Confusing The Wars

Confusing the wars.

Why Afghanistan and Iraq are very VERY different.

I consider myself a guy who likes to observe a subject and then, after some thought, make a decision on said subject.

Kneejerk reactions are very dangerous. It's great to feel passionate about something, but, for the love of God, think before reacting.

Case in point:

Anytime I bring up my support for the war in Afghanistan or my support for the troops in Afghanistan, I get the same reaction;

"They should just come home. Why are we there? It's such a useless war for oil and money."

You're such a kneejerk.

Yeah, I said it. It's a noun now...you kneejerk.

Why are people confusing these wars? I can't understand why anybody living in the West would want to abandon the effort in Afghanistan.

(Here in Canada, we might end up having another election mostly because of kneejerks)

If I've said it once, I've said it a dozen times;

The war in Afghanistan is NOT the war in Iraq.

Let's review the two:

(A) The war in Afghanistan:
Launched in 2001.
Its purpose:
To remove the Taliban regime which supported Al Quaeda and Osama Bin Laden. You know, those guys who killed over 3,000 innocent people on a September day in the US? You know, the ones that vow to destroy the West and our way of life? You remember those guys? Not the nicest folk.

(B) The war in Iraq:
Launched in 2003.
Its purpose:
To remove the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. You know, the guy who didn't actually have any weapons of mass destruction? The guy who didn't have any ties to Bin Laden? The guy whose country didn't have any Al Quaeda in it until the US invaded?

(C)
Gi Joe:
Its purpose:
To defend human freedom against Cobra; a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.

(A) is important. If we don't win the war we're calling (A), the Taliban gain more control. The Taliban march their radical way right into Pakistan. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. People die. The very same Al Qaeda terrorists who attacked on 9-11 are still lurking on the Afghan-Pakistan border. The resurgent Taliban pose a threat not only to Pakistan and Afghanistan, but to Europe and North America. It is the real "War on Terror"

(B) was a war completely lied into. Pick whatever conspiracy you want.

"It's just for oil!"

Sure, I wouldn't put it past them

"It's because Bush hated Saddam for ordering his Dad's death"

Yep, I'd buy that too.

"It's because Cheney and Haliburton want a monopoly of piping"

Uh huh. Cheney's just psychotic enough.


(C) was a joke


but, let's not forget here

(B) is NOT (A).

Iraq is not Afghanistan.

There is one key difference. One HUGE difference.

Afghanistan wasn't invaded. The Afghanis don't believe it was invaded. They look at NATO as foreign aid ridding them of the Taliban.

Iraq was invaded, and the population knows it.

The whole world (pretty much) was behind the war in Afghanistan. Even Iran.
Truly, for the sake of the world, Afghanistan has to be a stable democracy.

We can't underestimate Afghanistan's serious problems, including a resurgent Taliban, a shattered infrastructure and ridiculously rampant drug trafficking. We have to get this under control. We were kicking some serious ass around 2004 / 2005, but the Americans kept taking troops to Iraq. So it's an uphill battle again.

Iraq is now a civil war. Don't let the right in America fool you; Al Queada in Iraq is about 2% of the fighting.

I don't really know what to do in Iraq. It's a messed up place. It's messed up worse than Afghanistan. I don't have any answers, I'm just a Canadian actor.

But I know this. Kneejerks like to say that both wars are being fought for the same reasons.

They are not.

To paraphrase Barack Obama's speech in 2003 on the Iraq war;

"I don't oppose all wars. I oppose dumb wars"

(A) is important
(B) was dumb.

OPTIMIST FOR OBAMA

Being a Canadian obsessed with American politics can be a hard gear to grind.

I'm constantly barraged by two types of people: The people who say that they are apathetic when it comes to the politics of the US, and the people who say I should be apathetic when it comes to the politics of the US…no wait, it's the same type of person.

It's not just that what happens in the United States concerns the entire planet. (Though that should be excuse enough.) It's that it has a direct effect on us. From something as material as gas prices to something as personal as privacy. Or the fact that we have soldiers in arms along with Americans in Afghanistan.

Yeah, we're all happy that the American dollar is as low as it has been since we can remember. But that doesn't necessarily mean good news for the future. Their economy is crumbling.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the path of the US directly influences our path as Canadians.


Also, on a personal note, being an actor demands that I spend time in the US. I'll, more than likely, end up living there in the future. Maybe that's why I'm so infatuated with her politics.

