My rant against the NRA, gun violence, and guns in general.

My rant about the NRA, gun violence, and guns in general.

*warning: this might get prettyyyy radical. Read at your own discretion.

               

                First of all, you need to know one thing. Actually no, make that two things. I love Rolling Stone magazine, and I hate guns and ignorant people.

                That being said, Rolling Stone has just recently come out with some mind-blowing, brutally honest, and completely amazing articles pertaining to our nation’s current crisis concerning gun violence. One article that I just read, titled “The Gun Industry’s Deadly Addiction” was one of the best written articles I’ve ever read in my entire life. It was all about how gun industries are trying make money and continue to maintain a steady supply of buyers. That old generation of old white southern gun buyers is basically dying out and suddenly gun makers and sellers are faced with a serious problem, who to sell to. What’s so incredibly thick and ignorant of them is that their solution to that exact problem is to target young children and criminals. Let’s face it; those modern video games that all the kids and teens are playing nowadays are extremely violent, graphic, and overall disgusting. A while ago I stepped into my brother’s room and was HORRIFIED at the images that were pouring out of my brothers TV screen. Bloody Nazi zombies. My brother was fixated on the game and telling me about every single type of gun that could be used to kill the zombies, names and all…… after I left his room I didn’t give the whole situation much thought till recently I overheard a conversation between him and my father. It turns out my bro had asked my dad for a couple of air soft guns for his birthday. When asked what he thought about the general safety of his request, he replied, “Its ok, my friends and I will be wearing safety glasses.”

                Safety glasses or no glasses, nothing compares to the damage that has been caused to his growing mind and imagination. The thought of holding a gun and shooting it gets his blood flowing. He, and thousands and thousands of other boys have had their innocence corrupted by the idea of power and killing. No longer are we talking about conventional deer and turkey shotguns that was were used long ago, we’re talking modern, military-like weaponry used to kill mass amounts of people quickly and efficiently.  This is the image that the gun industry has been forcing into the minds of our young generation.

                It’s absolutely mind boggling that a grown adult can see these video games, learn about what happened in that recent elementary school killing, hear about what happened at the batman movie premier, watch a few episodes of Dooms Day Peppers, and STILL say that there shouldn’t be background checks on those buying guns or that lethal weapons such as AR-15’s should continue to be sold. What also gets me are those people who automatically bring up the 2^nd amendment, right to bear arms. If you defend that amendment, you might as well write up a 2^nd ½ amendment, right to kill and destroy, because that’s EXACTLY what’s happening right now. Hundreds of criminals are getting their hands on these deadly guns and weapons and killing people. Meanwhile the hard headed politicians and governmental officials are getting all riled up because Obama wants to set some protection regulations on the selling of these same instruments of destruction. You have GOT to be kidding me. How daft can you get?

                There is a light at the end of the tunnel however. There may in fact be a victory to be won for us peace loving and anti-violence people. It turns out that a few major cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles have committed to withdrawing investments from gun makers who profit from assault weapons and high capacity magazines. This could have a huge impact if more cities get in on this. Also, the mayor of Chicago has called out to the CEOs of the Bank of America to use their financial leverage against big gun industry’s to demand a ban on assault rifles and promote universal background checks. I just hope the CEOs aren’t as scared as the Supreme Court is of the NRA. We all know the government is being controlled and intimidated into opposing anti-gun laws. They choose not to pass laws protecting us against gun violence because the NRA tells them “if you pass any laws against us, we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure you don’t get reelected into office.”  The fact that the Supreme Court can’t stand up for themselves and for the good of all people is a HUGE blow to their karma. We’ll see what happens to them all in the end.

 

Ok so that’s the end of my rant. Oh and by the way, my dad told my brother NO WAY is he getting any guns for his birthday. We’re a pretty liberal, peaceful, anti-violence kind of family but you know kids, sometimes they get led astray. My dad had a really long conversation with my bro about the dangers of guns and pretty much what I just wrote in this post… in a more condensed, understandable way haha. Listen I’m sorry if I sound like such a raving lunatic, I just feel passionately about making my opinion known. And yeah definitely get a subscription of Rolling Stone if you haven’t already. Best magazine ever.

