On National Pride

I read web comics on a regular basis. They're entertaining. One strip used the US flag as a symbol of patriotism. I know the artist and writer (they are two different people) were just mocking the patriotic speeches given in movies, but I felt some shame because, lately I've felt shame about being an American.

My aunts, uncles, and parents say to be proud as Americans. To live in America is to have opportunities that no one else in the world have. And, mostly, they are correct. We have the ability to improve our lives, visit other regions, and voice our opinions without fear of unjust imprisonment, cruel and unusual punishment, or execution. No, I am fine with that. It's what we, as a nation, have done with the opportunities and what we have ignored that I am ashamed of.

First, the US is consuming petroleum way beyond what it needs. We use it in almost everything: transportation; powering homes and businesses; and creating containers for leftover food. We could reduce what we use by adjusting our lifestyle to consume less but live just as well. But no, we watch television and the commercials that we watch just push people to buy more, more, more. Gluttony as an art.

Second, our national pride has crushed our empathy for our fellow humans elsewhere. Take our border "problem". Currently there is a wave of sentiment that if we build a thick wall manned with heavily armed soldiers between Mexico and the US that illegal immigration will shrink to a trickle. There is a problem with that argument: WE HAVE MONEY. The reason people are trying to get into the US is because there is NO MONEY where they are coming from. Yes, some like to come because they want a new life. In order to get a new life, you need to get money. Guess who has the money. The US. When America goes bankrupt and devolves into anarchy (which some people are predicting without evidence) then the illegal immigration will change course.

These are the biggest reasons I feel shame at the moment. There are a few more, but I cannot quite pin it down.

Oh, yes. I can name one more that makes me feel shame: the current race for the Republican Presidential Candidate. That is one huge mess I would like to fly away from. Unfortunately it is now making its run through California, where I live. I am nauseous from all the sound bites and what not.

I hope we can recover our luster, because culturally, we're looking like sh*t.

--HardWearJunkie

A Blog I've Had Run-Ins With

I was looking through the new PvP Online website and found a link to one of Scott Kurtz's favorite reviews of one of his strips. (I can't seem to rewrite that last bit, regardless of how much I want to.) The link went to Websnark.

To be honest, Websnark can be a bit snarky, but that's part of the charm. The author (Erik something-or-other) comments on slice of life events as they relate to his interests. The majority of his interests, however, cover comic books (DC Comics, boo!) and web comics (at least three of the web comics that I peruse on a daily schedule he comments heavily on). I like his tone of writing, his insight into many things that irk people, and his dedication to blogging for the masses. Through PvP Online I was reintroduced but glad I reacquainted myself with the articles. Sometimes he dissects comic strips, sometimes he just reports on what certain comics tried to do and either failed or just missed the point.

Oh, and the address is new.websnark.com. Make sure you type that "new" in there to get the current articles. Without the "new" you will go to the old website.

--HardWearJunkie

P.S.: It seems Erik has not posted since last October. That's sad because I was looking forward to seeing more posts about stuff.

If you can stand it, I would go and read the backlog of articles just to see how entertaining Mr. Erik whatever-the-hell-his-last-name-is can be.

About Popularity

I was going through the settings tabs for this blog and looked at the stats tab. Initially I was surprised at the page views, but then realized that each view was by a bot, not by any living person looking at the words in my blog. Oh, well, at least I'm getting looked at by crawlers. They technically count, but I wish SOMEONE make a comment on this blog (and not this entry, but the others instead).

--HardWearJunkie

Zombies and Why We Really Don't Want Them

As entertaining as the movies, books, and video games are in this genre, I don't think a zombie apocalypse will be fun. It will be as far from fun as a nuclear holocaust.