more to set up a totalitarian state than we are by confiscating dangerous weapons. And where does the censorship end? When media is dull and boring? It’s a horrible direction to go down.

So let’s not censor. Instead, let’s actually work to create a safety net for those with mental illnesses that make them dangers to themselves or to others, keep military-grade weapons out of the hands of citizens (even well-intentioned ones), and institute universal background checks. That’s a responsible response to the wave of violence the United States is facing right now.

Another Shooting Happens, Yet Some Are Still Not Seeing The Point

Posted: February 1, 2013 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections
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Yesterday, a shooting occurred at a junior high school in Atlanta, Georgia. According to the news reports, the working theory is that two students got into some sort of fight, one pulled out a gun, and started shooting. The student who fired the gun is currently in custody, while one student who was shot in the neck survived, is in the hospital, and at last update, was in good condition, thank God. There were other minor injuries, but thank God no deaths. The school itself, as well as neighboring elementary and high schools were placed on lock down for two hours before students were released to their anxious, loving parents.

It seems President Obama was correct when he said we are suffering from an epidemic of violence. And speaking of the President, deliberations over gun control are still raging in Congress, where some still deny that we need stricter gun control. I mean come on! A kid nearly died of injuries because another student somehow got access to a gun and brought it to school with him! And yet there are people who use the craziest arguments to say that we need looser laws on guns. Let me repeat that: looser laws on gun control. And I italicize that for a reason: because it’s nuts, and it’s not a solution.

Now I know conservatives fear that stricter gun control laws will immediately lead to a dictatorship where guns are only held by the authroities and the people are powerless. This phobia of theirs is the basis of all their arguments. For this phobia, I recommend seeing a psychiatrist, because it’s just not going to happen. America is not going to turn into Nazi Germany, because Nazi Germany was the result of a madman taking advantage of a system with way more flaws than our system and a people who were unused to democracy and thought it was decadent. Does that sound like our system? Does that sound like our President?

Oh, and Mr. LaPierre, you said nearly fifteen years ago that you supported universal background checks (and so does a majority of the organization you head, by the way). What changed? All those checks from gun manufacturers go to your head? And to Ms. Treyor, the woman who told the thrilling story of a woman who used her legally-bought home weapon to defend herself against attackers, the woman in your story used a shotgun, not an assault rifle. The weapon in question would be allowed under an assault weapons ban. How can you not know this before you tell your story?

Honestly, I find the fact that I’m compelled to write these posts every now and again ludicrous. I mean seriously, we regulate driving and women’s uteruses more than we regulate guns! The last I checked, guns were killing more people than cars or uteruses! There needs to be some consistency here, folks! We need to stop this epidemic of violence.

And not only do we need stricter regulations on guns, we also need to do something for those with severe mental illnesses, especially those whose illnesses make them a danger either to themselves or others. Ever since deinstitutionalization in the fifties and sixties, there’s been no safety net for those with mental illnesses that aren’t helped by drugs. We need to reestablish a safety net, if only to see that these people can get the help they need. Sure it might cost us a little more in taxes, but it’s better than having another Sandy Hook, isn’t it?

So Congress, stop listening to the fear-mongering and the lobbyists with the checkbooks, and get to work doing your jobs, which is helping the American people. Because sitting around and quibbling over whether or not an imaginary dictatorship waiting to rise from Clint Eastwood’s friend the chair does not help us with our actual, not-imaginary problems.

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