But I digress…

Honestly, I write this to my American friends who are reading (I know you're out there, I get emails from you!)

Go and vote in the Democratic primaries on Tuesday.

And go vote for Barack Obama.

We've all heard him speak. Yeah, his speeches are fantastic, moving and inspiring. That alone doesn't exactly a President make.

Yeah, his rhetoric about the problems that the US faces is revealing, instructive and heartfelt. That alone doesn't exactly a President make.

Yeah, his stances on the important issues are well-versed, progressive and intelligent. That alone doesn't exactly a President make.

So what is it I like about him so much?

Well, he's not Hilary Clinton.

That's one reason.

What makes him the best choice is two-fold.

1- You can combine all three points from above. Together they DO a President make.
2- Think about his campaign's number one issue: Change.

Barack Obama symbolizes something. That is the thing that no person in the race can lay claim to.

Clinton is from the same school as the last 4 White House occupiers. (I've only been alive during a few Presidencies: Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush. But I only remember Reagan on. So, my whole entire memory of American Presidents had a Bush or a Clinton in the White House. *Bush Sr. was Reagan's VP.)

Romney is your most disturbing example of your classic politician, in the absolute worst sense of the word. Any position you want, as long as you vote for him. I haven't seen something flip flop around like that since I went fishing with Grandpa. (We caught a fish, Grandpa rarely flip flops around.)

McCain? He has his strong points. Mostly the fact that he's a moderate Republican; which makes most of the hard nosed Republicans hate him. (I saw Ann Coulter in an interview today saying she'd vote for Clinton if McCain got the nomination! Ann Coulter!) My problem with McCain is that I've seen him twist facts and positions when politically helpful; including on the subject of torturing prisoners. So that's where he lost me.

Huckabee said that the US Constitution should be amended to the word of the Christian Bible. So he's a psychopath.

What Barack Obama symbolizes is that something different can be expected from the US Government. Hope, direction, morality. His "Change" stance is a valid one.
Not just a change of policies and people. (Anything at this point is better than what has to have been one of, if not the, worst Presidencies in the history of the US)
A change of heart. A change in the way we all feel about politics.

Be honest with yourself, how many times have you voted for, or supported, the "lesser of two evils" candidate?

It doesn't have to be that way anymore.

It's the way Senator Obama talks about the political and social problems. The way he says he wants to lead; not for glory or for the power of command, but for what needs to be done.

Maybe I've swallowed the Obama optimism brew; but damn if it don't taste good.

-Elias

For information on all of Senator Obama's policies see here: www.barackobama.com

The facts and they (make me) furious : Movie Drift.

The facts and they (make me) furious : Movie Drift. (Originally published in January 2007)

A lot of people ask me why I hate 90% of modern movies so much. Why did I despise X3 so? Why do the trailers for anything with Paul Walker make me want to Paul Walk my ass out of the theatre? Why did Poseidon make me want to vomit without ever getting on that boat? Why am I writing in cheesy contorted metaphors?

Now...I'm no hoity-toity, pompous, art film aficionado wearing sandles and a pony tail.

But I knows what I likes.

When I was a kid my Dad would watch movies that I, at first, thought were amazingly boring.

I remember one, in particular, was about some very gayish British guy who spent a lot of time in the desert. It had Obi Wan Kenobi in it, though he was painted darker and spoke funny.

My Dad would try to get me to watch it with him. But I was eleven years old, I wanted him to bring me to see Top Gun again.

Lawrence Of Arabia (in case you haven't figured it out yet) would be one of the movies that opened my eyes to how great movies can truly be.

In thinking about all of this, I realized what the problem is with movies these days.

I was blessed with a Dad and Uncles who wanted me to watch films like Lawrence Of Arabia, Bridge On The River Kwai, Glory and even The Godfather when I was young.

You've heard of letting the television babysit your kids these days? Well, It's worse than we thought. Parents give their kids cash to go see whatever Rob Cohen movie they want. When they get home they give their teens more money to buy a Michael Bay film on DVD. The movie studios know that teens these days have the money. So they play to the market. It's understandable, but unfortunate.

When I was a young teen the movie studios didn't really care about me. It was the 80's. The studios cared less about the young male demographic and made pretty good films. Sure there was the occasional brainless film. But, thanks to my family not letting me become an idiot, even at 12 I knew Top Gun was stupid.

