Racial Barriers

      I've recently noticed more and more the racial barriers that seem to separate people of the same nation, for no reason at all. Racism has gotten to the point where different races go away of the way to separate THEMSELVES from other races of the U.S.
      Mexicans call themselves Mexican-Americans; Asians call themselves Asian-Americans; Black people call themselves African-Americans. The problem with this, the one that makes me sick to my stomach, is that it degrades them to less than American. America prides itself on being ethnically diverse- so why be degrading to yourself? If you are an american citizen, you ARE American. Even "white" people refer to them this way, an evil I can not begin to describe.
      If you are anything but white, I immediately look at you in a higher regard than white people, though I am white myself. Why? Because I know the way white people are. I do not know anything but living as white, and I know I have it easy. So for anyone who isn't, I see them as stronger than me. I don't face the hardships that come with being of color, so those hardships, to me, are more notable then even the most successful white person.
      All my life iv'e been taught to love everyone, regardless of their skin color. To me, love means not being judgmental. Period.

Weirdest Visit Ever

      Working in a round table, you can imagine the people I come into contact with. Not that the store is bad or in a bad place, but customer service always means dealing with people. For the most part people that eat there are pleasant, though sometimes grumpy. A smile and warm welcome, along with numerous help offers, usually turns their mood around.
      I was busing tables the other day, working my butt off because a party was about to come in. Some party members were already seated, having a conversation that enticed laughter out of everyone sitting there. Of course, I have such a common worded name, so whenever someone says "rain" I turn to look if they are talking to me. I saw that the man wasn't and continued working, as he continued his story.
      When I turned around to go back to the kitchen, he said "And you- if you were eaves dropping in my f**king conversation i'm going to take your f**king head off". He quickly laughed it off as a joke, and patted me on the back. I simply smiled and walked away. What else was I going to do?
      I later found out from my manager that it was a sobriety "birthday party". It made a lot more sense knowing that, but I still felt a tad bit uncomfortable. I worked to avoid him for the rest of the night, let me tell you.
     What in the world is wrong with people? You'd think in someone else's place of business, you'd maintain some level of morality. Cussing at and threatening employees, whether your all jacked up from drugs or not, is a no no that everyone should be aware of. It's not only common sense, but strictly follows the golden rule. If one of the guys working there heard him say that, i'm more than sure that man would have regretted it. The "joke" was not funny! I'm glad I walked away and he's lucky I did after he put his hand on me after that comment!

Winning the hearts of....anyone?

      My family and I have been watching band of brothers this week, in our own, personal way to celebrate Independence Day. The movies are absolutely heart breaking, but to my dad, who's a Desert Storm Vet, not all too unfamiliar.
      During a part in France, there's a scene where the find a man in a bomb shelter. They were about to shoot him, when they realized he was a citizen and had a little boy with him. To show the boy the men meant no harm to him, they gave the little guy a chocolate bar and the dad informed them he had never even tasted chocolate before. My dad spoke up sharing to Jason a fact I remembered but never made me think so deeply as it did this time.
      You see, during WW2, America was said to win the hearts of Europe's women and children. We did this by not scaring them or hurting them, but being kind and giving out chocolate bars. Now we win the hearts of no one. During Iraq our soldiers were not allowed to do things like this. Instead, they were informed to kill everyone, including women and children. Innocent bystanders blown away due to American pride.
       I got the privilege of meeting an Iraq Vet, who got awarded a purple heart for getting his leg blown off. He had some pictures of the war, and all the women in the doughnut shop that morning were insisting I should not be allowed to see the pictures. I told them I'd be fine, so He let me take a look. I saw families murdered brains every where, the pictures of his leg blown off. But one picture I was not expecting.
      There was this little boy standing behind caution tape, held back by our men. He was covered in blood and brains, screaming. In the next picture it showed his family on the ground shot, and it became apparent he was covered in their blood and brains. For weeks I saw this boy in my head and in my dreams. You see, it wasn't that I was traumatized. I was in love with this little boy who made my heart hurt so bad. I wanted to run to him and take him in, to tell him a lie that everything would be OK. I wanted to hurt the monsters that would do this to a boy no more than 8.
      In time, I knew that wasn't fair. The monsters were only doing what they were told, and couldn't directly be blamed. I learned an important lesson through all of this, though:

 Once our Nation stood tall,
built on a foundation of God.



Tearing through it all,
we turned our heads away,
hopelessly lost,
losing more every day.


We think we'll resist,
that we can overcome,
but we made a fatal error,
now we're already done.


We'll take our judgment,
with ignorant heads held high,
assuming were still the best,
but that's more than a lie.


We turned our backs on our purpose,
we ignored our faith,
our founding fathers would cry in shame.


For every thing they fought for,
and every thing they risked,
all adds up to nothing,
as it was meant for God,
the good of thee people,
Freedom, liberty, life,
and we threw it all away.
   

Materialism

                                                  (photo taken from Google images- I do not own)



      It has become a common practice to judge the quality of life based on the things people own. The more they have, or the more money they have, the better their quality of life. That means that even middle-low class people have a poor quality of life, though they have everything they need plus some "material" enjoyments.
      People have adopted this idea that in order to be happy they need stuff. Nice clothes, large t.v.s, multiple gaming consoles, smart phones, tablets. Don't get me wrong- it is OK to want and own these things. What I want to know however, is when happiness began to require these things. When did we decide that we needed these objects? Personally, I don't believe we do. We just let the influences of the material world get inside our heads and control our thoughts, impacting the way we regard what's truly important in our lives.
      Sadly, this influence can be addicting. You find a need of some nice things to make you happy during a sad period, like the death of a loved one, then begin to rationalize that, since it worked, you keep needing new, nicer things. The new I-Phone comes out, and, all of the sudden, your old one isn't good enough. You get a new outfit, and then need new shoes to match (though the one's in your closet look just fine). If you decide to skip out on the new needed item, you will not feel at all content with what you already have.
      Our society, and the world society, for that matter, all support this way of thinking. They make their new products tempting, pushing you into thinking you really want or need it. You become tricked over and over again through advertising schemes and billboards, without realizing that it is the exact thing these companies want. It's all a sick, sick, marketing tool. They are willing to sacrifice your reality for your money in their pockets. If you believe you need something you'll be more apt to buy it.
       Hence why this all adds up to the quality of life. If you think government hasn't thought about this while taking their quality of life data gathering and analysis, you're terribly mistaken. The government utilizes these tactics as well, being a form of business in need of money. Money is the driving force of the economy, and without business-marketing tools, we could potentially face a collapse.
      It becomes quite obvious when you live a materialistic life. You put more importance on the things you own then, say, your own actual happiness. The world is becoming more materialistic by the day. They care about spending all this money on nice things, not knowing they could learn more from a third world country than their own homes. A materialistic person isn't happy.
      If you went  to Africa, you would probably witness many things that make your heart cry. So many of the African people have nothing, yet they love each other so much. They take joy in the small meals they eat because it's what they have. They rejoice when they have clothing, because so often they spend time in rags. When they even get a chance to play, to them it's a miracle. We sometimes get so caught up in ourselves we don't enjoy small things. For them, small is all there is. We are too forgetful of the blessings we have, in exchange for the blessings we don't have.