America's Role in the World

This week, Obama announced an increased military presence in Australia. Now, for those of us who are educated in the past century of America's involvement over the world, something like this should come as no surprise. But especially now, at a time when the American government is over 15 trillion dollars in debt and counting, we must question ourselves: What is America's role in the world?

I came across an interesting article that puts the American involvement in Australia into perspective. The article can be viewed here. It really shows how the United States military maneuvers are viewed with suspicion all over the world, and although some people might stand with the U.S. military, there are always some that don't.

I think many people in America have gotten paranoid over possible threats from other countries. Many, especially on the right side of the political spectrum, use this as an excuse to invade and station our troops in more and more countries over the world. Currently, we have bases in over 120 countries over the world for a total of approximately seven or eight hundred bases. Is this a proper role of the U.S. military? Has the military become more of a tool for invasions and securing special interests than actually protecting American lives?

At a time when the "super committee" in congress is expected to come out with the information that they were unable to come up with the sufficient amount of cuts, it seems incredible to me that Obama ignores the debt and continues to station troops all around the world. I mean, do we really need to spend more on the military than all the other countries in the world combined?

What are your thoughts? You can address any of the questions raised above.

So, Um, Where Should I Be Looking Right Now?

As I was walking my dog a short while ago, I once again found myself in a few very uncomfortable situations. People were walking past me, and I was unsure of what my proper reaction should be. Should I say anything to them? Or when, if ever, should I be looking in their direction? Considering the fact that I was listening to music, the encounters became even more unclear and troublesome.

My parents lived in Ukraine for most of their lives. From what they've told me, in comparison with America, people were much less social as they walked past each other in the streets. After leaving Ukraine, they found themselves dealing with the same dilemma I'm dealing with right now. In America, it's much more common for strangers to acknowledge each other in the streets. But at least for me, the questions are numerous. Should we say anything, or just manage a small nod? And where is the right place to look as people go from being two hundred feet in front of you to right in front of your face?

Being somebody who still associates himself with Russian culture (to an extent, obviously), situations like these can be quite puzzling. It seems as if these interactions are most common in America, and although I can definitely see the upsides to such a friendly and social society, it definitely causes for some very awkward situations. Had you been on my walk, you'd understand.

What do you think? As somebody passes by you in the street, where should you look? And lastly, are these interactions unique to Americans?

Is Dirty Politics Un-American?

Following the sexual harassment allegations pertaining to Herman Cain, it really got me thinking about dirty politics and its history in America. I know that it's common for people to pretend that everything was so much more civil only a century or two ago, but thorough research indicates otherwise, at least on this matter. Truth be told, politics has been this way for at least two hundred years, most likely stemming from way back.

A particularly interesting example are the presidential elections of 1828, when John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson were running for the presidency. Some general information on the topic can be found here.

In short, the entire presidential election was shadowed by one allegation after another. Jackson was accused of adultery. Adams was accused of being a "pimp". Jackson was accused of unjustly ordering the execution of six men during his time as general in the army. Adams was accused of buying a billiard table with taxpayer money. And there was more. But for the sake of this blog post, let's stop there. What does this say about the way we view the past over our perspective on the present?


In my opinion, we like to paint a picture in our heads where everything was fine back then and only now things have gotten so uncivil. But this couldn't be further from the truth. I'd say most elections in history have had at least some accusations between the opponents, and these allegations surfacing about Herman Cain should really come as no surprise. Campaigns are always an opportunity for certain people to get power over others, and the temptation of power brings out the worst in people. But we have to understand that although people have a bias of the past, human nature has stayed practically the same. No matter how different the situation may have been in the past, humans have always had certain temptations that have remained constant since the very beginning.

What do you think? Does human nature change?

Elections - Is it really worth voting?

I wonder how many times I've heard people say, "One vote can make a difference!" And up until a short while ago, I hadn't really questioned that notion. I've always thought that one vote can in fact make a difference, and at the very least it would make me feel like I contributed to the political system. But is that true? Let's take a look at what we know:

1) One vote will make absolutely no difference in 99.99999999999999999999999% of elections. 

2) Most of the time, you're forced to choose between two candidates that you only agree with partially. So you never actually get to express the entirety of your view.

3) Although you might feel like you contributed to the political system, you really didn't do much of anything to it. It's simply a mindset you might get that doesn't mean a whole lot.

