Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
A Sein of Change
Barack Obama is not a Muslim, and as George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld would say, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
There’s a general misconception–a 10-12% misconception to be specific–among registered American voters that Barack Obama is a Muslim despite factual evidence from the media, interviews, barackobama.com, and not to mention from Barack Obama himself, that he is not and never has been. Still, some people need convincing.
Obama, a Christian, was born to a Muslim-turned-atheist Kenyan father and a Christian-turned-secular mother from Kansas. His parents divorced when he was two. He lived in Indonesia from 1967-1971 where he attended both a Muslim and a Christian school. The media as well as the Obama campaign have debunked claims that the Muslim school was a “madrassa” or radical Muslim fundamentalist place of learning.
Raised in a secular home by his mother and stepfather, he was attracted to Christianity by the Trinity United Church of Christ by his own accord in the ‘80s.
As we know in this post-September 11th heightened state of fear, any possible connection to the Islamic faith often immediately labels one with the scarlet letter of “M” for Muslim. More than a few of the good people of America have presumed a couple of bad apples equate the entire law abiding Islamic faith to radical extremists.
Given this country’s xenophobia and worsened foreign relations, under the current presidential administration, this type of malevolent misconception will turn a percentage of voters over to the other presidential ticket out of fear. In a tight race according to the current polls–worth as much as TV clairvoyant Ms. Cleo’s predictions–Obama cannot afford to lose any votes over religion.
When there are more important issues facing our country, religion should not be the number one concern for any voter. It appears that tolerance and compassion have been left along the wayside for these religious citizens who are supposed to follow the philosophy of “love thy neighbor.”
Disregarding the spin put out by those who alter the truth to win, who will lead our country in the opposite direction from where we are headed? The concerns of Iraq, Afghanistan, global warming, the economy, gay rights, housing foreclosures, job layoffs, and the rest of our country’s laundry list of real woes have become tired and mundane. Changing the focus from the real issues to the insignificant ones brings more negative attention to the Obama-Muslim smear campaign and less to the new McCain/Palin Variety Show.
It is so difficult to convince those who refuse to open their minds and heart and listen. Straight from the man himself, Obama has set the record straight about his faith multiple times in what appears to be a man correcting the false claims about his childhood and background, not a man distancing himself from a religion on some citizens place on Uncle Sam’s unpopular list.
Regarding personal issues between the two presidential campaigns, Obama has publicly established himself as sticking to the many troubling issues facing our country not the distracting issues or Sarah Palin’s daughter. You may never change the minds of some people, so how do you get the 10-12% of voters living under a veil of false illusion of religious differences to begin putting the issues of true concern at the forefront?
Like the Obama campaign, one has to hope for change when voters journey to the polls. Come November 4, hopefully Americans will put aside their religious prejudices and select the candidate qualified to lead America into a new decade.
Whether Obama or McCain takes the presidency for the next four years, let us at least hope that their administrations will guide this country toward more compassion and acceptance and less division. The religion of the candidate should not be an issue, and if a qualified candidate was a Muslim, the founders did not think there was any thing wrong with it.
There’s a general misconception–a 10-12% misconception to be specific–among registered American voters that Barack Obama is a Muslim despite factual evidence from the media, interviews, barackobama.com, and not to mention from Barack Obama himself, that he is not and never has been. Still, some people need convincing.
Obama, a Christian, was born to a Muslim-turned-atheist Kenyan father and a Christian-turned-secular mother from Kansas. His parents divorced when he was two. He lived in Indonesia from 1967-1971 where he attended both a Muslim and a Christian school. The media as well as the Obama campaign have debunked claims that the Muslim school was a “madrassa” or radical Muslim fundamentalist place of learning.
Raised in a secular home by his mother and stepfather, he was attracted to Christianity by the Trinity United Church of Christ by his own accord in the ‘80s.
As we know in this post-September 11th heightened state of fear, any possible connection to the Islamic faith often immediately labels one with the scarlet letter of “M” for Muslim. More than a few of the good people of America have presumed a couple of bad apples equate the entire law abiding Islamic faith to radical extremists.
