Yes, that title is a pun because it makes what I’m talking about today sound a bit more interesting, and catch anyone who has never played Mass Effect (life me) and thinks that that’s what I’m talking about. Plus, any over-religious zealots will realize that it’s Sunday and think I’m talking about actual mass. Many of those zealots also seem to like to make mass generalizations about a certain people or religion… and you guessed it. It pisses me off so much that I’m going to spend an entire (hopefully short) post talking about how much it irks me. (So turn away now).
Thankfully (for you) I’m approaching my midnight deadline so this will be pretty quick and painless. This whole thing started tonight when we (being my family and a couple relatives) were eating dinner at a restaurant. Somehow, someone got us into politics (which tends to be volatile; if you’ve never seen me and my dad in a political debate… it gets ugly), and we then got to the subject of non-citizenship… which I’d like to point out I think half of my friends probably are. Now a bunch of facts were messed up, including another nameless person thinking that non-citizens didn’t have to pay taxes (really??). Personally, there seem to be more perks to being a non-citizen for me… I mean you’ll never get jury duty and the not-voting issue doesn’t seem to be a problem because we Americans can’t seem to get anything right (heard about the senator with that funny last name?). And just because this is the internet I think I need to tell you that was a joke. Still, a person (all will remain nameless) seemed to have the idea in their head that non-citizens had a sparkling, glittering life. This person also thought that the destruction of neighborhoods in Philly and other cities were because of people moving in from other countries without “American ideals.” That is complete and utter bullshit that seems to be echoed by everyone fleeing these neighborhoods. More than half, probably more than three-quarters, of the people living in these neighborhoods now are American-born and American-raised. They, therefore, have the sense of entitlement that all Americans seem to have that says that “I can do whatever the fuck I want because I’m American! First Amendment bitch!!” I swear, that must be what goes through these people’s minds. But really, I’m running away from my point. That point: we Americans tend to generalize. A lot. A whole freaking lot. We hate an entire race (that, by the way, occupies a sixth of the world’s population) because of the actions of one miniscule group. I’m not undermining 9/11 in any way. I’m just saying that it’s time to move on America. Stop reinventing the Japanese detainment camps (I won’t say concentration camps even though that’s really what they were) during World War II. You were wrong then and it’s one of the largest black marks on our country’s short history. If that happens again that mark will be much bigger. Also, Americans (especially ones who watch / broadcast on Fox News), seem to view all immigrants as outsiders and also seem to believe that this country would be better off if those people returned to their respective countries. By generalizing in that way, they overlook the fact that these people (a lot of whom I know) make up a large amount of the top of America’s classes). They don’t have that sense of entitlement that seems to be present in ninety-eight percent of American teenagers (me included, albeit only sometimes) that says they are to be given everything that their country has to offer. These immigrants enrich America far more than our own overall lazy and enabled youth… which is also why we’re last in the world when we used to be first. The only problem is that we still think we’re first.
SONG OF THE DAY: AMERICAN IDIOT
I know you have all heard this before, but it’s fitting. Because we all seem to be American idiots. And we need to stop. Before our own assumed superiority in the world and the thought that we can do whatever we want to whomever we want can destroy one of the most babylike nations on Earth. In other news, I made my deadline by roughly a minute. The challenge goes on. Let’s take a twenty-three and a half-hour break, see you (figuratively) tomorrow.
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