A recent series of events (some bigger than others) has led me to a new conclusion - Death is really nothing. And I mean that in a variety of ways. Death is something that we can't control, nor is it something we look forward too, and since we can't look back on it, it ultimately doesn't matter. Death should mean nothing.
But it does. In so many ways it defines who we are, who we become, and how we live our lives. Because it is such an overwhelming thing, to humans, we either ignore it completely, or are completely consumed by it.
But why? Why should we let our death define our life? There's no point. Number one, it just creates negative energy that is useless. In general, most people can't control when or how they die. Obviously, trying to skateboard across the highway or cliff dive into a shallow pool is not a good decision, and will probably increase your chances of death. But most people are rational enough not to do something like that. So, for example, lets say you are walking down the street, and are afraid that someone is going to jump out and mug you. You don't have any control over that, and if it is going to happen, it's going to happen regardless of whether you are afraid or not. So why worry? (Just a disclaimer - I'm not saying don't be aware of your surroundings.)
Also, my new theory is that regardless of what you believe about the afterlife - whether you are athiest or christian or hindu or muslim, I think something happens. According to Newton's laws, energy can be neither created nor destroyed. And, I would argue that there is something that creates life that is more than just neurons firing in your brain. If that were so, people wouldn't have personalities, quirks, and the human race wouldn't be where we are today. So, there must be something else out there. Some energy, some human force that makes us who we are. Something, be it a spirit or a ghost or just some amorphous blob of existence, that cannot be destroyed. It can change forms, but won't ever cease to exist. And that is how I have recently come to the conclusion that there is either, 1) an afterlife (in the judeo-chrisitan sense of the word), or 2) reincarnation. Maybe not reincarnation in full, maybe personalities splice and different traits go to different people, but something else. Beyond that, I don't know. But theres something.
And that brings us comfort. So now, the question becomes, why do you believe what you do? And do you really believe it?
Tuesday, September 30
Monday, September 29
Energy - The Problem
So, I was initially going to do this in one post, but the issue is so big and there is so much to discuss, that I think I'm going to do it in multiple sections.
The problem is as follows (at least as far as I am concerned)
1. The Culture of the United States is too oil-dependent. Everything from rubber to plastic is made from oil or oil derivatives. Many people don't consider how much oil they are really using. Even when buying a car, one must take into consideration the amount of oil that it takes not only to run the car, but to produce the materials, to transport them, assemble the car, to transport it, and to disassemble it.
2. Most of the oil the US uses is imported. Economics is driving foreign policy right now, and the ability of nations to withold their oil, or to impose taxes, etc. gives them a disproprtionate amount of power on the world stage. Although some of our oil comes from friendly countries, such as Canada and Mexico, others come from unfriendly countries such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Middle eastern countries.
3. The US Government subsidizes oil usage in the United States. Because of the subsidies in the form (mostly) of tax breaks, the government is inadvertently perpetuating the use of oil over other technologies. When actual cost (including extraction, transportation, technology costs, and environmental impact costs without government subsidies) are compared, wind power is the cheapest to produce, transport, develop, and has the lowest environmental impact, relative to its net energy.
But, because the government reduces the cost of gasoline to the consumer, people don't bother to look at actual cost, and it becomes the cheapest and most effficient to the consumer. Because people have failed to use other types of energy, most companies who attemt to develop and use alternate energies fail or abandon their attempts in favor of petrol-based products.
4. Producing and burning oil and oil-derivative products damages the environment. Extracting it is incredibly hard on the environment. Although technology has gotten better, and many regulations have become laws, the technology still impacts the environments and many restoration laws are ignored. Burning oil adds carbon dioxide to the air, and in turn, compounds the warming of the globe. Although many other factors contribute to global warming, burning oil is (in my mind) undeniably contributing to the problem.
5. Oil is a non-renewable resource. And the US only holds 3% of it (as a generally accepted statistic).
Although there are many other factors that play into the development of an oil-based economy, and problems surrounding such a dependence, I would argue that these are the main ones. The problem manifested
The problem is as follows (at least as far as I am concerned)
1. The Culture of the United States is too oil-dependent. Everything from rubber to plastic is made from oil or oil derivatives. Many people don't consider how much oil they are really using. Even when buying a car, one must take into consideration the amount of oil that it takes not only to run the car, but to produce the materials, to transport them, assemble the car, to transport it, and to disassemble it.
2. Most of the oil the US uses is imported. Economics is driving foreign policy right now, and the ability of nations to withold their oil, or to impose taxes, etc. gives them a disproprtionate amount of power on the world stage. Although some of our oil comes from friendly countries, such as Canada and Mexico, others come from unfriendly countries such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Middle eastern countries.
3. The US Government subsidizes oil usage in the United States. Because of the subsidies in the form (mostly) of tax breaks, the government is inadvertently perpetuating the use of oil over other technologies. When actual cost (including extraction, transportation, technology costs, and environmental impact costs without government subsidies) are compared, wind power is the cheapest to produce, transport, develop, and has the lowest environmental impact, relative to its net energy.
But, because the government reduces the cost of gasoline to the consumer, people don't bother to look at actual cost, and it becomes the cheapest and most effficient to the consumer. Because people have failed to use other types of energy, most companies who attemt to develop and use alternate energies fail or abandon their attempts in favor of petrol-based products.
4. Producing and burning oil and oil-derivative products damages the environment. Extracting it is incredibly hard on the environment. Although technology has gotten better, and many regulations have become laws, the technology still impacts the environments and many restoration laws are ignored. Burning oil adds carbon dioxide to the air, and in turn, compounds the warming of the globe. Although many other factors contribute to global warming, burning oil is (in my mind) undeniably contributing to the problem.
5. Oil is a non-renewable resource. And the US only holds 3% of it (as a generally accepted statistic).
Although there are many other factors that play into the development of an oil-based economy, and problems surrounding such a dependence, I would argue that these are the main ones. The problem manifested
Friday, September 19
Beginnings
During my short life (so far), I have discovered one thing, and one thing only, that is always true about politics. Nothing is ever what it seems. The political race this year is the only one that I am truly old enough to remember, or understand. And this is the first year that I have felt truly motivated to get involved in politics. That's one of the reasons I started this blog. I want to investigate, to the depth that time and resources will allow, what EXACTLY each candidate (both mainstream and third party) stands for, what attacks they are levying against the other side, and ultimately, the truth. Although, actually, all truth is relative, but that's a philosophy discussion I hope to get into later, not something for this late-night blog. I intend to, over the course of the next few weeks, get into the nitty gritty details of politics, with as objective a point of view as possible. I want to truly understand what I am voting for, and what exactly is going on in this strange world I inhabit. I will try to separate my political and moral views from what I research and write, but I will not always be able to do that perfectly. If anyone else is out there and listening to me rant, I would love ideas about issues, candidates, and anything I may have missed. : ) So, no time tonight to get into much of anything. I'll sign off, and get back to this later, but be looking for some new and exciting posts soon about the way I see it.
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