4) It takes a relatively long time to vote. So you could be waiting in a line for quite some time if you really are determined to vote.

So after looking at all this evidence, it seems as if your vote might not be worthwhile. I know this is going contrary to what most people would think, but isn't this the truth? Voting is time consuming, and it actually has no effect on the chosen candidate.  So unless you really believe in a candidate (even though I can't imagine how anybody could even remotely believe in a politician), it seems pointless.

What do you think? Is voting the right thing to do? Will you vote when you reach 18?

MLK's Memorial

One of the front page stories on the news today is the newly opened memorial for Martin Luther King Jr. To make myself clear, I think MLK was an American hero: a visionary, a leader, and a staunch fighter for equal rights. His dedication to fighting for freedom and justice can not be overstated, and what he did has drastically changed society for the better.

But at the same time, I've noticed that MLK gets more attention than many other American heroes. Isn't it odd that MLK gets a whole day devoted to his memory while two previous holidays, each celebrating George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays, were lumped together to one day and dubbed presidents' day? Who is it to say that MLK was more significant than Washington or Lincoln? And why do so many other presidents and influential people receive no national recognition in the form holidays?

To repeat, this isn't any sort of attack on MLK and his many accomplishments. I just have trouble understanding why some people get so much more national recognition than others, and why some people don't even get recognized at all. 

If you look up public holidays in the United States, you'll find that most of them celebrate groups of people or American values. Only a select few celebrate individual people. But there have been many brilliant Americans that have done wonderful things. In fact, there probably aren't enough days in the year to celebrate them all. So instead of recognizing some American heroes over others, I say we should celebrate groups of people and American values.This way, we will be honoring all Americans without any discrimination. What do you think?

Lessons from a Fisherman

In class a few weeks ago, we touched on the subject of Americans and our obsession with working. There is a serious problem with this - Americans live to secure a better future instead of enjoying what we already have. I found a YouTube video that tells a phenomenal story demonstrating the insanity of this mindset. 

The story being told is not one that we as Americans usually get to hear. We are told to go to preschool, elementary school, middle school, junior high school, high school, and college for the first twenty something years of our lives. Then, we are expected to get jobs, earn money, save up for our family (including our childrens' college), go on a few small vacations, and retire near the end of our lives at around sixty five.

Clearly, this isn't what the fisherman did. He lived his life in peace, and although he didn't have any nets, boats, or employees, he was happy. At the same time, the businessman had a very busy lifestyle, waking up early every day and flying all over the world to earn money. As a society, we are told that we should strive to live like this. We are constantly pushed in the direction of hard work by our community. And for what? Have we become happier?

I myself have to admit that I am not nearly as happy as I would be if I were just left alone. The countless hours of school and homework has put a great burden on me, and with the late nights and early mornings my life has become incredibly stressful. And it doesn't stop there. Up until my sixties, I am expected to work five days a week with a few short vacations. But if you think about it, this "ideal" lifestyle could be completely unnecessary. Why spend sixty five years of our lives working just so we can do what we could have done from the very beginning? Why have Americans forgotten about living in the moment?

What do you think? Have Americans become too preoccupied with succeeding that we have forgotten the ultimate goal of happiness?                          

Professional Sports: Why are Americans so Obsessed with Them?

I was just replying to Aidan's blog post when I came across a broader topic. Its been bothering me for some time now - why exactly are Americans so obsessed with sports? At the same time that 1 in 4 Americans don't know that we won our independence from Great Britain, I'm sure the majority of Americans want nothing more in their lives than to plop down on the couch and watch football, baseball,  or some other insignificant professional sport on TV. What has brought America to this? Why does America house so many people that are completely clueless on basic American history, for instance, but know so much about these athletes? 

I'd say the problem lies in the lifestyle of the average American worker. As we discussed in class, Americans are suckers for long working hours and hard, tedious work. By the time most working Americans get home, they feel exhausted and want to relax their bodies while getting a sense of excitement. And this is where professional sports do wonders.

Professional sports let average Americans feel some excitement in their lives without giving them too much stress from the competition. Everybody knows that the results of a certain game won't actually change anything in anyone's life, so at the same time that people feel energized and captured by the suspense, they can appreciate the insignificance of the whole matter. Although I can somewhat understand the desire by many Americans to turn on the TV and watch sports, it upsets me that society (especially American society) has gotten itself to such a sad point, where professional sports are one of the only ways that people can fulfill their need to relax.