That's why I stand by my constant claim that the golden age of (American) movies was the 70's. The studios not only cared less about the young people...they couldn't care less about young people. And what happened? The greatest movies of all time. Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver, The French Connection, Apocalypse Now, Chinatown. Any questions?

Young people were all the better for it. They were forced to rise to the occasion, smarten up rather than dumb down.

Today, it's all about dumbing down. If the lowest common denominator makes money, it's the easiest way to go. The road the most travelled.

So they make crap, and the target audience (which I should amend from just teens to teens and people who never grew or smartened up.) goes to see this crap. Worst of all they defend this crap with "oh it's enjoyable get away fare."

Then get the hell away. Go somewhere where Michael Bay is an auteur instead of autistic. Maybe The Island.

-Elias

Ps. I caught The Station Agent on TV the other day. Its one of those movies where nothing happens except the characters evolution. Its great. I recommend it highly.

We the jury find the planet, not guilty?

Uh huh. Yeah. The Jury's still out on this. (Originally published in 2006)

It bewilders my brain to think about the fact that people still believe the jury is out on our effect on this planet and our aiding of global warming.

Now, I have no political affiliation. I don't consider myself a full on liberal or a conservative. I tend to look at the specifics of the issue before making a decision on it. This country (let me stop right here for a second... when I refer to "this country" let's just say I'm talking about North America. Excluding Mexico...so just the US and Canada. We're pretty much the same anyway when it comes to how polarized people become on political and social issues. I'm sure that the US has some great things about it that Canada doesn't have - though I can't think of any off hand - and Canada has a lot of things that are better than our neighbor to the south - off hand, socialized medicine anyone? - For this little blog I'll refer to the US and Canada as one and the same. Okay back to my rant. )

uh...where was I?

Oh yeah. This country is so polarized on every social and political issue it makes me ill.

You've got idiots on both sides, be it Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly or Michael Moore. They all lie and / or stretch the truth to get their points across. Why? Because it's their job as a conservative or a liberal to begrudge and persecute the opposite party. The issue becomes polarized because people want it to be. We love to fight and we want our side to be right. Or, perhaps more importantly, we want the other side to be wrong.

Personally I like to look at all sides of every issue and let it swim around in my head for a while before making a complete decision. Some things I'm liberal about. I'm liberal on gay marriage (just leave them alone already) and prostitution (legalize it and tax the shit out of it). I'm conservative on crime. (Punishments should be harsher, barring the death penalty, and giving heroin users a break and a place to shoot up is just ridiculous). So what does that make me? A Centrist? A Libertarian? Or how about a human being who has his own opinions on various issues?

I'm finding, recently, that two things are happening with two major and important groups of people in my life.

Group .. 1 - My friends and peers. A good chunk of them, I'd say nearly 95 percent are inflexible, crazy, nonconformist liberals. Before an issue is even discussed, it's George Bush's fault. The cops are all bad and the soldiers fighting for our country all shouldn't be there, no matter where they are. If the issue is normally polarized... They are on the liberal side. No matter what.

Group .. 2 - My family. I'd say this one is about 80 percent. Staunch, evangelical, fanatical neo conservatives. No matter what the Republicans (or Stephen Harper's conservatives) do, they are, in some way, defending the country and totally in the right. If the issue is normally polarized... They are on the conservative side. No matter what.

It almost never ever has to do with the issue itself.

Why is this so? I think with group one it's mostly out of pure laziness. I doubt most of my friends can tell me what I mean by polarized. I think maybe 2 of my friends voted in the last election.

With group 2? I think it's because they think group 1 is so lazy they automatically want everything they say to be wrong. Or maybe they believe so strongly in the Bible that any liberal who doesn't must be evil. Or maybe they are just stuck up old people.

What does this have to do with Global warming? Well, I wanted to bash the conservatives for not admitting that it exists. I wanted to bash the conservatives for standing up against global warming. They do it because, well, they're conservatives and if the liberals say that global warming is true, they must be wrong because they're liberals and want to destroy the values of middle America.

I couldn't just let liberals off the hook so easily so I had to bash them a little too.

Let's get back to the values of middle America. So, what does that entail exactly? Well, I think it's driving your gas guzzling SUV to a "steak on an electric grill" church bar-b-q while chucking your empty beer cans out the window and...uh..leaving all of your lights and TV's on while you've gone out.

