Friend or Foe ~ Corruption of Innocence or Early Awakening

Engaged in an event for nostalgic remedies (watching old Disney movies) my older sister and I stumbled upon an interesting yet quite strange realization.

Why do movies, often aimed at children, tend to show villains as dark, evil creatures?

We thought it a bit humorous simply because they were overemphasizing something obvious. I considered that perhaps producers created villains to actually look villainous because they wanted kids to recognize and understand from the beginning that "this" is the villain (which brings me to another point wherein the "goodguy" is often good looking, or just "average."

Whatever the reason for the overemphasis, maybe cartoonists should create characters with equal normalcy, thereby teaching children from an early age that those with an air of iniquity aren't always draped in draconian wardrobe.

I remember in elementary school we all were told to go to an assembly in the media center wherein we were shone a video about street safety. The video was paused on a section about strangers and we were asked whom of the four people shone was a stranger. Three of the four people looked like any normal mom, dad, or businessman you'd see on the side of the road. The fourth man looked somewhat... odd sporting a look similar to Harry Potter's Hagrid. Of course everyone chose the abnormal looking man.

Having been exposed to "strange people" as "strange looking," we were convinced that only "strange looking" people could be a possible evil.

The Pledge of Allegiance

In ninth grade, I was assigned a research paper. Below are excerpts from this paper. They are few of the many points I made advocating the words "under God" in The Pledge of Allegiance. 

The aspects defining the separation of Church and State as well as the context represented by the first Amendment of the Constitution are being used to justify opposition to the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

The separation of Church and State exposes the postulate that religion and politics/ government should not coexist in the public eye. The first Amendment, within reason, offers support to both sides of the argument; it states: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Although, to an extent, the Amendment renders an argument for both views, in retrospect, the view opposing the phrase lacks thorough thought. The Pledge may be written into US law, however, contrary to popular beliefs, the term “under God” does not violate the US constitution. The term, “under God” simply gives reference to the religion on which our nation is based. Thus, despite every American not recognizing a Christian God, the phrase, “under God” should not be exempt from the Pledge of Allegiance.

“In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war." This quote, stated by Dwight D. Eisenhower on the fourteenth of June, 1954, justifies the addition of the words, “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. The original twenty-three word pledge. Written by Francis Bellamy, and editor of The Youth’s Companion, in 1924, did not include the controversial phrase. In fact, Bellamy intentionally excluded any reference to God so as to not restrain American citizens to a promised religion. The original Pledge was worded as follows: “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." However, Bellamy overlooked the fact that, within text, the phrase “under God” simply gives credence to the religious values on which our nation was founded – aforementioned, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s justification. 

The title of the controversial subject, “The Pledge of Allegiance”, vanquishes all arguments opposing the term. By definition, The Pledge of Allegiance” simply means, ‘a formal promise of loyalty to the nation’.

What are your views concerning this topic?

A New View

After hearing an analysis of a certain quote and DVD cover, I decided that I didn't agree with the interpretations as I was listening to them. That I can't remember the original analysis might be a problem for your comparison.

"Society is a wave. The wave moves onward, but the water it is composed of does not."

This quote says a lot, although it didn't say much when I first read it. I read it again, however and found that it was an attestation to the notion that we need to keep a positive attitude. In the face of hardship, society will not wait on an individual to pick himself up and move forward.

Another topic up for analysis was this DVD cover.

I've never seen the movie, however, I can come to a conclusion based on the cover.

I'd say that the map in the background suggests that this is a cosmopolitan secret. The wax stamp, traditionally used in previous centuries, suggest that the secret is one forwarded from a distant time. I thought the light shining from underneath the wax stamp was one of the most important images.

We've seen this sort of light shining down from heaven, or reveal itself from the bounds of a treasure chest. With this in mind I felt that the light suggests that the secret is a treasured and potent one.

Yay or Nay Hip Hop?

