Trumped

It occurs to me that Donald Trump represents the very best and the very worst of American culture.  On the one hand he is the picture of success and resilience.  On the other hand, he's a gas-bag headline whore who thrives on attention no matter the cost.  

I've been quite irritated with Donald Trump for the past several months because of all this running for President talk.  Let me be brutally clear...Donald Trump is Ross Perot reincarnated...PERIOD.  Donald Trump no more wants to run this country than Ross Perot did back in his day.  

The breakdown:  Every so often there is a man with enough personality and money to join a Presidential election in order to accomplish one goal.  The goal is to take away votes from a party in order to get a particular and desired candidate into office.  In other words, Donald Trump is trying to influence the outcome of the Presidential election in a way that will ultimately benefit him as a business man.  I can tell you right now, Donald Trump is not going to step away from his billion dollar empire to take the political job equivalent of working at Macy's as a cashier.  It's simply not going to happen.   

Then came the Obama birth certificate talk...  This is the point at which I moved from irritated to pissed off.  Trump used sensationalism and crack-pot conspiracy theories to get free advertising.  After all, the only thing Donal Trump has EVER tried to sell is "Trump".  It's a global brand with many different offerings.  He's not trying to sell anything in particular, just the overall brand.  He IS the brand.  So, any time he appears in a news conference or on a TV show it's a push for the Trump brand.  The sad part of this ordeal is that there are people out there that buy into this crap.  They believe that President Obama has not proven that he was born in the US.  Certain people continue to ignore that he's issued the legal document that is used by all Hawaiians now.  The long form is no longer even accepted for legal purposes in the state of Hawaii.  So what Trump and other nay-sayers have been asking to see is a document that is no longer legally relevant.

Trump has seen from the start that he could use this issue to get press time.  He laments the fact that news organizations only ask him about the birth certificate.  There are two reasons for that.  First, it's just about the only thing he has to talk about.  Second, he keeps making statements about the birth certificate that only generate more questions, which really means more press.  He may be fooling some people, but he's not fooling everyone.  He's most certainly not fooling me.  

The Bottom Line:  Business men in the vein of Ross Perot and Donald Trump will say and do ANYTHING to make a dollar.  Ross Perot ran as an Independent in 1992.  One of his campaign talking points was not outsourcing American jobs.  In 2009, Perot Systems was sold to Dell for 3.9 billion dollars.  Dell...one of the largest outsourcing companies around.  Don't get Trumped.  This is some knee-deep Voodoo. 

(click on the word Voodoo above for hilarious reminder of the type of person we are dealing with)

   

On The Verge

It's just before 5AM on what should be just another Tuesday.  It's painfully quiet here in my apartment, even with the white noise in the background.  All this silence has left me thinking about my life and where it's headed.  It's an odd experience to constantly feel on the verge of greatness or disaster.  It's how I've found myself feeling more often than not lately.   I have a career, bills are paid, a teeny tiny bit of money in the bank, a beautiful apartment, you know...all the basics.  Even still, I can't help but sense that the universe is still out to trial on whether my life will really be great or not.  It's strange how one can feel so out of place when everything is seemingly in order.

It's very much like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel but not being not awake enough to determine if it's a train or the baby Jesus.  Maybe this is what purgatory feels like.  Am I being made ready for something?  I wish I could share with you that I've just been enlightened with the answer to my own question, but alas, not so much.  I suppose it's really more philosophical than literal, although the two seem to intertwine effortlessly.  

I have bad dreams to thank for this moment of mental Purgatory that I find myself in.  I should be asleep; not tapping away on my laptop listening to my ice maker work over-time.  I've decided that since I have to be up early, I will just make some coffee and push through this sleepless and thoughtful moment in time.

The Bottom Line: I will let you know as soon as I find it.

One Way Street

As a Dallas native, you'd think Downtown Dallas(pictured above) would be a breeze for me.  Not so much.  I end up driving the wrong way on a one way street every time.  It's as reliable as the rising of the moon.  It WILL happen.  It would seem that I can do nothing to prevent it.  I just pray I make it out in one piece.  One thing is certain though, I always find my way out.  As it turns out most times, my adventures in avoiding head-on collisions often place me in the perfect spot to get out of the area.  Go figure.