So the beer can thing was a little harsh.

But do the conservatives in this country actually believe that it's their God given right to ignore how badly we are all destroying the planet? It's painfully obvious how hot our planet is becoming. It's painfully obvious how amazing glaciers are drying up, garbage is piling up and I'm throwing up out of fear that there is no future for my young nieces and nephews. Those crazy liberals, aka, the SCIENTISTS...are convinced.

If the vast majority of the worlds scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planets climate system into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced- a catastrophe of our own making.

Anyhoo...

the whole point of me starting this blog is for this. A list of things that are not hard to do. To make this place a little better and safer for our kids and their kids. (Wow. I sound like a crazy liberal. So I guess I hate Bush and I love trees.)

You know what? Even if the scientists are wrong, and it's not our fault; act like it is.

Don't be lazy you lazy bastards. Do some of this... it's not hard.

--------------

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb.

Move your thermostat down 2 degress in winter and up 2degrees in summer

Use less hot water

Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible

Turn off electronic devices you're not using

Be sure you're recycling

Buy organic foods as much as possible

Avoid heavily packaged products

When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle. Buy A Hybrid car.

Carpool

Take public transit

Buy a Bicycle

-------------------------------

these are just a few things. Pick, like three of them.

(Personally, I recycle everything I can. I ride a bike or walk or take a bus everywhere I need to. I'm saving up to buy a Hybrid car and I turn off anything Im not using...and it's not hard.)

Yeah, so I got slightly carried away. Big whoop wanna fight about it?

-Elias

DeleGAYtion

DELE-GAY-TION

(Please read the WHOLE blog if you read any of it. Thanks)


I'm not gay
I don't really have any gay friends.

I know a lot of gay people. But they aren't my friends. Maybe I'm homophobic.

Or maybe, just maybe, I can't stand to be around the insane sexual predator that is the gay population.

Because, as we all know, gay people think of nothing but sex. When a gay person is around me, all he is thinking about is how to get to my man meat. Let's be honest, I'm an attractive guy, especially to the "gays".

I mean c'mon. You've seen the parades, the TV shows, the pictures. We all know that ALL gay people are like this at all times. There are no exceptions. They all crave fornication with the same sex so badly that they'll step over their own mothers, who justifiably disowned them, to get it.

What is wrong with these people? Is it chemical? Are they born this way? No! We all know it's a choice. They choose to be against society and all things that have anything to do with moral values. They are disgusting, disgusting sexually deviant creatures. They'll all burn in he.... I can't even continue...

I'll stop with the utter nonsense now. I hope you are still reading.

I was pretending that I was a family first, right wing, neo conservative nutjub. It's fun to pretend to be absolutely ridiculously insane sometimes.

Seriously, the question isn't what's wrong with the gay community. The question is what is with these people?

A major problem is the world is when people claim to have complete knowledge about something that they actually don't have any knowledge about.

It's like that with this group. Let's call them Nutjobs.

N eo Conservatives who are
U nbelievalbly and
T otally
J ust
O bviously
B linded by
S ectarianism

Personally. I work in film, TV and theatre. I am surrounded by homosexuals. Surrounded! Are they closing in? Not really. Is it because I'm unattractive? Maybe. But more than likely, they are just normal everyday people who happened to fall in love with someone who happens to be of the same sex.

Sure there are the flamboyantly gay people that dress like Cher and go march in the gay pride parade. Sure there are gay people that are sexual deviants. I'm sure there are even a few gay criminals.

You know what though? Out of all of the gay people I know, not one of them dresses like the opposite sex. Not one of them marches in the gay pride parade. Not one of them has tried to grab my "private area" (Though I would be flattered if I they did). I'm pretty sure none of them have raped or killed or been violent toward anyone. They are all ordinary people...just like Timothy Hutton.

Why do the nutjobs feel this way? I think it's because they have convinced themselves that being homosexual is such a horrible sin. They need a way to hate the sinner too. You cant possibly expect them to live by their own rule of "hate the sin love the sinner."

No! They need to prove that the sinner is worth hating.

I recently read through some articles from the Family Research Institute. Wow.

I like to compare these people and their attitude towards gays to the Ku Klux Clan and their attitude towards, well, gays...oh and blacks...oh and Jews too...Well, anyone not Christian and white. Ill bet these two institutes get along.

