Is American Culture Worth It?

I am so disappointed with our society. It seems that everyone and everything is about money and greed. Sometimes I feel like this state of mind is purely an American obsession and that it is not as blown up in other parts of the world. We have selfishly moved away from a simple life, one that involves love and family to a life filled with things, electronics, cash, coins and alot more stress.

So many people I know are developing all types of ailments and mental problems that derive from stress and depression. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Colitis, Panic Disorder, and Anxiety on top of being overly medicated to "improve" these situations, we are being taught that meds fix everything. But if we just step back from the pharmacy counter for a second, we will remember that problems are solved when we get to the root of what is causing the stress and anxiety. We can't mask problems at work or home, issues with death and debt with a prescription from a doctor's office and then expect to be cured. Once the medication stops the problems are still there and the same symptoms come back: heart beating too fast, sweat beads forming, difficulty breathing, stomach tightening, room spinning....

Is it all worth it? The demanding job, the rat race for money and power? Is it worth the mental wear and tear on our bodies and mind? What is it exactly that we are getting out of this type of existence? We put our loved ones on hold; we miss our children growing up just so we can slave to death, collect a paycheck and make ourselves sick with stress in the process. Not everyone wants to live this American life so maybe it is time that we reform our culture or perhaps maybe we should just find a new one?

Hierarchy has been around since the beginning of time and yet we still haven't figured out that money and power does NOT make the man!

Is Sex Ed Really Offering an Education?

First and most importantly, abstinence has been imposed on women specifically for hundreds of years and the continuance of such a narrow minded and ancient stereotype of women's chastity is hampering future young women from eastablishing their own sexuality as women and creating a division between the sexes. Also, this style of "educating" provides no information for teens to practice safe sex. A majority of teens are sexually active regardless of abstinence campaigning in schools and religious institutions, so why not provide them with information that will allow women to take care and control of their own bodies?

Our young woman should no longer grow up being ashamed of having a healthy sexual appetite or embarrassed of their maturing bodies. This sterotype is one way in which men may belittle women with words like "whore" and "slut." Abstinence and its imposition on women are fueling gender stereotypes that many current and historic feminists have been working to destroy.

Secondly, sex education is not benefiting male or female students who are missing out on vitile information to practice safe sex. Its surprising how little students know about facilities like Planned Parenthood that provide sexually active people with condoms, birth control options, STD exams, and regular check ups. The problem is not that teenagers are having sex, the problem is that they are mal-informed about how to practice safe sex and become aware of their options. I believe the rate of unwanted pregnancies and the transmittance of STD's would be greatly reduced if schools took the responsibility to inform students on their options. Ignoring the problem is not making it better and teenagers and young adults are going to continue to be sexually active whether we preach abstinence or not!

Thirdly, the idea of abstinence is important in many religious beliefs which should remain seperate from public school education. What a student chooses to do about his or her sexuality is exactly that: their choice. They should not be provided with one side worth of information because a patriarchal institution deems it "proper" etiquette. Students should be provided with ALL of their options whether the teacher/student agrees with it or not. We are only hindering today's women from breaking gender stereotypes and becoming familiar with their sexual bodies, something that is encouraged in males even before puberty. Students who do not want this type of education by all means should be allowed to be excused but why should we deny all teens information important to their sexual health because of certain religious or patriarchal views?

It is time that we actually give students an education in a sex education class and stop inflicting narrow and mysoginist opinions on our young women and men.

Hillary Clinton, Feminist Role Model?

I am so tired of hearing about Hillary Clinton as some advocate for women's rights and the advancement for women in politics. In fact i only see her as stereotypical hypocrite who did not consider setting a good example for her daughter, let alone thousands of women in the world, to no longer leech off of men for social advancement and instead rely on their own achievements and capabilities.

First and foremost, Hillary Clinton let her husband walk all over her and humiliate her in front of the world and instead of proving that women no longer have to rely on matrimonial ties to have a place in the political world, she stands next to him and instead the two make a mockery of marriage and gender relations in front of the world.

Had Hillary proved that she was a new and improved woman by breaking the old fashioned ideas about the subordinate and dependent married woman and standing on her own two feet she would have been a more respected woman by other women in the world. Just because she is a woman running for president does not mean she is the right woman to run. I admit it's a shame this country has not yet eleceted a female president; however, Hillary Clinton is the absolute worst woman for the job and in no way deserves the priveledge of being the first woman elected president in the U.S.

She also used her husband's presidential position to promote herself and encompass her own power but how is that really power when she needed to use a man to achieve it? These actions make her no different from any other woman dependent on a man to step on her own pedestal. My problem really lies with these two things. I know many women who had no choice to rely on marriage and stayed in relationships where they were physically abused, mistretated and taken for granted as well as cheated on. However these women stayed in these realtionships because they were entirely dependent on their husbands financially but women no longer have to put up with relationships like that...so why should the woman who runs this country represent old gender relations that kept women in a subordinate position?

I want my first female president to work just as hard as any other man, not use her spouse as a means to get her achievements. I want my first woman president to be a role model for the future women of america, relying on her own intelligence and talents. I want the first woman who runs my country to make me feel proud to be an independent woman because she is and because she has proven to the world that women are strong and independent that they don't need to rely on the opinions and approval of men or continue to stand next to a husband who showed the world that he feels no need to respect her as his wife and equal, so how can the rest of the world?

As our current Secretary of State I hope she continues on working on the feminist projects she has started; however, I find it very difficult to respect her as a woman and see her as a feminist despite her working on improving the current situation for tomorrow's women.

XXX Box Live!