In the 1920s, jazz music donned its bright and sassy syncopations in America to a populous of both speculative and appreciative ears. The 1950s wrought with them hard hitting rock ‘n roll along with its share of disapproval from the experienced people of the time. 

Since music became a source of entertainment, each genre in its infancy is under speculation until people eventually accept the music. However, when hip hop burgeoned from the depths of the music industry via the riveting beats of Clive Campbell, it has never left the eye of speculation.

Hip hop music is an agent of storytelling and, naturally, hip hop culture follows hip hop music’s lyric. The story of a rapper’s life, encompassing life on the streets, gang violence, jail time, fighting “the man,” and sundry other inauspicious bouts with the intimidating side of life, although heartbreaking and eye opening, are the most influential aspects of hip hop culture for the spectrum of youth today.

In its present state, hip hop culture and music are bad for black American youth. The affect that hip hop has had on black American youth was unintentional, however, it is prevalent. Man has always felt comfortable with his “own kind” and it complements man’s innate need to fit in. The two combined unconsciously compel black American youth to lavish in the lifestyle of a gangster. A vast majority of black American youth see black hip hop artists who have defined themselves and, consequently, absorb their lifestyle. 

As black Americans we need to realize that the hip hop lyric and lifestyle trivialize the struggle for blacks in the age of the “superior white race.” White men, women, and children marked us as animals, appointing us our own species – nigger, a name we now coin as brotherly in the black community. Hip hop has given us the “privilege” to degrade our predecessors as well as ourselves just as racists did and still do. It was during the dark period of racial inequality that “the man” attributed any ill act to black men. Sadly, based on the lyrics of hip hop music, it appears as though “the man” might have had his eye on the future.

Modern hip hop music, however unintentional it may be, not only trivializes the struggle for blacks. Hip hop lifestyle and lyric belittles women and the relentless fight women gave to prove themselves equal to males. According to hip hop lyric, women are dogs, showpieces, and the lowest common denominator. One music video featured a hip hop artist swiping a credit card in a sacred place on a woman’s body. Although the video was immediately withdrawn, the scene gives a legitimate reason for the controversy facing hip hop culture. It may have been only one extreme instance. However, the more diluted displays that are allotted airtime influence black females.

The gravitation toward hip hop is understandable. Its old school, full bass, cadenced beat to its contemporary, power packed, rhythmic vibe can easily make anyone “lean back” or “rock wit it.” But not if it means that the hip hop lifestyle and lyric degrades or offends anything or anyone. 

ENTERTAINMENT: something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement

Once again, a war movie. Once again, nonsensical laughter from the audience.

A civil war movie: Glory

An account of one of the first black regiments (the 54th) engaged in the civil war effort

in pursuit of freedom

having endured years of degradation and oppression

time should not yield to trivialization

and because a movie might "traditionally" ENTERTAIN . . . respect is a priority

to find amusement in death (not to be confused with a means of coping and consolation in the face of sadness) is not an admirable discovery.

and to blatantly claim this movie "funny" ...

"Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors." 

-Abraham Lincoln

Great Quotes

I used to record one meaningful quote in my journal everyday. Most were from renowned authors, others were from family and friends, and I made two or three up myself. The routine did have a purpose, of course...

Some of my favorite quotes:

"A man can't ride your back unless it's bent."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Hold yourself up, keep your head high, and walk with a presence. No one can degrade you if present yourself with a magisterial air.
Dr. King, in the face of racial criticism and injustice, was able to dedicate himself to a life of confidence and presence, and leave behind such a great idea for all of posterity.

"The love we give away is the only love we keep."
-Elbert Hubbard
Encourages persistence so as to avoid potential regret.

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Take a stand for what you believe is proper. He who doesn't take a stand is just as, if not more guilty, than the wrongdoer.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
This quote and the next go hand in hand.

"Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

" A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life."
-Muhammad Ali

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep... wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you' re just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have YOU... The one who turns to his friends and says, that's her..."
-Unknown

"Some of the greater things in life are unseen that's why you close your eyes when you kiss, cry, or dream..."
-Unknown

"if i had to choose between loving you, and breathing. I would use my last breath to say I LOVE YOU."
-Unknown
It's a bit of a pick up line, but it's a nice one.

"It's better to be an authentic loser than a false success, and to die alive than to live dead."
-William Markiewicz
In other words, be true to yourself, "stop existing and start living."

History passes the final judgment.
-Sidney Poitier

Any more good quotes?

Maya Angelou Still I Rise

One of my favorite poems:

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air,
I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Merry Chris - Happy Holidays?

My very first blog examined the idea of "political incorrectness" having to be "politically correct." I referred to the term "black" as it titles the race. I found that people oftentimes take offense to the terms "black" and "Negro" and, instead, find appeal in the term "African American."

As a side note...Dr. King markedly used the term "Negro" to refer to his black brethren...

The increase of societal sensitivity to terms that are either blunt and truthful, or are simply traditional and recognized terms are a hindrance to our nation.

As it adhere's to the season, the term "Happy Holidays" is one of these "politically correct" terms that substitutes the more widely recognized "Merry Christmas." People often convene to an air of umbrage when a religiously associated term specifically targets them when it does not represent their religion, even if the Christmas wish was a misunderstanding. It's the thought that counts right? No need to take offense?

Is it ok to wish a merry...day... by using a religiously associated term? When addressing a large audience of possibly disparate religions, is it more appropriate to say "Happy Holidays" so as to not offend anyone? Or should we all just get over it?

"Internal Punishment"/Eternal Punishment

Given that the first ideals of the US provide that no person can be deprived of life, of liberty, and of justice, perhaps the death penalty isn't such a good idea.

A life sentenced to justifiable confinement might not be as clement a punishment as many seem to believe.

To sentence a lawless man to live in recluse or with others of the same regimen, and force him to live the rest of his life withering with the agonizing and unappealing bulk of nerve and muscle that he calls a mind as it dwells on his crime, is perhaps the greatest punishment.

Consider the touchy realitiy of suicide. When a man will intentionally kill himself as a resolution, he has attested to the idea that death is "the easy way out." To simply wither in a prolonged and painful life is too much to bear.

Life imprisonment may also provide an innocent man, wrongly accused of criminal misanthropy, a second chance.

Adversely, the death penalty, by virtue of the Christian faith, condemns the criminal man to hell, thus maintaining an eternal punishment, as opposed to an internal punishment.

Maya Angelou's Caged Bird

a free bird leaps

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream

till the current ends

then dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky

but a bird that stalks 

down his narrow cage

can seldom see

through his bars of rage

his wings are clipped

and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing

the caged bird sings

with a fearfull trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

in a distant hill

for the caged bird 

sings for freedom

the free bird thinks 

of another breeze

the tradewinds soft 

through the dying trees

and the fat worms waiting 

on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own

but a caged bird stands

on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts

on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped

and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings 

with a fearful trill

of things unknown 

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on a distant hill

for the caged bird sings of freedom

I first memorized this poem in ninth grade, but I haven't recited it since. I did my best to type it up from memory. I found it to be intriguing and inspirational, and it carries a great rhythm. Maya Angelou is one of my favorite poets so, just in case someone has never read this amazing poem... well, there's no reason to say you haven't anymore! 

An Apple

To most,

such a wrinkled apple would be unappealing. It's sides are furrowing. And each crease embeds a blackened mass of ... something.

Perhaps the apple wasn't crafted from the nicest of models.

Perhaps it sat on the branch too long.

Perhaps it sat in the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter too long.

Perhaps it shouldn't really matter.

Cut into the apple.

Perhaps the unappealing outside simply counterbalances the sweet nourishment of its inside

No need to throw it away. Someone else looks upon the same apple wistfully. This apple is the apple of His eye.