Tuesday, October 30, 2012

people hate good news.

My last post triggered something in me.  People seem to love to hate people.  Sure, the word "hate" is taboo, but when you watch the news, it's always bad stories.  Why is that?  Some blame the media and although I really despise the media I think they are not the ones at fault here.  I think the media works just like they claim and the way any industry trying to make a profit when there's competition works; they give their customers what they want.

I never get into celebrity break ups.  I'm notoriously horrible at knowing who is married to who.  Normally the way I find out is when they get divorced.  I didn't even know Tom Cruise was married to Katie Holmes until they got divorced.  People who watch TMZ and celebrity stalk may call me crazy, but here's the point; why is it that I always miss the weddings but rarely the divorces.  It's because more people want to hear about their divorce, so it's covered more.  It gets more limelight and thrown on the cover of every newspaper so that even someone like me who avoids these things can find out about it.  I may be on my way to work, pass by the subway and when someone tries to hand me an AM New York or a Metro NY, I happen to see it on the front page.  This is what the general society loves; bad things to happen to people.  Ha, see another couple getting divorced.  The reason that Tom and Katie was so big, I'm told, is that they were together for so long and seemed so happy.  People hate when other people are happy.  Why is that though?

Deep down, we all have our skeletons, but rather than feel guilt, we want to point to other people's skeletons and problems.  Sure, I got divorced but Tom and Katie Holmes did too and they had a perfect relationship so maybe good marriages don't exist.  I find this pathetic, that's why I couldn't care less about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  We want to throw stones in order to cover our own problems.  Me, I'm very introspective, it doesn't matter that Ben Roethlisberger raped a college girl in a night club, it doesn't excuse anything I do.  Sure, I'm a better person than Ben, but who cares, my goal isn't to not be a rapist, it's to be a good man and always follow my morals and base my actions on my morality not vice versa. 

This is why you can't defend someone that the media has already deemed evil.  the Duke lacross players were villains so we jumped on the case.  See these boys who go to a great school and are really smart are nothing but a bunch of lowly rapists.  Oh wait, the woman lied, the DA is being disbarred for his handling of the case?  Oh, never mind.  After that the media didn't care about them.  Nobdody cares that they were innocent but they loved when they were guilty. 

I think of celebrities and I see this pattern everywhere.  The only ones I can think of that we hold on a high pedestal is Derek Jeter and Tim Tebow.  Jeter doesn't get negative press the way Tebow does.  At first I thought it was because Jeter is half black, but then I realized that it doesn't have to do with race after all.  Tim Tebow is the epitome of what people don't want to believe exist.  He is a devout religious man who is saving sex for marriage.  most people believe that no Christian is ever successful in this.  I know three that were, so unfortunatley for you people who hate Christians, they do exist.  But Tim Tebow is a football player, a quarterback.  He's been a star since he was a teenager, constantly prodded to get mad, to not turn the other cheek.  He never bites though.  The media would love a Tim Tebow downfall like a Tiger Woods.  Afterall, if Tebow does it, if he is exactly what he says he is, than what does that do to society's belief that people like him don't exist?   The left hates traditional values, and that's all Tebow stands for, so they're going after him.  I hope that Tebow does it, not because I'm religious.  I've had by battles with devout Catholics and a lot of them are hypocritical, elitist and the most unforgiving people I've ever met.  But, that doesn't mean I want Tebow to be.  I think it's a breath of fresh air to think Tebow's can exist.  Sure, he may be a better man than I because I would have snapped by now.  Some argue that getting angry is good sometimes and I agree but when they're trying to get you mad, maybe it's better not to bite. 

It doesn't bother me that better men than myself exist.  it doesn't make me feel better that worse people than me exist.  In all honesty, I couldn't care less about celebrities and who they marry.  But I do like traditional values and I don't like how society vehemently attacks you for not agreeing with them.  So I'm routing for Tim Tebow as an in-your-face to the general public.  You can't ignore him like college lacross,he is an NFL quarterback.  Isn't it funny that that's the first thing people want to take away from him.  they say they want him to be a linebacker....after all, how many linebackers can you name? 

