cheer up, knoxlogan

something that came to me a few nights ago.
tell me what you think.
for some reason, it came to me after reading Lord Byron’s ‘Stanzas for Music’ and the following line really stuck to me:
There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away.
-Lord Byron
tell me if you can find the correlation..and I will upload the mp3 later..

-verse one-
today’s the day they tell you
you’re never going to see again
all the colors and figures
tomorrow you will forget
no more memories
but mind games and mysteries
the substance of endlessness
and what we thought mattered

-chorus-
but cheer up Knoxlogan
you’ll redefine the world again
through your trembling fingertips
there’s an ugly world
you no longer have to see

-verse two-
tonight’s the night you realize
you’re never going to love again
they’ll dance around around you
but no one holds your hand
but tomorrow when the morning comes
while they still pretend that they’re in love
you’ll walk right through them with a
peace they could never have

-chorus-
so cheer up Knoxlogan
you’ll redefine the world again
through your trembling fingertips
there’s an ugly world
you no longer have to see

-bridge-
please don’t envy what you think you lost
have you any idea of the infinite cost
to stand in the light that only shines for the free
to stand in the light that only the blind can see

-chorus-
so cheer up Knoxlogan
you’ll redefine the world again
through your trembling fingertips
there’s an ugly world
that no longer has to be and
there’s a beautiful world
that only you can see

Barack Obama…And Other Concerns Part 2

So this is actually more about Bob Barr, but my inspiration to talk about him was derived from the initial post on “Barack Obama…And Other Concerns.”

I know a lot of young people don’t like to discuss politics but in my opinion, the last thing we want is to wait until we’re old and it’s too late to fix things.

Anyhow, two friends of mine in my last post about this both brought up very good points about Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. For those of you, Bob Barr is a former Republican and played a huge role in the impeachment of Clinton in the 90’s. Somewhere in there…he kind of faded away but anyhow–on to the point. I’ve been doing some reading on him and his views on the current election and role that everyone (including himself) plays. After reading several recent articles, I drew this conclusion (and if you’ve been keeping up with this, you will find that the very first part is actually tagged to a comment on the post before this):

Ah, good ol Bob Barr. I’ll admit, I have a bad habit of leaving third parties out of the picture…they have so much going on and when it comes down to it, so little to say. While third parties have a VERY important place in the political process, there is also a lot of division amongst themselves (which is usually why can’t organize as well as bigger parties but–that’s another story).

Anyhow, I haven’t forgotten about Bob Barr–just yet (joking, joking!)! He has a very balanced background and knows what he is talking about. Based on his credentials, there is no doubt he has the potential to challenge both McCain and Obama…kind of like Nader tries (keyword: tries) to do. I just wish he would speak up as half as passionately as he did about Clinton’s impeachment on the issue of the ‘08 election. We’re not getting the same Bob Barr that got the attention of millions in the 90’s. If we could get third party candidates such as Barr to stand up to the issues at hand outside of the drama in the Republican Party (which he doesn’t even claim to be a member of anymore), we probably would have never even had Obama as a nominee!

But still, the little he does say is all about McCain’s unrealistic approach to the war and what it’s going to do to taxes. I was reading a recent interview and he completely disregarded any comment on Obama by saying, “Well, Obama has no real plan, and he hasn’t given us enough information for me to respond.” Now this may be true but–duh Bob Barr, that’s when you have challenge him! I know he probably feels like he’s obligated to challenge McCain because he *used* to be a Republican, but it’s like Obama isn’t even worthy of his criticism. Now, it’s fine if he wants to believe that way, but it’s things like that is allowing Obama to slip through the cracks–and get away with murder. It’s almost like the conservative political analysts, advocates, and elected officials are so outraged and flabbergasted by the idea of this *far-lefty radical Muslim* running for President, they don’t realize he’s slowly creeping ahead of the moderate they’re trying to help pick a side. Even loud-mouthed controversy-starting Republicans such as Ann Coulter aren’t talking enough about Obama.

*deep breath*

So basically, I agree whole-heartedly that Obama should be challenged more but quite frankly, the Republicans are more concerned about the illegitimate-child-of-conservatism that they have running in the name of their party. They also busy themselves pondering if McCain’s VP will be a good enough pick to be his solid conservative balance when in office. Meanwhile, Obama is frolicking through an open field of wild flowers singing “la la la there IS hope, there is HOPE! And I’m gonna be the first black President!”–and getting millions of dollars–and votes while he’s at it.

And unfortunately, I feel like Bob Barr, other third party activists, and and political analysts are falling into that same Let’s-Rebuild-the-Republican-Party-After-the-Bush-Adminstration-Ruined-it-All trap which is letting Obama gain more and more popularity. It’s going to be difficult. It’s going to take more than conservatives (and not just Republicans) accidentally calling Obama “Osama” and constantly discussing his radical background. I mean, clearly whatever he did didn’t keep him from graduating and being the President of Harvard Law, becoming a Senator and later the final Democratic nominee for the United States.

Once again, I do not believe that Obama is as “experienced” or “clean-slated” as some of the other candidates may have been/seemed. However, my level of skepticism for conservatives is going to continue to be raised if they don’t start bringing some legitimate reasons to the forefront on why Obama shouldn’t be in office. “His Dad was a Muslim” just isn’t cutting it anymore. And quite frankly, all of these Obama-past-life expositions are only making the American people feel sorry for him, and in return, show empathy and vote for him.