Lets compare the FRI to other bigoted pieces of human waste.

According to the articles on the Family Research Institute website:

"Homosexuals are more inclined to molest children sexually than heterosexuals"

"(Homosexuals are )more frequently criminal, drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol, used illegal drugs, took sexual risks"

"Domestic violence appears to be more frequently reported in same-sex partnerships than among the married"

"Homosexual parents were disproportionately of poor character and disproportionately associated with various harms to their children"

oh and finally my favourite.. Homosexuals are crazy violent because the FRI gives us one of, a massive, two examples:

"in 1992 two Jeffersonville, Indiana lesbians, aged 17 and 16, abducted a 12-year-old girl whom they accused of trying to steal a girlfriend. She was stabbed repeatedly, and beaten with a heavy metal bar"

Because, obviously, that never happens with straight people. Only gay people are that crazy.

So, those quotes are all from the Family Research Institute.

Let's see some other comparably ignorant quotes.

"Black History month usually amounts to little more than a month dedicated to exaggerating the mistreatment of Negro slaves in America" - KKK Website

"Blacks commit 90% of interracial crimes of violence that occur in the U.S. each year" - KKK Website

"Jews are filled with more hatred and rage for our race, for our heritage, for our blood than perhaps you can imagine" - David Duke

"The truth is there are two hundred white women raped in America by a black man for every one black woman raped by whites." -David Duke

"These Jews who run things, who are producing this mental illness - teenage suicide...all these Jewish sicknesses. That's nothing new. The Talmud's full of things like sex with boys and girls." -David Duke

That David Duke...what a great guy.

So, in closing, ALL of the gay people are sexual deviant predators flaunting their ways to the disgust of the rest of the world.

Much like.

ALL black people are violent gangsters.
ALL Jewish people are greedy America haters.
ALL Mexicans are in America illegally and want to steal American jobs.

Those dirty dirty gays. They'll all burn for destroying our morality...well get those evil races too.

I close with two great quotes

"Our greatest strength as a human race is our ability to acknowledge our differences, our greatest weakness is our failure to embrace them." -Judith Henderson

"Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; education and free discussion are the antidotes"- Thomas Jefferson

What a world my friends. What a world.

Please stop

lease stop with the conspiracies.

Not everything is a conspiracy. Pennies aren't kept in circulation to get our fingerprints.

The USA is not an evil country bent on taking over the world. If they were, they would have done it already. They have all the bombs. They're just a bunch of greedy fucks who want a stable Middle East because oil is not unlike heroin to us in the west...oh and Dick Cheney likes money and the blood of babies...okay maybe he's evil

Black History month is in February because Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln were born in February, not because it's the shortest month of the year.

------------------------

Please stop with the "everything is racist"

my last "stop conspiracy" wasn't racist.
George Bush calling Barak Obama " Smart and Clean as a whistle" wasn't racist.
Joe Biden saying that he is the "first black candidate that is articulate" was...yeah kind of racist.

In fact, the more people cry racism for stupid reasons, the less power it gives real instances of racism.

When people say things like "If an old white woman and an Arab get on a plane they should be treated the same by security" it's not only stupid, it's dangerous.

You know why? Because Arabs are the only people who have hijacked planes in the west over the last ten years. Old white women? Not that many. Stop being politically correct and start being smart. You have limited resources.

Once they're through security, I accept that they aren't going to hurt me.

If it were white, half Greek guys who crashed planes into buildings, I'd expect and accept that security would take a little longer for me. They can let the old women go by.

That's not racist. You know what's racist? Kramer.

----------------------------

please stop with the reality shows

They aren't good anymore. They never were.
They aren't real anymore. They never were.
C'mon, does anybody, in their right mind believe that these shows have anything to do with reality? Sure it's reality; take after take of the same moment of reality until it's really perfectly real reality. If it's not, they'll re-do it until it is.

Stop watching please.

-------------------------------

Please stop with the drugs.

I may be lonely here considering almost every single person I know does some sort of drug. I'm not talking about a puff of a joint or a swig of a beer. I'm talking heavy cocaine, ecstasy, acid and a bunch of other drugs that liquefy your brain.

