The Church of Parody Songs

   Before we begin this religion themed adventure, I would like to provide a disclaimer. Though to some this may be a half hearted 'no offense' after saying how your top makes you look fat, I really don't mean to offend anyone. But, please be aware that I do enjoy trying to be funny. This is my time to shine. Display my witty and lovable brand of humor that Ms. Valentino will fall in love with; and propel me straight into the ever-exclusive winner's circle of those who have scored above a 4 on an essay.
   With that said, today we shall discuss religion. This week we experienced God's wrath in reading "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" though it was not my favorite read, it did get me thinking. The views on religion were incredibly extreme, (I know, I'm really pulling out some never-before-seen viewpoints here) to a point that I can hardly imagine that people took what he had to say seriously. His words had a tone much like the extreme (aka insane) views of the Westboro Baptist Church. I spent some time viewing their website, and I found it hard to believe that it wasn't a joke. With a web address that reads 'godhatesfags.com'; a scheduled time to pickit 'adulterer' Blake Shelton because he has divorced and remarried; derogatory comments towards the veterans at Arlington National Cemetery; a message to 'fear god'; overuse of the word 'fag'; and parody songs. Yes, parody songs. Similar the the ones found on Saturday Night Live, just with an ever present theme of homophobia. Don't get me wrong, I believe religion can and should have it's fun light moments, rather than sermons of an angry god counting down the seconds before damning souls to hell. But, spiteful parodies of Blake Shelton music just looks juvenile. Beyond being shocked and disgusted that there are people who genuinely believe this stuff, I worried for religions in general. We are all well aware of what a touch subject religion can be. Hopefully everyone tries to be respectful of other religions, but the Westboro Baptist Church I can't bring myself to respect. I believe that churches like this are what belittle the importance of religion to others. They attempt to justify their hateful views as religion-and even then, they do it poorly! I'm sickened by the way Westboro carries itself like a joke, thus giving the illusion that the other religions that exist are also a joke. They preach that gays belittle god, while the practices of their religion belittle those of all other faiths.

Growing Up. In 140 Characters or Less

This week in class we briefly looked at 'The Facebook Sonnet' by Sherman Alexie. It was published in The New Yorker, a magazine I enjoy reading because I feel incredibly well educated when I do so. Though the poem touched on, 'endless-high school reunion' and keeping in touch with exes, two things that despite having zero familiarity with, I could completely relate to Alexie's message. Essentially, the poem gave grave outlook on wasting one's entire life on Facebook. Though I deleted my Facebook (because, despite what my 13 year old self believed, I was not particularly attractive and there was no need to take 7-15 photos every time I went to the mall) I am not free of internet addictions. I have a major problem with Twitter, Instagram, and just about any time consuming activity on my phone. If you are able to see the time that this blog is posted it will likely be sometime around 1:30am on a Monday morning. That, is exhibit A; I procrastinated my day away and I now sit on my floor in pajamas surrounded by my schoolwork in a sea of self loathing. The tragedy that is my sleep schedule can be blamed almost completely on social networking, and also my admittedly small amount of will power. Twitter has totally eaten my life. I talk in acronyms and say 'literally' in places it does not belong, I get sad when I don't have retweets, and one of the best compliments I believe I can receive is being told my tweets are funny. What's even more disturbing is that I don't think I'm the only one. It looks to me as though much of our generation has been eaten by this oversharing-internet-monster turning us into little drones clutching our iPhones, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and indecisiveness. I have absolutely no ideas for a cure, but many worries for the future of our nation. How can anyone run for president when your opposing candidate can pull up ranting tweets from when you were 15? If you've ever hashtagged '#turndownforwhat' I suggest you abandon any dreams of running for office. One day there will be surgeons who put off doing their med school homework to play Candy Crush. But, has there ever been a new generation that has not been feared for, and then dubbed 'a generation of idiots'? Maybe we'll all be just fine, we'll outgrow adolescence and also idiocy just like our parents did; and if some of us don't? Well, they can tweet us all about it.

Whose got #thatPOWER

                On Friday I was asked a question by my 11 AP English teacher asked, "How much power does an individual wield?" I got to thinking and I came to the realization that every individual holds the power to change himself. He can change his situation, his status in society, and his abilities, but that is it. Though we like to believe otherwise, man does not hold the ability to change others. Man can inspire a change in others, but one individual can't physically change another (unless you're a tattoo artist). The changes that one decides to make in his life are a result of desires that person has within himself; these ideas are demonstrated in The Glass Castle, a bestselling memoir by Jeanette Walls.

                In The Glass Castle Jeanette, Laurie, and Brian all transform their lives through their own doing. All of the kids leave their family to care for themselves, though the kids stay together and support one another on their journeys, they each get to the final destinations by their own power. In doing so each child demonstrates the individual most definitely possesses the power to change his own situation and social status. But, even as each child gained success their parents were still living on the streets of New York City. When Jeanette asks her mother if she can help, she is shut down by her mother who states, "Your father and I are who we are. We accept it." (Walls 5). Despite their efforts the kids can't get their parents to change way of life because Rex and Rosemary don't WANT to be changed, the kids' success couldn't motivate them either because Rex and Rosemary do not desire to change.
              The power of an individual can also be extended to entire nations. America can be viewed as an individual in the case of the Vietnam War. America was created so that people could change their form of government; thus using their own power to change their situation. Founding fathers used theirYet, when it came to the case of the Vietnam War America could not be successful in changing the Vietnamese government. Mainly because Vietnam was not willing to change. Their own individual power was so strong that they were willing to go to any length to stand their ground; mainly by the means of guerilla warfare. Despite the fact that America was a stronger nation, our power was not of any use because Vietnam was so unwilling to change. We could not inspire a change in Vietnam because no desire to change was within them.