Given this country’s xenophobia and worsened foreign relations, under the current presidential administration, this type of malevolent misconception will turn a percentage of voters over to the other presidential ticket out of fear. In a tight race according to the current polls–worth as much as TV clairvoyant Ms. Cleo’s predictions–Obama cannot afford to lose any votes over religion.
When there are more important issues facing our country, religion should not be the number one concern for any voter. It appears that tolerance and compassion have been left along the wayside for these religious citizens who are supposed to follow the philosophy of “love thy neighbor.”
Disregarding the spin put out by those who alter the truth to win, who will lead our country in the opposite direction from where we are headed? The concerns of Iraq, Afghanistan, global warming, the economy, gay rights, housing foreclosures, job layoffs, and the rest of our country’s laundry list of real woes have become tired and mundane. Changing the focus from the real issues to the insignificant ones brings more negative attention to the Obama-Muslim smear campaign and less to the new McCain/Palin Variety Show.
It is so difficult to convince those who refuse to open their minds and heart and listen. Straight from the man himself, Obama has set the record straight about his faith multiple times in what appears to be a man correcting the false claims about his childhood and background, not a man distancing himself from a religion on some citizens place on Uncle Sam’s unpopular list.
Regarding personal issues between the two presidential campaigns, Obama has publicly established himself as sticking to the many troubling issues facing our country not the distracting issues or Sarah Palin’s daughter. You may never change the minds of some people, so how do you get the 10-12% of voters living under a veil of false illusion of religious differences to begin putting the issues of true concern at the forefront?
Like the Obama campaign, one has to hope for change when voters journey to the polls. Come November 4, hopefully Americans will put aside their religious prejudices and select the candidate qualified to lead America into a new decade.
Whether Obama or McCain takes the presidency for the next four years, let us at least hope that their administrations will guide this country toward more compassion and acceptance and less division. The religion of the candidate should not be an issue, and if a qualified candidate was a Muslim, the founders did not think there was any thing wrong with it.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
The Real World of Social Networking
As little as ten years ago, it seemed average teenagers matured into adults after earning a college degree and entering the “real” world.
Entering the “real” world today, for that same teenager, now appears to be one-click away at LinkedIn, the online networking site that “strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts.”
Plaxo is another online site “meant to be a better way for you to stay in touch with the people you actually know and care about — your family, your real-world friends, and the people you know from business.”
And let’s not forget Tagged.com that professes itself as “a premier social-networking destination” that “helps people keep in touch with their friends and make new ones” through “a fun media experience.” Tagged has 70+ million registered users, but the competitor, Hi5, has 80+ million registered members and is “one of the world’s largest social networks and a top 20 website globally.”
MySpace. Facebook. They are still around too.
Recently, my Gmail inbox has been flooded with requests to become a “contact” or “friend” or “linked-in” with friends, old classmates, business associates, and family. As my luck would have it, each person is on a different social networking site that basically provides the same online service with minor differences. Staying in touch now requires five online accounts and time spent updating profiles.
This world of online friendship is familiar territory for teen, young adults, and college co-eds. And now adults of all professions, who once dared not swim in these unchartered Internet waters, are starting to flood the online friend zones.
A couple of months ago, it seemed foreign for a person I met at a business meeting to request to connect via a networking site. An occasional social network user since 2004, I have come to equate social networking sites to areas where countless hours are wasted browsing the profiles and sometimes-scandalous pictures of friends and people you wanted as friends.
Despite my association of online networks as a breeding ground for publicly visible Internet debauchery, I have slowly begun to ease into the idea that the lawyer I met at a networking event for my film making endeavors is now my social network buddy.
Are these same adults with successful business careers updating their profiles and tracking their friends at three in the morning before going to bed?
I ran into a business associate at a South Beach event that lasted past one in the morning. We both left around the same time, and I returned home around two to go to bed but not before a little Facebook nightcap. To my surprise, that business associate had already updated their Facebook status twenty minutes earlier alerting the online world of their upcoming day.
I will contend that as more adults and business contacts create Facebook accounts and artists and entertainers create MySpace pages, it appears these online social networking sites are becoming “professionalized” and accepted for all.
