Extreme Tensions: A Lesson In Freedom

Namaste and welcome to another posting for the Quiet Mouse Strikes Back. As I'm sure you are all aware there is a lot of tension in the world right now. There is a lot of extreme behavior, violence, and destruction going on that needs to be addressed. Let's jump right in and explore this subject.

In the military I learned that we are all equally worthless, or at least so they told us. But we were serving and fighting for something we believed in; something bigger than ourselves. It was an idealistic notion of service, sacrifice, honor, commitment, courage, and loyalty... some things that are clearly lacking from most people today. I also learned to appreciate my freedoms: first by having it taken away by the US Navy, but later getting it back upon my release from my contracted service to the US government, the Department of Defense, but most importantly the American people. These rights that others take so much for granted, many other men and women have served, fought, and died to preserve those rights for others. And here are these whiny bitches out in the street attacking each other over petty differences and perceived grievances.

We find ourselves at a pivotal point in history. Do we succumb to the fears, bigotries, and hatred of the extremists? Do we continue to play this game of divide and conquer as if pawns on a chessboard for the ruling elite's masterful play of global command and conquer. Who's our enemy this week? Al Quaeda? ISIS? Russia? North Korea? Civil War monuments? Civil Liberties?
On a basic level this war we are fighting is for basic freedoms like speech, peaceful assembly, protests of grievance, the right to bear arms, and to be safe on our streets and in our homes. We are fighting for the land we were born in, the brothers and sisters, father's and mothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and family; their freedoms just as much as our own.
We're either all free or we all aren't.
This leads to the obvious question: are we really free? I for one cannot name very many things that are legal that aren't taxed and/or regulated to death. Beyond that here's the bottom line, are you ready.  Your freedoms allow you to think however you want and have all the subjective feelings that go along with it. You have the freedom to address your grievances in a formal manner, have a jury by your peers, and make a minimal amount of choices like voting for president and other government officials.
Here's where the freedom ends... it's perfectly acceptable for a person to abstain from certain things due to his or her personal, religious, or moral beliefs. It is NOT acceptable to tell others that they may not think, feel, or act in a manner that is not in accordance with YOUR beliefs, depriving them of their rights due to your own intolerance of others.

Coming full circle, whether we like it or not, there is always going to be hatred and prejudice. There always has been and there always will be. The difference is that now people are more sensitive and pussified. Older generations dealt with the same or similar issues but came out better for it; stronger.
The REAL problem is that so called citizens want to justify their tensions and aggressive behavior, rioting, looting, and pillaging their own communities. Then they, in their own ignorance want to take down inanimate statues that stand as a reminder of a past we do not wish to repeat. Yet here we are as the process is being repeated before our very eyes. YES, there ARE a lot of problems within the system, but there is no savior that is going to rescue us from this calamity.  We as citizens must become that force of peace and goodwill in our communities and take pride in our homes, our neighborhoods, and our cities. Every day I commute through Portland I see trash on the roads, inconsiderate assholes throwing lit cigarette butts out the window of their car or fast food refuse.  The ONLY way to make things better is to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in politics and in community involvement.