Overall, I may vote for Obama, but I don’t think he’s the answer. McCain may decide to be a true conservative, take some advice from the brotherhood, and I may end up voting for him…but still, I wouldn’t think he is the answer. However, I do believe there are “answers” to all of these questions and issues we face. Yet, we can’t attain them until we shift our priorities a bit..which might involve, like I always say, seeing things through in aerial view. If you don’t, it will sneak up on you and it will be too late to break down and decipher….kind of like what’s happening with Obama if you think about it.

Barack Obama…and Other Concerns

So even though to the rest of the world, Morgan Harper is absolutely nobody, I just have to say it–I have decided that I’m publicly endorsing Barack Obama (and besides, I just like the way ‘publicly endorsing’ sounds, haha).

Growing up in a Conservative Christian Southern Baptist family, I never would have DREAMED of the day I would ever vote for a Democrat or support liberal ideas. I always felt that the Republican party had done the best job at exemplifying what I believed to be morally true. However, I am starting to find that the moral standards I held the government to were somewhat…unnecessary, unfair, and close-minded.

Like many of us, I wanted people to believe like I believed because well, that’s what I felt was right. While it’s okay to feel that way, I have realized that I need to limit this kind of thinking to my PERSONAL beliefs and the people I interact with (through my right of freedom of speech)–not through elected officials working for the entire United States of America.

People say they want change but really, they only want it through their own personal beliefs and biases. They don’t want to see our economy, health care, environment–our country through an aerial view. They want it to make sense in their church, their party, their race, their social clubs, their “hood,” or their state. And while some call it a comfort zone, I call it selfishness. We want our government to keep us safe, sound (economically, physically, educationally, socially, etc), and unified as a nation. We cannot expect the government to be a billboard for our personal beliefs.

As liberal as it may sound, this is why I strongly believe in the separation of church and state. There are so many Christians out there…who really mean well but, they are looking for politics to be the poster child for their church. They want the President to step in and remind Americans what “America is and always has been about.” And don’t get me wrong, it’s not just conservative Christians with these tendencies…we have selfish gay couples and pro-choice women just as well. It may sound harsh, but I believe it’s time to realize that if we really want change, it happens amongst ourselves and not through a political party or by passing some bill!

I am in NO way anti-government, and I actually have a great deal of respect for this country (and in all honesty, overall, I don’t think I would be able to pick a better country anyday). The men and women operating our three branches of government are professional, educated officers elected for a reason. Though we may not always agree with their placements or actions, they are designated to ensure the safety, organization, administration of justice in our country.

Understanding this, I have learned to respect the government–for the government. Not for an outlet to promote how *I* feel about abortion or what *I* think about gay people getting married. While my beliefs may be important in my community or circle of friends, I have to see things through a wider lens. When it comes to politics, you have to look at things economically, demographically, and a good 1,000 other “icallys.”

So. I say all of that to say, the reason I have decided to vote for Barack Obama this election is because I believe he really does see things universally and is trying to get America to do the same. We all have things that allow us to stand out as individuals, and yes, they create diversity, but at some point, we have to learn to not only be aware, but ALLOW OURSELVES to understand these diversities. Unity does not have to be communism nor the anti-christ. In our lifetime, we will never see absolute equality, but we can at least learn to respect and appreciate each others differences. It sounds like such a simple rule, but it isn’t being practiced at all in our society. It’s bleeding into our politics, through our television sets, into our one million different opinions (that get us nowhere), and continue to dividing us more and more.

While many will disregard Obama as a false sense of hope…I see this election as a chance to change this kind of behavior we keep putting ourselves through. I’m not saying that the elite politics will end tomorrow, but at least Obama has the boldness to speak about it. Call me an idealist, but in times like this, I think we need a little positivity.

My whole life…when it came to politics, “change” didn’t used to matter much to me. For the longest, I was perfectly fine with my systematic little customs in my systemic little world because none of “that stuff” affected me. But less than a year ago, when I watched my mother practically fall apart…in and out of the Emergency Room for months…in pain endlessly…not being to work or even walk across the room…I finally woke up. I watched my mother being denied health insurance repeatedly and there was nothing my parents, hard working middle class citizens and tax payers could do about it. I watched my mother suffer for long months trying to pay for medication pill by pill and having to constantly worry about seeing if she could get a discount on surgeries she needed to keep her healthy and out of the hospital. However, still, there was nothing my tax paying, working middle class parents could do about it. It used to agree with whole conservative spill about “Preserve quality of health care by individual responsibility” until it hit home. It wasn’t just kids on welfare anymore…it was my mother. At the point, I realized I can only imagine what the rest of the U.S. is going through when they’re really crying out about issues on abortion, gay marriage, taxes, and everything else Americans are concerned about. I saw then that it was so much more than what “I personally believe…” there’s an entire nation at stake.

I’m not saying that Barack Obama, if elected as President will be the Savior of the world and we will live forever in bliss, but at least he has the audacity and boldness, as I said before to speak of hope and change.

The bottom line is, you don’t have to look for change, but it will eventually find you. And if you don’t embrace it now, you won’t know what to do when it has taken over.

“I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington…I’m asking you to believe in yours.”
-Barack Obama