It occurs to me that life is really the same way.  Sometimes we avoid things that seem like a "wrong way".  We follow the signs that have been laid out for us...keeping our lives moving in the same directions as everyone else.  The issue with this is that sometimes we need to get lost or turned around.  We need to travel down that one way street because in the end, it will get us to where we need to go.  Yes, it may go against conventional wisdom; hell, it may even be dangerous.  Sometimes we have to take risks.  Sure, there are roads that are well traveled and signs that tell us which way we should go, but hey...new roads are always being built.

The Bottom Line:
Don't be afraid of traveling the wrong way on a one way street.  It may end up being the exact path you needed to take.  Just watch for oncoming cars and chances are, you will still end up right where you belong!

Fag

I recently discovered that I have an internal struggle.  No, I'm not coming out of the closet.  If you are reading this blog, you are about nine years too late for that story!  The struggle I'm speaking of is how offended I feel when straight people use the word "fag" as a way to insult other straight people.  It's taken me back to that mentality of... 'I can say it because I AM ONE'.  For example, African-Americans referring to themselves as 'Niggas'...  It's not really cool for white people to say it, unless of course you are a white rapper.  I also know Mexicans who refer to themselves as Wetbacks, but you wouldn't catch me saying it.  Even Jews have little reserve about self-depreciating humor.  It does seems like a double-standard to me.  At the same time, part of me feels like I've paid my 'gay dues'.  I feel I have the right to call someone a fag if I want, although I rarely call a straight person a fag; and I really only use the term with people that I know.  It occurs to me that if you are Black, or Jewish, or Mexican, or Gay, etc...you automatically get a pass to give derogatory terms your own meaning and power.  Maybe that way of thinking is wrong.  Maybe nobody should ever use derogatory terms, even among one's own "group".  

I'm not pretending to be on one side of this issue or the other.  I really am torn.  I absolutely believe in freedom of speech.  On the other hand, I am a firm believer in responsible speech.  Know your audience.  Show some respect.  I understand that some people discount the term "fag" because they've never had to experience the rejection, pain, hatred, or contempt that can go along with being openly gay.  Maybe it's just that it's too soon to be insensitive about it.  After all, while there is still racism in the world, the general struggle for basic rights is fading.  Gays in America are still in the middle of a fight to be treated as equals under the law.  Maybe 10...20...30 years from now the word fag won't carry the sting that it does right now.  Until then, I will always try to speak with my audience in mind. I will do my best to remember that I shouldn't discount any one group because of who they are or even what they believe.  It's not an easy task, as I do not agree with everyone about everything.  I do, however, always try to respect those I come into contact with...even if they are raging lunatics.  ;-)

Truth or Dare

I'm deep in thought on another inglorious Monday.  I'm thinking about the game...Truth or Dare.  If you've played this game a lot, you may have noticed a trend.  There are those who will almost always choose Truth and then there are those who will always choose Dare.  I've yet to meet a person who was equal parts dare and truth.  It just never seems to work out that way.

Many personal relationships are marred by a truth or dare mentality.  You have those people who will always tell you when you have a booger on your face or that you are way too fat to be wearing that.  Then there are those who call themselves friends but spend the entire relationship just daring you to discover that they have a hidden agenda.  Sometimes the agenda is romantic.  Sometimes it's convenience.  Every once in a while they turn out to be nothing less than your enemy.

Where does this fascination with playing games in relationships come from?  Why do we feel the need to play Truth or Dare with those we allegedly care about?  Shouldn't it always be truth?  Are relationships mostly based on lies and mutually accepted delusions?  (For you hard core Sex and the City fans, that last question will sound familiar.)  As a kid, I can remember being scolded by adults for being childish or immature or silly.  I'm beginning to think the children have it right.  Consider this, most little kids will simply look you in the face and tell you they don't like you...or to go away...or I don't want to play with you.  Adults on the other hand, will go to lunch with you, add you on their Facebook page, or even show up at your party.  When it comes to relationships, maybe we SHOULD be acting like children.  What would happen if we all were to partake in a brutal honesty week?  Oh...Em...Gee.  People's friends list would be slashed in half.  There could even be a fist fight!  All hell would break loose. The sad thing is, the only thing that seems to be "holding things together" is this sense of playing games.

What on earth could we accomplish with our newly found free time?  Cutting to the chase could add days or weeks of free time to your life.  With all the time not wasted on bullshitting with people in our lives we could learn a new language, go back to school, take up a hobby, or any number of productive and honest things.

The Bottom Line: There are worse things in life than being a mother-fucker.  Tell the truth.  Don't get caught up in the games that are all too easy to play.  If there is a giant booger on someone's face, for god's sake...TELL THEM!