Any group that practises and preaches intolerance can call themselves whatever they want: KKK, Neo-Nazis, Antifa, ISIS, Al Quaeda, or whatever... they're really all the same. They promote extremist thought that devalues human life in favor of rationalizations for prejudice, bigotry, and discrimination of others. Being on the opposite sides of an issue is fine, but protesting the rights of another person to exercise their OWN right to exercise free speech is asinine and a wasted use of energy. It's really fucked up when people are getting more upset about words and feelings than they are about REAL injustice and misery like thousands of children dying every day due to malnutrition. Many children in this country are malnourished, but fucking idiots would rather get triggered over a fucking Civil War monument that has ZERO to do with their hatred of this nation and their own fellow citizens who they disdain so much. I want to preach tolerance, but admittedly it is difficult to be tolerant of those who are intolerant against you.  I'm covered in tattoos. I get dirty looks a lot of places, get harassed by the TSA at the airport, and most religious people would think I'm a sinner... but that's their own opinion. But I think that's kinda the whole point of what I've been trying to say, is that people have taken their own subjective feelings and turned that outwardly into the hatred and intolerance of others. Some even want to rewrite history by erasing the memories of the past. Hatred and ignorance don't like to be reminded of their own hypocrisy, but rather deflect blame for their own inadequacies onto others. This is what led to books being burned, scientists being treated like heretics, and mass murder of innocents. Meanwhile, while all the poor huddled masses are caught in the midst of a media induced civil unrest, the ruling class sits in their ivory towers content that their game of divide and conquer has been effective on yet another generation of young men and women.
So much misguided anger taken out on the wrong people. My message to those people with extremist thoughts taking to the streets: be mindful of becoming the very thing you claim to abhor. Hatred brings more hatred. Violence begets more violence. Intolerance preaches more intolerance. We could break the cycle if it weren't for selfishness and greed.
I believe in the power of the American spirit of innovation and determination. It's time to practice what we preach. If we want a better country, a better lifestyle, and a prosperous future, we have to get to work now. Let's do it together. We are citizens of the United States of America. Lets start fucking acting like it!!!

Why Video Games Are AWESOME!!!

 Namaste and welcome to another posting for the Quiet Mouse Strikes Back. As you've read the title of the blog, you'll see this posting is about video games.

If you are a a gamer, then perhaps you will understand what I say here. If not, then maybe perhaps I will enlighten you on a subject you didn't previously understand. Moving on now I think that gamers are often mislabeled as antisocial geeks. This is tragic because they, like I, and other "geeks" (or other labels) are very much a functioning part of society working, participating in my community, and paying my taxes to Uncle Sam. YES, there are the stereotypical Mountain Dew drinking, Doritos eating, pimple faced people out there who are afraid of the sunlight and prefer their social interactions to be done online in a digital format with customizable interactive avatar characters.

I'm about to get the the thick of the subject, but I need you,  as my readers to understand that these are strictly MY personal views, not meant to offend or trigger anyone. That being said, let's jump down the rabbit hole, Alice.

We can all pretty much agree that the world around us isn't quite the utopia our ancestors dreamt of with no hunger, social unrest, or terrorism. They dreamt of flying cars and space exploration, like Gene Roddenberry and Carl Sagan. But that's not the world we live in. Religion, skin color, geographical area where you were birthed, gender and gender identification, among other issues have kept us all divided and fighting among one another and understandably sometimes it just feels like too much for some of us to handle.
As humans we enjoy being entertained. Our brains like the stimulation of hand eye coordinated tasks. We are no longer an agrarian society, but have progressed to a new era of technological society with smart phones, big screen televisions, digital media and a world of information on every subject imaginable at the tip of a finger. I speculate that at a certain level it is sensory overload, and I KNOW that it's a contradiction to use another digital device like a video game to unplug from work or Facebook and other social media drama or even real world drama, but let's just skip past that...
Video games, at the essential root of what they are is a distraction from the real world for a short period of time where you don't have to worry about day to day drama. The video game, for the most part (some games have purposefully obnoxious characters that talk shit to or act obnoxiously toward the main playable character), is non-judgmental, which can be a huge reason why many people play and find solace in their online interactions.
Another important issue is the reality that sometimes the immersive online world of some games, especially MMORPG's, or Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, can be extremely addictive and time consuming. Ultimately it is up to each user to recognize their own limitations and time constraints and still participate in their life away from the video game... I bring up the online world of the video game because some of them are AMAZING! Games like Skyrim are so immersive that you can spend well over a hundred hours playing. I've heard World of Warcraft is even bigger and just keeps getting bigger. For some people, depending on socioeconomic background or standard of living, stress levels, and whatnot often find the rewarding on or off-line gaming experience more gratifying than the "REAL WORLD".

I think at the end of the day that there are different strokes for different folks. Some people choose video games to unwind and immerse themselves in an alternate reality for short periods of time. Fellas need to remember to do OTHER things besides games. Like going outside or reading a book. Just saying...