The Thing About Vampires

A friend recommended that I read Twilight by Stephanie Myers about a month ago and I enjoyed it even though it’s geared more toward adolescent readers.  As I was reading New Moon, the second in the series, my husband was flipping through the Tivo.  He saw True Blood on HBO and said, “What is it with you and vampires?”  It’s easy.  Men want to be them.  Women want to be with them.  Though the original movie vampires were old, ugly creatures with bad teeth, the modern vampire is sexy, flawless, and graceful. 

Besides the lure of the mysterious, the modern vampire has had hundreds of years to learn how to romance and please a woman (or man, although men are pretty easy).  Plus, a vampire has to learn to control himself.  He has been waiting a long time to find a woman he is compatible with, and he doesn’t want to ruin it by killing her by accident.  Watching a man exercise that kind of control is incredibly alluring, since human men are not particularly adept. 

The idea of immortality is not for everyone, but for the scholar there is nothing more appealing.  There is always more to learn – new ways to grow.  No one has a better chance of figuring out the meaning life than someone who has crossed the line between life and death.  There has to be something gained from watching someone die, especially if you must kill them in order to survive yourself.  It may not be pleasant, but it is still knowledge.

Dilemma

Because of the substandard health care offered by my company I am being forced to make an extremely difficult decision.  I love my job, but the insurance only covers 80% of maternity care.  OBGYNs are considered specialists and have a larger copay.  Lab tests are expensive.  With the salary I’m currently receiving because no one cares about kids who drop-out of school, I can’t afford to stay in my job and add to my family. Health Care apparently isn’t a Family Values issue.  

So I have to decide whether I want to expand my family or stay on a career path that will leave me poor, but professionally fulfilled.  Is having a larger family worth giving up a job I love?  Is it worth staying at a job I love when I’m not earning my full potential and could be taking better care of my family?  Will the person who takes my place be able to convince MY kids that an education is the most important thing they will ever get?  I know I can’t stay.  They’re never going to be able to pay me what I’m worth, and I want more children.  Kids are expensive and I don’t make enough money.  Sometimes life sucks.

Are Republicans Good People?

Partisanship has been a huge topic of discussion for the past few years, mosly because when Party A wants to get something done and Party B disagrees, Party A claims that they only disagree because of partisanship.  They don’t stop to consider that what they want to do is financially irresponsible or morally wrong.  The just think the other party is being obstinate, which is pretty insulting, but I digress.  At some point during all of this Us vs. Them fighting, some of us started to realize that there ARE issues in which the parties are diametrically opposed, and agreeing to disagree just doesn’t fly when legislation is involved.

But we all have friends.  And having made many of our friends before we were so partisan or found ourselves surrounded by politics, we sometimes find that our friends are of the opposite party.  Family is one thing.  You HAVE to love them, unless being around them is physically or emotionally damaging. But friends are a gray area. You want to believe that they are good people, despite their political beliefs, but then you have to ask yourself: Can you be a good person if you think it’s okay to deny someone a basic civil right?  Can you be a good person if you don’t believe that everyone should have equal access to health care?  Can you be a good person if you really believe that we’re doing the right thing in Iraq?  Can you be a good person if you drive an SUV or a Hummer for fun?  Can you be a good person if you continually ignore the fact that schools filled with minority students are vastly underfunded?  Can you be a good person if you think automatic weapons are fine in the hands of criminals?

So the problem is this: They think they can be good people and believe all of those things, and I just don’t. If it divides our country, so be it.  If it pits brother against brother and tears families apart, so be it.  But no one, especially not in this country, should be forced to compromise on something they believe in with all of their heart simply to keep the peace.  And they shouldn’t have to pretend that it’s something it’s not.  It is NOT partisanship. It is the difference between RIGHT and WRONG.  The Republicans are just WRONG.

Stop Waiting

One of the most frustrating things that people say about the economy, politics, environment, etc… is, “God will proviode.”  We have intelligence.  We can learn things.  We can support politicians who support education so that we can learn more things.  Knowledge is not a punishment.  We weren’t punished for wanting knowledge, we were punished for disobeying god.  And that’s an allegory anyway. 

God will not fix your roof.  God will not fix the hole in the Ozone layer.  God will not fix the economy.  God will not pay your health care bills.  All of that is up to us.  The closest we get to god is electing the right politicians so that all of that gets done with us having to know as little about it as possible and when all goes well we can say, “See, God has provided.”  It may not all be chance, but it is NOT God. 

If you want something, if you need something, DO DOMETHING ABOUT IT.  Don’t just sit there and pray, then complain about the state of the world.  Find the cause of the problem and figure out a solution.  If you can’t figure it out, don’t say, “It must have been God’s will.”  Find someone smarter than you and ask for help.  Is no help is available , accept that it’s just that way through no fault of your own or anyone else’s.  The devil is not involved.  Let it go.  Stoip waiting.  Provide for yourself.

Apathy

I don’t know if it’s depression, disgust, or anger, but I find myself avoiding politics.  I know where I stand, I know why, and I have a hard time accepting that anyone could really believe that another Republican President is the right way to go for the country, especially when his running mate is that awful woman.  Seriously, she’s making us look bad.  Really, really bad.  Every time I think of her, her running mate, or the election in general, I shake my head in dismay.  My kids say the won’t vote because there’s no point, even though they have the first black man running for President, and though I encourage them to vote, I agree with them.  I like Obama.  I’d like to think he means what he says, but to be honest, he’s a politician and I am cynical.  I’ll believe it when I see it.

And while we’re all wrapped up in Presidential politics and the economy, can we PLEASE remember why our country’s in so much debt in the first place?  Our idiot President started a war with two countries that did nothing to us, and as a result: 606 US Soldiers killed in Afghanistan, and 4,180 US soldiers killed in Iraq.