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anada302
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.* O . . .. ..O .. 302 03 Mar 2001 ) ( ')
.* O O* o o o o o o o ( / )
* ***O O O O O O O O O \( _)|
* O o o.*..o.*..o.*..o. .net "Please... Do Not EVEN *
* O Get Me Started" *
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* /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ *
* |,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'-' by Gloomchen *
* '---''(_/--' `-'\_) *mE0w* o
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'Anada is cat-friendly..o*`
I have a reputation. Whether this reputation is negative or not is
purely a value judgement and varies upon the perception of the person. It
causes problems, but it also helps in areas where its presence is sorely
lacking. Without it, I would probably wither away into obscurity.
I admit it: I am a highly opinionated person with an answer for
almost everything.
The curious thing about this, however, is that I remain pretty open-
minded. I'm not sure how this came to pass, but lately, I seem to get riled
when other people aren't willing to open themselves to new things or to
consider opinions that don't match theirs. Perhaps it's best said that I
am closed-minded about closed-mindedness, as much of a paradox as that might
be.
Am I making sense?
Here, have some examples to help my point a bit:
1. Religion. I grew up Roman Catholic (at times very much so, other times
it was just in the background). While I was in junior high and my mom
was finishing college (she went back as an adult, please don't be
thinking my mom had me when she was nine), my mother decided that she
really wasn't happy with the tenets she grew up with and started to
explore eastern philosophies. Today, she is a practicing buddhist. My
younger sister since has also adopted those philosophies. My brother at
this time is pretty well atheist (which I believe is healthy,
considering he's an ANGRY HIGH SCHOOL student and all). I had my period
of violently-strong atheism as well where anything religious (read:
CHRISTIAN) would anger and offend me. I'm a little older now and a
little more accepting of others' views, but I'm still an atheist at
heart. I just don't care to debate it with others, because I firmly
believe that one's faith is a personal thing. You don't INFLICT faith
on others, and that's why I will never argue the validity of any
religion or faith system with anyone. It's all belief and conjecture,
and who am I to argue with something that none of us can know for sure?
2. Music. I'm a die-hard music enthusiast. I appreciate it in so many
forms and on so many levels that I'm not even sure what I like anymore.
I know what I prefer and what I don't prefer, but I'm so accepting of
everything that's out there and its relevance and reason for existing
that it's nearly impossible to catch me in a conversation where I'm
dissing anyone at all. Oh, sure, I think the Backstreet Boys are crap
and I don't like country music whatsoever, but that's not where my
opinionation comes in. More often than not, I get angry at people who
refuse to open their mind to new and different styles. I've always held
the feeling that I don't want to miss out on anything; so if that is
true, why should I shut out, ohhh, RAP, just because a good chunk of it
annoys the piss out of me? So I'll try anything. It just blows my mind
when OTHERS won't do the same. So you like one genre in particular;
that's fantastic. But that doesn't mean you should automatically wince
at anything in any other genre just because it doesn't fit your
preconceived notions on what you like and don't like. Open your mind,
give it a try. Someday, perhaps, I'll get over my morbid disliking of
country music so I can stop being a hypocrite in this area, but hey, I'm
doing a lot better than most people here.
3. Respecting history. You know, I may not be able to stand behind a lot
of views of people like Malcolm X because they don't make a whole lot of
logical sense to me, but I have respect for the man. I might have hated
Reagan, but I understand what he did for the spirit of our country in
his heyday. Bob Dylan's voice might make me want to claw off my ears
and I might not be into the whole folk thing, but he influenced an
entire generation of people. There are some things you just can't
discount because of your taste or moral viewpoint, especially if it
isn't harming you or any mass population. That is to say, Hitler might
have done some good for his country, but he also did a lot of bad for
everyone ELSE, so, no, I am not down with Hitler, okay?
4. Freedom. Everyone is free to their own morality standards. Some are
legal and some are not, but in essence, if people hold a belief system
that isn't hurting anyone but themselves, why should anyone care? Why
is there such a MORAL DUTY in this country to make laws out of practices
that are purely belief-based? I believe that if kids want to say a
prayer in school, let them--DON'T make extra time for it or disrupt the
lives of children who have no use for a prayer time, but let the damned
youngins thank their God for whatever they want. I believe that if a
chica wants to sell her body for cash, let her. If someone wants to
shoot their veins full of gobbledygook, let them, as long as they aren't
bothering anyone else (read: not while driving a school bus). And most
of all, if someone has something to say, let them say it. Let us have
the right to READ it. Give us a chance to make our own value judgments
before you condemn it to be unfit for our eyes, ears, and every other
sense. Some of us like porn. Some of us like guns. And as long as we
aren't bothering anyone else, why is it a problem? We're sentient
beings, right? Some of us might be stupid and like stupid things, but
hey, without stupid people to laugh at, how can we tell who is
intelligent?
5. Opinion. In the most hypocritical statement ever made, I can't seem to
handle people who aren't open minded to the opinions of others. After
all, many opinions that people hold are anti-something. But in order to
properly be against something, you need to know what you are against.
The best way to learn these things is to listen to and consider the
opinions that you oppose. If you don't understand something, how can
you rightfully be against it?
I'm sure most of my arguments make sense in theory. However, we ARE
dealing with Real People and Real Emotions and Real Beliefs, so there is no
way we'll ever be a utopia. Oh, but what a glorious place it would be, if
everyone would give everything respect and a fair shake and just leave well
enough alone when warranted.
This is my dream, and since it's never going to happen, I will
forever be shrieking it from the rooftops, ranting endlessly, and running
around like a crazy woman declaring that only cats can understand me and
that we are all under the influence of robotic mutants from another galaxy.
The fun and laughter never ends, once I get started... MUAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA
AAHAHAHHHHHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHHHH
YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY SEE HOW THIS WORLD DRIVES ME CRAZY
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( o.o ) (c) Anada e'zine anada302 by Gloomchen o
> ^ < o
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