This is something I'll never, ever understand. Ingesting chemicals! Chemicals! Chemicals that come from some dude named Jerry that you met through a friend of a friend's uncle's former roommate. I don't like taking over the counter aspirin! These things are proven to destroy your health, brain and bank account. Yet people still do them regularly. I have a theory as to why. Here's where I may make some enemies among my peers…(please keep in mind that I am not referring to the homeless and the sick. I'm talking about, mostly gainfully employed, white people around my age. Wait...was that racist or fact based? Hmmm)

My theory is this: These people are cowards.

They can't face reality. They are so spoiled that their lives, while sober, are so boring they can't accept it. So they introduce drugs into their system to help their spiritless minds cope with the fact that they know they have nothing interesting to say…or think.

They have no self respect and they know it. So they do more drugs. It's weak and pathetic.

I may have just made enemies with some of my peers. It's okay though because they'll get wasted next time I see them and I'll convince them that they never knew me.

And this leads me to the final one.

Please stop with the smoking.

Is there any debate anymore that this will kill you? Hi! Listen, how are ya? You listening? Smoking will kill you. It's assured. It's assured. You are going to die early if you smoke. Die, like actually die, in a very painful, bloody, phlegmy way. You hear me? Stop coughing. I'll meet you at the top of the stairs if you can make it.

Your point being?

I spent the later part of this evening re-reading my blogs and the responses to them on this here myspace page. I can't seem to fall asleep and I'm so damn tired of unpacking, if I see another box I'm going to stab myself in the eye with this here box cutter blade.

Oops, I just looked up and spotted a few unpacked boxes. Let's see if I can finish this blog with one eye.

I read a comment by a number of people tonight. The comment is something I'm asked constantly particularly by people in my age group.

"Why do you write about these things? Why are you passionate about these things? What's the point? You can't change the world. Why Bother?"

I am well aware that I can't change the world. Particularly with internet blogs.

Most people I know in my age range live a very sheltered life. It's a very conscious decision. To ignore politics, religion, social climates and anything that may force them to read something and form an opinion that doesn't involve the words "who cares". I've seen a friend, in front of my own eyes, grab a newspaper looking for something to read and skip over the front news story of "US considering military action against Iran" to go right to the funny comic page.

I remember thinking to myself: "That one news headline could be the beginning of another huge chapter in our world history." I remember thinking to myself: "How did he just ignore that? I mean, it's the front page, he must have seen it. Did he even read it? Or did he just know that, 'whatever it is, it's not as entertaining as Hagar The Horrible'?" What's worse: To choose to ignore it or to truly be ignorant of it?

Or am I the bad guy here? Who am I to say "You need to pay attention to this. Your ignorance is a real problem."? Why is my advice good advice?

What if I gave an apple to a guy who, I thought, was hungry or unhealthy? Then he looked at me and said. "I hate apples, I'm going to continue to eat my staple McDonalds diet" Who am I to judge? Why should I care if he lives healthy or dies an extremely fatty carcinogenic death?

Do I actually care about what people think in this world? Or should I take the advice of most people I talk to and tell everybody to go screw themselves? If they are not concerned about the things I'm concerned about, I shouldn't concern myself with them.

Maybe that's the right attitude. I don't know.

What exactly IS the point? Why do I write these things? Why do I talk about these things with whoever the hell will listen? Why am I wearing a cowboy hat in my main myspace picture?

These are all questions I don't really have an answer to. (Except the last one, it was my wife's idea and I listen to my wife. ....That really is good advice.)

In trying to answer my own questions I realized that the only answers I come up with will be in a vain attempt to justify my behavior.

I need you to tell me why. My thoughts will be based on my unconscious feeling and probably not the whole truth.

Am I a pompous jackass who is trying to show everybody that I'm better and smarter than they are because I read the newspaper and keep up on current events?

Am I truly, like I want to believe, trying to start a free discussion so that hopefully people will talk to people who will talk to people who will continue discussion?

Do I just enjoy the occasional rant?

Should I mind my own business?

I'm not forcing people to listen to me.

Do I really want to save people? Is that as contemptibly arrogant as it sounds?

You tell me. Help me out here.

I'm starting to get sleepy now, though it could be caused by the blood loss from the eye I stabbed earlier.

I'm starting to like closing with a quote: This one's a favourite quote from a favourite film.

"There's a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. I never really questioned
what it meant. Now I'm thinkin', it could mean you're the evil man. And I'm
the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or is could by you're the righteous man and I'm the
shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak, and I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm
tryin'. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd."

-Jules Winfield - Pulp Fiction