I like to think I have the motivation to do this.
But what if I don’t?
What if I fail at this worse than anything else I have ever done?
You can work hard at life and get nothing.
It happens to people everyday.
I tell myself that it is achievable.
But wasn’t I always told, not to lie.
If it all goes wrong, and ends right now.
I won’t be here, to see it burn to the ground.
Cause seeing the ashes of what could have been.
Might just be the end of me.
What is respect?
Respect is something that every person feels that they deserve. This is something which came into my mind after me and my dad had a ‘discussion’, where he raised his voice, but when I attempted of countering him by raising my own voice, I get accused of having no respect for him.
What is respect though, really? Respect is giving ‘kudos’ to those around you. It’s treating people well, it’s listening to their opinions, and accepting what they say, even if you have differing thoughts yourself. It’s not difficult, it is all about treating others the way that you want to be treated. It is a quality that is forever being claimed by various religions, especially Christianity. I remember as a child seeing that being kind and respectful, was being Christian. It isn’t, it is a part of human nature, which I don’t believe to be lumped as a religious action
Not that I am against religion or anything, but I don’t think that basic human behaviours should be tarred with some kind of cliquey movement be it religion or political. This is something that I believe strongly in, and it is a pet hate when I get told that certain mannerisms make me part of a certain group. But, that in itself is human nature. We find it easier to associate with anything, if we divide it into groups. So, its like behaving a certain way, immediately makes you become part of a social grouping, based on how people seem to stereotype each other.
Just like how because I was quiet at school, and liked to read, I was classed as a ‘geek’, and so many people I had this idea that I lived in a big house and listened to classical music all the time Where as my brother rebelled a bit more at school, and was called a Ned, mostly because I wore sports gear, without doing sports. And people would get that idea about him and hos friends, and automatically think that they were out to start bother, despite the fact that they weren’t.
Well, I happen to have gone on another rant about stereotypes. I swear that was not the purpose of this blog, but I have put a lot of time and thought in to it. *shrugs* It must be said though, I am rather good at this whole ‘going off on a tangent thing’.
I had a discussion online today, about people and how they react to someone they don’t know.
We are taught from a young age, that first impressions count. But how tainted is your ‘first impression’ if someone imposes their judgement on you. For instance, Paris Hilton. I have had many chats with fellow Good Charlotte fans about Paris, and a lot of people think she is a stupid bimbo. But where do they get this idea from? I mean, they have never met nor even talked to the girl, but yet some will say they hate her.
Hate. Is that not a bit severe to describe someone you actually know nothing about. They get these impressions from tabloids and the 24 rolling ‘celebrity’ news. These are preconceived ideas about people, which are created to sell the idea of fame as if it were some product that could be picked up from the supermarket. So the hate people feel, is not for Paris, herself, because they no nothing of her true personality, and her behaviours, they hate the Paris which appeared in The Simple Life, and still is in endless tabloids.
But, if hating someone blindly is wrong, so is loving someone surely. I mean love and hate are such extreme emotions, that you can’t feel them for someone we have never met. Is it maybe that we live in a society filled with extremes, that we can only describe things in extremes? Its like the whole obsessing over things ( which I am prone to) where a band, you maybe have never seen in real life becomes a main object of interest and your life works round your obsession. Love is a word, not that much different from hate, but you can openly love something, but hate is like a swear word. How is that fair?
So your childhood lessons of passing judgement is rendered useless by the input of other sources. How does this effect our judgement? It obviously does, because our enviroment is so busy, we can’t help but take in almost everything we see. And the way our brain works, is that it absorbs everything we read or hear. And what you absorb, effects how you make judgements about what you see.
So, I think that it’s the enviroment that you put yourself into, which decides how you judge others. As a child I used to be very judgemental, but as soon as people started judging me (e.g- was beaten up for ‘being a Goth’ for wearing a Green Day shirt), it effected how I thought about others. And I now, pretty much live by treating others how I want to be treated. And by that, I mean I make a conscious effort not to judge someone untill I have met them. It has led to me making more clear assessments on people, and in turn has made me happier for it.