Hey boys guess what? Girl gamers do exist and no I don't mean those half dressed, breast baring female characters from Resident Evil and Tomb Raider. There are women and girls who also enjoy shooting and racing games and are even damn good at it. But what alot of guys don't seem to know is that xbox live is not a place to hit on and intimidate female players. So whatever questions you want to ask the chick on the other side of the mic, let me give you some answers before you waste your breath:

No we don't want to be your friend on facebook or myspace, nor do we want you to say provocative things about wanting to fuck us, sorry we're "just not that into you!"

In addition, all we know about you is how your voice sounds through our headset and that you like to spend your week nights playing guitar hero- and of course there is nothing wrong with that but it is not the foundation for you us to get attached to you.

Furthermore, if you're a hormone-out-of-whack high school kid and have nothing better to do than hit on the opposite sex while playing video games, then you need to get yourself a Playboy magazine and work your shit out before you get on the game.

Some of us just want to have fun, play games, and meet new players, not get harrassed and stalked by jerks with no manners!

What\'s Really Important About Marriage in America?

Well as I am sure you have read, the state has made its decision on gay marriages, stating that it is unconstitutional and it is not what marriage is supposed to be. Being raised a Catholic, I always thought marriage was supposed to be between two people who loved each other, wanted to start a family together, and spend the rest of their lives together. However, marriage in this country has become everything but that it seems; marriage in this country is a status for the pompous white collar workers who want to make an impression on the higher-ups. Yet Americans continue to pass judgement on what constitutes a "marriage" when we allow all sorts of unconventional and distorted marriages to take place everyday.

I think by continuing to let couples marry for the wrong reason-which has basically desecrated the idea of marriage then future generations will keep destroying the sacredness of love and monogamy. Divorce rates in this country are already abominiable, so what would improve American marriages? Perhaps if it is legal for people to marry each other for the right reason (isn't love what marriage is about afterall?), we can rescue the idea that marriage is a serious and special commitment between two people.

Between the Anna Nicole Smiths who marry old men for money, the Britney Spears' who get hitched in Vegas for fun, the Hugh Hefners looking for young trophy wives, immigrants marrying for green cards, this country should not even have an opinion on marriage! The very people voting on these laws are the same people who are involved in sex scandals right now, humiliating their spouses in front of the nation with online sex sites and bathroom sex romps!

Perhaps the idea on marrying for love isn't a bad one, maybe it is something that should be considered. Because the message now is that marriage is between a man and a woman no matter what the terms are for the marriage. The most important part of American marriage is the sex of the individuals involved and not the marriage part itself.

I mean if we really went all the way back in time to the origin of marriage, it was more like a bartering system for men to exchange "goods." Since the wife was basically necessary for housekeeping and reproduction, she could be sought through the same means as cattle for milk or sheep for wool. Marriage to some degree fluctuates with the time period, it is now time to improve that idea again

All Men Are Created Equal?

New York State is awaiting the decision on Gay Marriages from the Senate, a decision that if not passed will be a huge embarrassment for New York State. Many people still tend to vote based on their own religious beliefs instead of what is good for the nation as a whole. But we seperated church and state for a reason. No one should be allowed to judge how other people live. In fact, catholics are supposed to believe that only god judges and people do not. However, catholics continue to judge others in this city and go against their own beliefs.

Let's forget the idea that all people should be allowed to choose how to live, of course omitting any life choices that break laws (by inflicting harm on others). Let's not think about the fact that this country was founded by people who wanted the freedom to pursue their own religions and cultures and now want to deny others those same freedoms!

So, with all that forgotten we can focus on the more important issue that involves gay marriages, which is the issue of civil rights. Because there are many groups of people in this country who know what it is like to be inferior to others, who have had to fight for basic freedoms, then these groups of people should be all the more involved in the basic rights of others as well. What Americans don't seem to understand is that civil rights for one group of people means a step in the right direction for the civil rights of ALL groups of people.
As a woman who knows what it is like to be considered inferior, who has read about the history of women who have had to struggle and then be punished and tortured just for desiring to be considered an individual, and who still has to deal with these ignorant prejudices against the female sex, I would not support laws that continue to limit the rights of human beings based on their sex, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. So many groups of people have suffered already, we should not to be part of the patriarchal elite who think that they can make laws that dictate the lives of other Americans. It is time that old fashioned ideas die and a newer, better America is born.

Absolute Madness!

Not long ago I read Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" which was written in the mid to late twentieth century and the complaints and grievances were no different from those written 100 years before. Alot of the writing focused on one thing: that women oppressed and forced to stay in the domestic sphere were driven to some sort of mental illness because of their unhappiness and frustration. Still this is seen in many women writers nevermind housewives and this problem has been dubbed "The Sylvia Plath Effect." Because women, still today, display some sort of creativity in the arts are said to suffer from illnesses like Bipolar Disorder and commit suicide.

I found myself wondering, are we women mad or are we just victims of the patriarchy or maybe we are even a mix of the two? Of course, women who so easily conform or are comfortable with their feminine social expectations are neither concerned or involved with these issues, although they don't realize that they would benefit from absolute equality. Unfortunately, it is those of use who do not want to be expected to live and act a certain way, who want to make decisions that govern our own lives, who do not always act and dress appropriate to our sex that need to keep fighting for social equality, empower the matriarchy for a change.

Although, it seems difficult to achieve such goals when all of us who cannot conform are either mad or have the potential to be mad. Perhaps it is just the madness of oppression and its constraints that make us seem crazy or lead us to such severe depression that there is no way out but insanity and death. Just maybe something to think about before we go nuts...