Monday, October 29, 2012

A good man

What makes a good man?  I've always been a believer that most men are inherently evil and although I think the people who claim that men never act selflessly are unfair, I think in general, man is selfish.  I also don't think selfishness is a bad thing as I am a objectivist, and that is what Ayn Rand (The mother of objectivism) vehemently believed.

Now, despite my views on man, men do good things sometimes.  They also do bad things.  even the most evil men in history probably did something nice once or twice.  Jesus marched into the temple and started breaking shit, vandalism is a mean thing to do and he was Jesus.  Was he justified in his anger? I think so, but it's a debatable point.  This came to me because someone that I've long considered a good man did something horrible.  Now, I know he feels extremely guilty about it to the point that he self-tortured himself, but it leads me to think, what is a good man?  for you can argue that a good man would have obstained from doing the horrible thing in the first place.  But what if it's someone who does something bad, but then feels deep remorse over it even though no outside person condemned him for it (nobody knew he had done what he did, he volunteered the information to cleanse his soul and keep it from bottling up).  So, if you self-condemn yourself and never forgive yourself but just try to move forward and never do it again, do you lose the good man card?  I don't think you should, but what about the person that in the same situation, obstained from doing it.  clearly he should get more points. Is it a numerical thing; like if you do x amount of bad things, does that make you  bad person?  By extension, if you do x amount of good things it makes you a good person?  That can't be it, because different things are weighted differently.  If you commit genocide against an entire population of people, there are no amount of good deeds that save you from that.  But, there is no counter on the other side.  I guess if you jump in front of a bullet for a stranger to save their life, all bad deeds get expelled.  but aside from dying for anoher person, there really is no good deed you can do that will forgive all else.

So, things are weighted differently.  the thing about good men, is they don't look for fanfare.  If a guy is hooking up with a girl, she passes out, and he leaves the room, he doesn't seek praise for not raping her.  He thinks that's preposterous to praise someone for not being evil.  but by keeping his good deeds low key, it only sets to highlight when he does something bad.  espeically becuase he's the one that condemns himself more than anyone else.  So....maybe that's a good man.  someone that condemns himself for bad things moreso than others, but doesn't look for reward when he does good things.  the problem with this is that people love to see good men go bad.  Look at Tiger Woods and Joe Paterno.  so, sometimes people's condemnation is greater than warranted therefore wouldn't equal even a good man's.  Someone may say that a cashier gave you too much change and you didn't give it back, you should have your hands cut off.  that's extreme and the good man couldn't be expected to match or surpass that. 

People say if you're going to write a blog, you should know the answer.  I say fuck that.  I don't know the answer, but it's an interesting question. 

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Saturday, October 13, 2012

You can always bitch

Recently I had a conversation with someone I care about.  He is youger than me but I've known him pretty much his entire life.  He is 24-years-old now, and he is kicking ass by the conventional standards.  He has already passed his 4 exams to become a CFA and is working for a firm that has sent him to three continents.  He lives in a small city and isn't pressed financially.  Recently, he came to visit me in New York, a place he spent his early childhood but has no recollection due to moving out at a young age.  As I showed him around the city, he, like many people who come to Manhattan for the first time (or first remembered time) his eyes were to the sky in awe at all the big buildings and lights.  We spoke briefly about living in New York, and I explained to him how my favorite thing is nobody pays any attention to you when you walk around on the street, you are around a lot of people but you are alone.  Most people are indifferent or despise this notion, but that is why I love the city I live in.  He, however, nodded his head in agreement and said that he thought it would be really cool to live in a city like that.  I told him how proud I was at how great he was doing and he just kind of shook his head back and forth as if he was holding something back before saying something along the lines that he wants more.