*******
And nonsensical ranting over. This is something that has been getting on my nerves lately.
Ok, I have had quite a few comments and emails about yesterdays blog. Useful that none of them occured as comments on the actual blog. 😕 Nice.
Having a busy day today, so this is just an update. I thought I’d show that are people are as concerned as myself about this blog.
My friend Ryan can’t understand why this has been pushed through. It is a bill of great importance to the British public and can’t understand why they could not have waited till AFTER the election to make a decision.
An anonymous comment on the LiveJournal cross post of yesterdays blog said ‘As if the government need to prove how out of touch with their voters they are.’ I have to agree with this sentiment as they obviously hasn’t been much thought and discussion into the act, I mean a 2 hour debate on the act is not enough. We, the people, need to stand up against the government and show how we feel.
Speaking of showing how you feel, yesterday I said I had contacted my MP, Willie Rennie, about why he DIDN’T vote on the act. Well, I woke up this morning with a reply from him 😮 I know, I was shocked.
The jist of what I said was –
And he replied-
Going on from my train of thought yesterday. I starting thinking about what says something is either good or bad. We get told there are bad words, bad actions, bad clothes, bad music. But really what does any of that mean?
The thing is, it’s our heads that decide what is good or bad. Its our thought process, which turns something good or bad. A word is just a word, it can’t stab someone. The thoughts and ideas the word conjures up, is what decides whether it is good or bad. And the thoughts and ideas change, depending on where you come from.
For instance, if I mention the word ‘fag’, I mean it as cigarette, and usually means I am going for a smoke. But to Americans, it is a negative word aimed at gay people. So whilst in the UK, that word is harmless, in the US it is a terrible word. But the word isn’t the bad thing, its what people connect to it. It happens everywhere.
I feel that is something that is a part of how people work. Like I said yesterday, people like to feel more superior, and they do that by having answer for everything. So rather than saying, ‘that song isn’t to my taste’, people are more likely to say ‘that song is bad’. Its maybe people just not wording things right, but I feel it is more than that. Its like giving it a solid answer, if you say that something is bad. That’s it, end of discussion.
But, fair enough, if people are taught and brought up to think that way. But, it becomes an issue, when someone opposes their opinion. People forget that opinion is never right or wrong. People refuse to except differing opinions, and refuse to discuss them. We call our selves the most superior race, but if we can’t accept and discuss even simple opinions, its no wonder society is crumbling.
You want someone to listen and respect what you say and think, maybe you should do the same. Try it.
I had an odd instance today. Where I talked about something, and was given the reply of death threats. Its an odd occurence. I am a very opinionated person, and never had the problem of such volatile reactions to my words.
It wasn’t as if the words were offensive. I mean, I spoke negatively about a singer from a bands actions. But that’s it. I didn’t berate him for it, I just said I did not agree with his actions. Simple enough, you may think. It’s just showing opinion, over something. Which is all it was. But when did opinion become a fight about what’s right and wrong?
I wish I could say, that my experience today, was a one off occurence. But I know, just by watching the news, it isn’t. We are constantly being told how lucky we are, because we live in a country which allows free speech. Which is all very well, in theory. Free speech, also allows free thinking. And people, as complex as we appear, can’t seem to process anything other than a good side and a bad side, just black and white. So the thoughts you think up, are either right and wrong, as if that gives it an answer.
I mean, we like answers don’t we. Like to have everything in resolved in a neat little package. People are reluctant to say something is someones opinion, and to just leave it that. They feel the need to show why it is right, or wrong. Why?
Looking through the news, I saw that T4’s Miquitta Oliver has been suspended from her work, because she spoke negatively about US singer Ke$ha. She apparently used swear words when talking about the singer. Now, note that the words themself, weren’t what caused the damage. It was the thought process, connected to those words. But to say that someone is not allowed to air their frustrations, with this ‘free speech’, kind of indicates that we are not as free as we are lead to believe.
But that’s not anything new is it?
sueriot.com 