So whether you decide to get “LinkedIn,” “Tagged,” or “poked” on Facebook, these sites provide a means of staying connected with people and a way to indulge your inner voyeur. And now that college students are not the only ones scanning profiles, our elders can indulge in the pleasures that come with creating an enticing profile and finding that person you have not spoken with since the summer of 6th grade.
A guilty pleasure? A revolutionary communication tool? Whatever you use it as, it seems having at least one social network account is a must to keep us all interconnected and entertained.
Entering the “real” world today, for that same teenager, now appears to be one-click away at LinkedIn, the online networking site that “strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts.”
Plaxo is another online site “meant to be a better way for you to stay in touch with the people you actually know and care about — your family, your real-world friends, and the people you know from business.”
And let’s not forget Tagged.com that professes itself as “a premier social-networking destination” that “helps people keep in touch with their friends and make new ones” through “a fun media experience.” Tagged has 70+ million registered users, but the competitor, Hi5, has 80+ million registered members and is “one of the world’s largest social networks and a top 20 website globally.”
MySpace. Facebook. They are still around too.
Recently, my Gmail inbox has been flooded with requests to become a “contact” or “friend” or “linked-in” with friends, old classmates, business associates, and family. As my luck would have it, each person is on a different social networking site that basically provides the same online service with minor differences. Staying in touch now requires five online accounts and time spent updating profiles.
This world of online friendship is familiar territory for teen, young adults, and college co-eds. And now adults of all professions, who once dared not swim in these unchartered Internet waters, are starting to flood the online friend zones.
A couple of months ago, it seemed foreign for a person I met at a business meeting to request to connect via a networking site. An occasional social network user since 2004, I have come to equate social networking sites to areas where countless hours are wasted browsing the profiles and sometimes-scandalous pictures of friends and people you wanted as friends.
Despite my association of online networks as a breeding ground for publicly visible Internet debauchery, I have slowly begun to ease into the idea that the lawyer I met at a networking event for my film making endeavors is now my social network buddy.
Are these same adults with successful business careers updating their profiles and tracking their friends at three in the morning before going to bed?
I ran into a business associate at a South Beach event that lasted past one in the morning. We both left around the same time, and I returned home around two to go to bed but not before a little Facebook nightcap. To my surprise, that business associate had already updated their Facebook status twenty minutes earlier alerting the online world of their upcoming day.
I will contend that as more adults and business contacts create Facebook accounts and artists and entertainers create MySpace pages, it appears these online social networking sites are becoming “professionalized” and accepted for all.
So whether you decide to get “LinkedIn,” “Tagged,” or “poked” on Facebook, these sites provide a means of staying connected with people and a way to indulge your inner voyeur. And now that college students are not the only ones scanning profiles, our elders can indulge in the pleasures that come with creating an enticing profile and finding that person you have not spoken with since the summer of 6th grade.
A guilty pleasure? A revolutionary communication tool? Whatever you use it as, it seems having at least one social network account is a must to keep us all interconnected and entertained.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
And So the Gas Goes...
I stared at my car’s gas meter, the needle hovering in the last quarter ready to engage the “low gas” light at any moment. The closest Exxon-Mobil had regular gas at $4.09 a gallon, but I had seen gas as low as $3.99 in some parts of Miami, just not in Coral Gables where I was.
After my Blackjack PDA’s Internet failed me while browsing websites for cheap gas in the area, I took matters into my own hands, driving along US-1 hoping for a deal. The possibility of saving five to seven cents at the pump overcame my thought of wasting additional gas. After passing three stations in a span of a couple miles, I was forced to turn around as the “cheap stuff” was at the original Exxon-Mobil.
A recent graduate of the University of Miami paying some bills with freelance film and video work, I, like many Americans, have become “fuel efficient”. The metrorail and metromover have quickly become my preferred method of transportation for frequent trips from South Miami to Brickell and downtown and Omni areas.
What was once solely used for trips to the Orange Bowl during my days as a UM undergraduate now is an economic solution for not only myself but also several friends; not to mention a perfect way to avoid Miami rush hour.
