As I said a few posts ago, whenever I have an opinion on something I am not going to back down from sharing it. So, tonight I have a few things to say:
1) Respect for others is a lost art in our country. For example, I am consistently baffled when I pass a group of people on the sidewalk who are taking up the entire sidewalk, and not one of them moves either in front of or behind the group to make way for the one person passing. It doesn't matter what city or state I am in, this always seems to happen and it is one of my biggest pet peeves. What entitles these people to take up the entire sidewalk and think that I don't deserve to walk on the sidewalk too? Why should I be pushed off into the grass or the road? My issue here is not just sidewalk hogs...it is the bigger picture of disrespectful behavior in our society. Maybe my parents raised me to be so polite to others that I am hyper-sensitive to those who do not show me the same courtesy....I don't really know where this pet peeve comes from. Sometimes Karl tells me that I should just let these things go, but for some reason I feel it is my duty to alert people to their disrespectful behavior with the hope that they will become more cognizant of others. All I know is that today I was teaching my class the process of being a critical thinker and one aspect of critical thinking is having respect for all people and their opinions. It doesn't mean that you necessarily have to agree with that person, but an attempt should be made to understand their point of view or where they are coming from. "Put yourself in the other person's shoes", as the saying goes. I think that lesson is long forgotten with many people in this day and age, and it bothers me. People think they can say whatever they want to whomever they want, however rude or out of line or inappropriate it may be. I try to live by the philosophy that you should always treat others with respect because you never know when you might encounter that person in the future and need a favor from them or be in a social situation with them where it could become extremely awkward if you have been rude in the past.
2) I am usually very opposed to celebrities becoming vocal about who they think people should vote for in an election. To me, it seems that these celebrities are not political experts and they have the power to sway so many people that it is almost criminal for them to endorse a candidate. I was furious when Oprah so strongly endorsed Obama earlier this year. Some people treat Oprah as if she's God, and some people are such big fans that they would literally jump off a bridge if she told them to. As a Hillary supporter, I just didn't think it was right for Oprah to have such an influence. In my mind, people needed to go out and find the facts for themselves and then decide who to vote for. Well, the tables have turned....I am now in favor of the celebrity endorsements because I feel like anything that anyone can do to help Obama win this election is going to help our country in the long run. Today Karl told me about a video clip on Youtube of Matt Damon speaking out about how he is afraid of Sarah Palin becoming the Vice President (or possibly President!), and I have to admit that old Matty boy brought up some excellent points. Here is the video if you are interested in watching it:
3) All this talk about respect might have you wondering how I can talk negatively about some people such as Sarah Palin. For the record, I want to say that I gave her a chance and I took the time to learn everything about her that I possibly could before making a decision. While I respect her right to hold the opinions and viewpoints that she does, I just simply do not agree with her. I think Sarah Palin and I are about as opposite as two women can possibly be when it comes to our stances and views on the political matters at hand in our country, and I also believe that some information that has come out about her shows that she is not the moral, straight-talking, do-gooder that she wants us to all believe she is. The same "opposite" statement can be said for Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin - they have nothing in common. I think one of the reasons I love Hillary Clinton so much is because I see a lot of myself in her. After reading a 500+ page biography on her, I realized that I took attacks on Hillary so personally because I feel as though I'm very similar to her, and I think that my mom is as well, so sometimes it felt like an attack on me even though it really wasn't at all. I also took it very personally when close friends or family supported Obama over Hillary - trust me, it caused me a lot of grief - and I now realize I shouldn't have taken that personally either. I might see similarities, but believe me - I NEVER want to get into politics! :)
**On the note of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, here is an article my mom sent me this morning that I think is very good and worth reading. It was written by a Hillary supporter and talks about how people are calling for Hillary to attack Palin, but she shouldn't.
4) Some days you just need to relax. Tonight Karl and I were planning to go to an IU Alumni Association event in San Francisco, but once we both got home from work we realized that we were both exhausted. Insted of forcing ourselves to go, we decided to stay in, get some Chinese takeout (from King Dong! Our third time to go there! haha), and spend some quality downtime together. We had an excellent walk to and from King Dong and it was so soothing to have that time to just talk and enjoy each other's company. Now that we're both working again it is tough to get used to not seeing each other all day. A relaxing night in was just what we needed tonight and I don't feel bad about skipping out on the IU event.
5) Something inside of me is really craving the Kevin Bacon dancing/gymnastics scene from Footloose. Wow, what a great movie...they don't make 'em like that anymore. And there's no denying it...you know I've imitated this scene a time or two in my day! (Well, except for the full twisting double back off of a high bar that just happens to be in a barn...haha) Enjoy! And have a great end of the week!!!
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