For as long as I've known him, he's always been modest.  I didn't expect him to say, "Yea, I'm fucking awesome" but I was kind of surprised that he wasn't happy. I then told him that there was nothing wrong with not being content.  He went on to talk about eldery people he knows that were shot at by the Nazi's when they were 6-years-old, had siblings killed because soldiers used them as target practice when they were on their way to get bread, being forced into the mountains of Eastern Europe having to live off the land when they were teenagers, getting into bad marriages and having to grind their way out etc etc.  At the end he's like, "So my situation isn't really like theirs but I look at them and they have these cool stories, but I don't.  But when I tell them this they just tell me that they wouldn't wish what happened to them on anyone, so I guess I should just be happy with what I got." 

I looked him dead in the eye and I said, ":Bullshit!" 

It doesn't matter that other people have it worse, it doesn't matter that so many people think you're kicking ass and by all normal conventional standards you're doing awesome, the only thing that matters is what you feel inside and what you see when you look in the mirror.  Yes, maybe someone who was shot at by Nazis at the age of 6 has trouble empathesizing with you but that doesn't mean that you lose your right to bitch.  You always have a right to bitch.  I talked about my story about how I had to be unemployed for a year and half before finding a job that paid the bills.  My only goal was I wanted to stay in New York and be at a job that requires me to look at a computer all day and have minimal contact with people.  At the time, everyone told me my goal sucked and it needed to be more specific.  Despite that, I got what I wanted.  He looked at me and said, "See that's a cool story, I don't have that, I don't even have a goal like you did,"

I responded, "Then make your goal to find out what your goal is.  And when you're the one living it, the story never sounds that cool"  I then talked about how he had to move from Europe to America and switch schools 7 times before the age of 12.  I switched schools for the first time at age 14.  He nodded and said, "yea, but I never saw that as being that cool, but I guess that's your point, it never seems cool when it's you."

I tried a diferent strategy with him in utilizing Socrates with regard to this.  I told him that he knows he doesn't want to be where he is now.  Maybe he should try moving to Chicago, Miami, New York or a big city given that when I told him about the anononymity of walking by yourself in New York that it was something he craved since his small city everyone looks at him like he's crazy if he goes for a walk.  Sometimes when finding what you want to do, you have to first look at what you don't want.  I then commented on his statement about "At 24, I achieved a goal I worked really hard for when I got my CFA so now I got my goal...now what."  I responded, "That CFA is your ticket to anywhere you want to go.  It's not the ends, it is now a means, you are now more employable, more marketable, so you can go somewhere else and it may get you a foot in the door and since you've been moving around your whole life, you're used to starting over in a new city.  He was quiet for a while as I kept explaining to him that the only thing that matters is if he is happy with where he's at.  I referenced The Alchemist because the main character has a goal to go to the middle of the desert and find this alchemist that can turn lead to gold.  Everyone said he was crazy, along the way he got a job he enjoyed and made him comfortable, but he left it because it wasn't his goal. 

A lot of people have similar stories as the person in the alchemist.  People get stuck in their jobs, blink and realize they're 60 and are miserable.  Fear is the thing that stops people from quitting and seeking out what they truly want.  Maybe you're like him and don't know what it is you want, but you only get that by constantly trying new things and if you like it, then you have a better idea of what you want to do, if you don't then you are still closer because you can cross something else out. I really wish I was able to tell him the quote "Satisfaction is the end of desire" so it's good that he's not satisfied because life should always be about seeking what you desire and then maintaining it, which is a desire in and of itself (you desire to maintain what you desire).  That's all my goal was when I was unemployed, I had lived in New York for 4 years at that point, it had been my goal since I was 4-years-old, now the desire was to maintain my living in New York.  At no point should you ever be afraid to bitch, there is no job that is perfect for everyone.  If you're not happy, seek out another position that will make you happy.  If people tell you you're crazy, than politely nod but keep pursuing it.  Never feel guilty because someone has it worse.  Just because you don't have the worst story ever, doesn't mean you can't desire to make your life better.  You live your life, nobody else, that's why you're the only person who matters in the question "Is where I'm at awesome?"  I'm not a believer that everything happens for a reason. But I do think that every experience is a learning experience.  I believe that everyone you speak to can help you discern truths.  So, I repeat to you, never ever be afraid to bitch, everyone has that right, and I urge you to have the strength to go through the grind seeking it.  I understand it's extremely hard and there is so much to fear about it, but at the end of the day, you will be able to look in the mirror and be content with the person you see.  Is there any goal more worthy of seeking as that? 