With constant talk of paying around $80 at the pump, I realized I was not alone with my gas conscious obsession. Friends working in the Brickell and downtown areas have opted for the metrorail in place of their fuel unfriendly cars.
Suddenly, I was envious of my friend’s Toyota Prius, and it seems my generation is as well. The June 29th New York Times article, “As Gas Prices Rise, Teenagers’ Cruising Declines,” detailed a growing trend for both high school and college-aged drivers to find new commuting solutions and to make smarter decisions when it comes to everyday activities.
This nationwide concern has trickled down to the generally apathetic, young-adult generation who now appear to be taking a proactive stance. Whether parents are forcing their children to be gas conscious or the teens and twenty-somethings are maturing, the gas crisis is hitting the pockets of all Americans.
This consciousness is becoming an obsession, hopefully a good obsession. With movie ticket prices around $10, a Friday night at the movies is better spent at home exploiting your Netflix subscription.
Eating out has lost its appeal as well. Eating on a limited budget, spending an average of $20 for a decent meal, plus the gas it takes to get to the restaurant, does not help keep money in your pocket. My roommates and I now opt for the healthier and more financially conservative option of cooking at home.
And so it has come down to cutting back on some of the luxuries the young adults of my generation have grown accustomed to and settling for less costly options. If there was something besides turning 30 that could crush the “I just wanna party” attitude of young adults, it would be a downturn in the economy fueled by the rising oil prices.
My day ends a little easier knowing that I share a similar economic sentiment with my peers as well as my elders. My generation is transitioning into working-class adulthood. The realities we only thought our parents faced now become our problems. With both young adults and the older generations becoming greener and more financially frugal, perhaps change is on the horizon.
After my Blackjack PDA’s Internet failed me while browsing websites for cheap gas in the area, I took matters into my own hands, driving along US-1 hoping for a deal. The possibility of saving five to seven cents at the pump overcame my thought of wasting additional gas. After passing three stations in a span of a couple miles, I was forced to turn around as the “cheap stuff” was at the original Exxon-Mobil.
A recent graduate of the University of Miami paying some bills with freelance film and video work, I, like many Americans, have become “fuel efficient”. The metrorail and metromover have quickly become my preferred method of transportation for frequent trips from South Miami to Brickell and downtown and Omni areas.
What was once solely used for trips to the Orange Bowl during my days as a UM undergraduate now is an economic solution for not only myself but also several friends; not to mention a perfect way to avoid Miami rush hour.
With constant talk of paying around $80 at the pump, I realized I was not alone with my gas conscious obsession. Friends working in the Brickell and downtown areas have opted for the metrorail in place of their fuel unfriendly cars.
Suddenly, I was envious of my friend’s Toyota Prius, and it seems my generation is as well. The June 29th New York Times article, “As Gas Prices Rise, Teenagers’ Cruising Declines,” detailed a growing trend for both high school and college-aged drivers to find new commuting solutions and to make smarter decisions when it comes to everyday activities.
This nationwide concern has trickled down to the generally apathetic, young-adult generation who now appear to be taking a proactive stance. Whether parents are forcing their children to be gas conscious or the teens and twenty-somethings are maturing, the gas crisis is hitting the pockets of all Americans.
This consciousness is becoming an obsession, hopefully a good obsession. With movie ticket prices around $10, a Friday night at the movies is better spent at home exploiting your Netflix subscription.
Eating out has lost its appeal as well. Eating on a limited budget, spending an average of $20 for a decent meal, plus the gas it takes to get to the restaurant, does not help keep money in your pocket. My roommates and I now opt for the healthier and more financially conservative option of cooking at home.
And so it has come down to cutting back on some of the luxuries the young adults of my generation have grown accustomed to and settling for less costly options. If there was something besides turning 30 that could crush the “I just wanna party” attitude of young adults, it would be a downturn in the economy fueled by the rising oil prices.
My day ends a little easier knowing that I share a similar economic sentiment with my peers as well as my elders. My generation is transitioning into working-class adulthood. The realities we only thought our parents faced now become our problems. With both young adults and the older generations becoming greener and more financially frugal, perhaps change is on the horizon.
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