Breaking through your restraints and confinements.

Breaking through your restraints and confinements.

                You know, I was standing in the kitchen earlier with my sister and we were just having a good ol’ time eating green grapes. Suddenly, I took a grape and I threw it at her. After the initial shock of the moment, she looked at me and said, “Why in the world did you do that?” My answer was simple yet straight to the point. I did it because I wanted to prove to myself that I could.

                We all, meaning us humans, sort of just walk around and begin to feel as though we follow an invisible set of rules. It’s an invisible, silent set of regulations that keep us from doing the outlandish sort of actions that may be seen as random or absurd. If you don’t agree with me then call me crazy but it’s almost as if many people wouldn’t have thrown that grape at their sister just because there was no real need to. However, what I’m trying to say is that you don’t NEED to be a point to do anything in this life! Who’s to tell us what to do or what to say? Why do we need amendments telling us we have a freedom of speech? Did the cave men have amendments to such rights? No, not at all.  I’m not an except at cavemen-isms and maybe that wasn’t a good example but you get the gist of it. I read about the few people that really have done something with their lives and it didn’t have to be for a cause or to reach a goal. They did it because they could. Whatever it is we want to do is completely possible but we follow those invisible rules telling us not to do it. Here’s another example.  A middle aged man is just coming home from his nine to five job and sits down to have some dinner. He has a flash back to when he was younger and had a dream to travel the world. He laughs to himself thinking, “Ahh those were the good times, when anything was possible.”…………..dude, go travel the world. Quit your job, pack your bags and get out of the freaking house. GO LIVE YOUR LIFE! Break the invisible rules! Break your constraints! Rules were made to be broken and challenged. Regrets are heavier than the largest anchor.

Alright that was my rant for the day, if you have anything to say comment below, you may regret it if you don’t :p

-Gloria

The philosophy of happiness #1 (first of many more to come no doubt)

 

The philosophy of happiness #1 (first of many more to come no doubt)

What is happiness? Is it a feeling? Is it a way of life? Is it a condition? Well, it’s all of those things and more. Everyone may perceive it differently but it’s no secret that everyone searches for it and craves it like they crave food and water. People go about finding happiness in their own way. Some find happiness in shopping or drugs, others find it in other materialistic and superficial ways. This, however, is NOT the way to pure, complete peace of mind and contentment. It’s taken me a while to become content with my life and find true happiness. I too used to shop excessively and as a result I was sad and I felt empty inside. It was one morning when I decided that I would stop my compulsive shopping, rid myself of all the material things holding me down, and start fresh. What I discovered after that changed my life for the better and I would like to tell you how you too can find true happiness. It all simmers down into one simple concept…. Simplicity and love.

There’s a reason monks are happy and content. There’s a reason why people can be poor but not be down about it. There’s a reason many millionaires sit in their mansions with their clothes and their money and not feel any satisfaction. It’s because you start to realize that you can’t come to depend on materialistic things to make you feel complete. The day you let go of all the lifeless objects you hold on to, the more you’ll start to recognize the things that lift your spirits up and fill you up with a feeling of love and truth. You open your eyes to your family, your friends, nature, pets and so much more. The happiness you feel when you hug a loved one is not a fake, superficial, temporary happiness, it’s for real. I’ve come to the point where I can look at my little sister laughing and running around and feel on top of the world. No $200 purse or perfume was ever able to give me that same feeling.

Not only have I accepted the fact that money and objects have no soul and love, I’ve also come to the conclusion that we need to live in the moment.Now! This very second in time. We need to stop looking forward to the future and think that some other time will be better than the time we have now. Think about how many people say “don’t worry, tomorrow will be a better day” or “I cannot wait till next year, I’ll be so much happier then.” Why have we come to depend on future dates to excite us or keep us going? It’s because we refuse to come in contact with our present day feelings and emotions.

I present you all with a challenge. Look deep inside your soul right now and ask yourselves, am I happy? If you answered yes, then I’m happy for you. If you answered no, please take some time to consider what I have written and I assure you, things will get better  find love, give love, and let go of all that’s blocking your heart. Live in the moment and appreciate every minute of your existence.

-Gloria W.