Autographed copies of my book can be bought at the bottom of this site. 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Obama's strategy

After last week's presidential debate, people were confounded on how badly President Obama did.  I was no exception.  President Obama is normally a great speaker but somehow he didn't show it in the debate.  Many conservatives say that he can't speak without a teleprompter but he's done well in interviews and he doesn't have a teleprompter there.  Maybe he knew he was in trouble with his wife because their anniversary was spent with him having to work.  Maybe she pulled a "if you really love me, you will throw the debate." so he did knowing he has two more.  What is amazing to me is that it really didn't matter much.

In the three most important states (Virginia, Ohio, and Florida) Romney made headway to be leading in Florida and Virginia (and North Carolina) and closed the eight point Ohio deficit to one point.  These polls, however, have a three point error, so he's still neck and neck with Romney.  All he has to do is not get blown out in the next two debates, and I think he will win.  I don't think he'll get as destroyed in the next two debates as he did in the first, so things are looking good.

The question that everyone has been asking is why President Obama didn't use the 47% video in the first debate.   The next day, many experts were interviewed and none had a really good answer, but I figured it out.  President Obama didn't have to use the 47% quote because he knew that every single news station and commentator would bring it up the next day.  Even if it was in the context of how the President messed up, it's still repeated over and over and over on any news station for the next three days.  The beauty of it is that Romney doesn't get to tell everyone his response, which all agree he had.  Now, the point can be said without Romney's defense. President Obama has done very well attacking Romney when it's just him talking to an audience and Romney can't respond. 

Since I DVR everything, I very rarely see commmercials, it's normally just a tail end of the last commercial before my show comes on because I hit "Play" on the DVR too fast and it backs up to the commercial.  Despite this, I've managed to notice a plethora of Obama ads...I haven't seen 1 Romney ad.  Obama is corrupting the masses and people who spend all their time watching TV but not the news.  Since the debate, I've caught commericals talking about how Romney lied during the debate.  The day after the debate, Obama held a press conference again repeating that Romney is going to lower taxes on the wealthiest Americans, a point that Romney not only affirmed was inaccurate but commented that no matter how many times the President's campaign says it, it doesn't mean it's true.  The President's strategy is the same as Adolf Hitler's strategy, Hitler was quoted as saying "If a lie is told as often enough and as accurate enough, people will believe anything,"  The President is repeating the lie verbatim extremely often because he knows people will believe it, just like Hitler did and Hitler did very well in brainwashing a nation.  Now, I am NOT saying President Obama is Hitler; Hitler is infinitely worse than President Obama, but their strategies for campaigning are similar. 

I don't know who will win the election.  Experts always say, "You can't say 'liar'" when attacking your opponent, yet President Obama's campaign has used that termonlogy with no adverse effects (no positive either, it just remained the same).  Now with this picture that makes Romney look like he's mooning a little girl, it's ridiculous but people are dumb enough to believe that Romney actually did that.  I can't believe this election is so close.  I can't believe 25% of people polled say Obama won the debate.  That's also the same percentage of Amricans who believe Bush planned 9/11.  With 25% of the American population being this retarded, how can someone who actually knows how to run the country actually win?  In any objective world, Romney's victory would rival Raegan's over Carter and Mondale.  Romney knows business, he knows that punishing entrepreneurs and the job creators is bad for growth, he knows economics, he can do much much better than Obama in running our country but he's being outspent by Obama.  Which is ironic because all President Obama and liberals can talk about is how rich Romney is.  If he's so rich, how come he hasn't flooded TV with ads?  Even if Romney wins the election, I still fear for this country because all it's showing is that the general public is stupid.  They really think communism is a good idea.  They really think Obama creates jobs.  They really think that Obama raising the deficit by more than double what President Bush did (6 trillion increase for Obama; 5 trillion for Bush) in less than half the time Bush did, is still Bush's fault.  With people this stupid, where's the hope in America?

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