It was "Perry" Enlightening

Earlier this week, Governor Rick Perry's campaign released an approved advertisement starring the man whom (up until this point) I had felt was a passable individual, no better or worse than most politicians in my sight. Sure, he could forget parts of his speech or key ideas of what he planned to do over a four to eight year run, but you know what? The man wasn't reading everything from a teleprompter, and as a Texan I had seen him handle crisis. I agreed with him more than the current administration, and was willing to allow him some foibles. Then came the campaign ad that the internet has been having so much fun with:




While I maintain folks are guaranteed free thought and speech, there are times when it would still be best to keep your mouth shut. These statements are insulting and backwards, and a vain attempt to garner the vote of what has been a consistently shrinking demographic. While not a directly hateful statement is made, the homophobia is palpable. The message could only mean that Perry is squigged-out by Gays, he doesn't want them allowed to be here, and therefore you shouldn't either. After all, if you're not welcome to serve your country and fellow man while still being who you are without being relegated to the crappiest, least-glamorous positions, wouldn't that put you on par with being an African American soldier before desegregation of the armed forces?


Drawing from that idea and his statements in his video, I can only speculate that whatever Perry's solution to the LGBT community would be, it would be on par with anti-miscegeneration laws or Jim Crow, while Christians would be just as privileged in the U.S. as members of The Party would be in North Korea. Speaking as a conservative non-Christian non-Republican, that scares the willies out of me. Like "stockpile food, ammo, and hiding places" kind of scaring the willies out of me.


I'm going to be completely frank: I wouldn't be writing this blog post and putting it up for all the world to see if it weren't for the blinding conceit of the Perry campaign. Their webpage's "contact" section is nothing but links to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media, as well as ways to contribute time and funds for the campaign. Their YouTube and Facebook channels are tightly edited and obviously so.


I moved here to Texas almost four years ago, in order to marry my fiance and properly start our own lives. We both wanted to serve our fellows and our state, and so we joined Texas's official militia, The Texas State Guard. I was proud to help, and glad that the governor's office funded and controlled such a thing. We did training and missions for disaster relief, disaster recovery, search and rescue... and though I did not get deployed myself, my unit consistently deployed and acted with integrity and honor in the State and the Governor's name. Water was dispensed, cleaning supplies given out, food and shelter maintained for thousands of Texans, Louisianans, Arkansians, and illegal aliens. Yeah, there are some real Bubbas in the individual units, but on the whole the people were dedicated.


We took orders from (and gave our oaths of service to) the office of the Governor of the State of Texas. That means that while I was volunteering (we were only paid if deployed), I was taking orders from Rick Perry. I was proud to serve my new state, and to give a service which allowed the more important people of the National Guard to handle their own duties without having to worry so much about our own. Even after having to end my enlistment early due to financial hardships, I was proud to have served my state, and felt that Mister Perry had done well enough by us.


Now with this video, everything I thought about the man (and to some extent my residence) has been thrown into question. He seems to genuinely believe what he's said. That's all well and good, until it comes down to infringing on the personal freedoms and beliefs of others. That is why I completely withdraw my support of this ignoramus, and I hope he fails miserably in his bid for the Republican nomination.

Adjustments

The past few weeks have been a mind-numbing, nerve wracking blur. I'm very busy with my studies in the Avionics department at TSTC - Waco. Prior to starting this course of study, I'd only dabbled in online classes since before I moved to Texas a few years ago. Probably the hardest part of it all has been keeping the various operating and maintenance frequencies and regulations straight between the installation class, systems class, and the electronics coursework.

Even though at the time I was very upset about not getting to transfer my job from down south (and thus becoming a member of the voluntarily unemployed), the fact that I've not been working has been a blessing in disguise. Yes, money has been tight the past month (and the only creatures who have been guaranteed a meal here are the cats). Yes, the wife now has a job, and is looking for better employment for herself that will use her skills. No, I'm not unhappy with things here, but I am consistently bothered by the fact that things in general could be better.

That has proven to be a source of internal strife. Social harmony is extremely important to me. I want things to go well and I want people to be happy, because that in turn makes me happy. The social cycle of passing on a courtesy done by someone else comes to mind; if someone does something nice for you (say, holding a door or excusing themselves if they need past you in an aisle), and you do something equally courteous when the situation arises, perhaps it will continue on.

I've felt like nothing but a resource whore the past two months. Even being polite to random strangers, helping people in need when it's within my means, keeping the food coming from the kitchen when the pantry gets low... somehow, it was failing to click. I felt awful, and was sure I was being awful.

Today is a day where I feel like I've accomplished a lot: I've made a huge pot of beef curry and a loaf of bread, I managed to send my wife to work with a packed lunch (though she had to heat it up herself before packing it in her thermal bento), and the laundry is halfway caught up. Between that and some time spent meditating, things are looking better. Hopefully after I finish my homework and do some studying tonight, I'll still feel this way about it!

Senseless

This morning I just watched the news about the Indiana State Fair's stage collapse. While I'm extremely glad that only a handful of people were killed by the destruction of the stage, any loss of life and limb caused by this is regrettable. From first glance, it looks like a lot of things combined to make it an avoidable accident that no-one knew about. Hopefully no one was neglectful, because a death caused by negligence often incites rage or murderous intent (lynchings do still happen, after all - just not often in the US).

It strikes me as one of those examples of how life is completely transient. This gift we're given, the chance at life on this turn of the great cosmic wheel has no guarantees of anything other than an eventual death. When we see others suffer or die we're reminded of that. It can be quite the psychological burden to bear, knowing that you survive as others do not.

The solace I take from having seen this tragedy on the news is that others immediately rushed to help. People reportedly used the clothing from their own bodies to provide tourniquets and bandages to those who were injured, and still others comforted the dying. It was one of those moments which make me proud to be who I am, where I am. The combined effort of bystanders and professional rescuers alike must have saved or eased many who were caught in that accident. Certainly, people must have prayed both for life, for release and relief from pain and suffering. I too pray for the safety and continued life of those who were hurt, but I also pray for the safe release of the spirits of those who were hurt.

Shinto has the tradition of placating the ara-tama, the wild spirit of those who have passed on before us. Much like offering placation to the kami who are capable of wildness and anger (it is not their stated goal, mind you), one should see to it that those who passed unexpectedly in fear and pain are not disturbed. The confusion of a sudden, senseless death is a hindrance to those spirits; they continue to exist, but may have problems adjusting to their new existence. That is why I hope and pray for the safe passage of those who lost their lives, and for the relief of suffering for those who live.

Ambling

Today the wife and I had an incoming student orientation to attend at the college we're going to be taking courses from. It sounded like it might produce some useful information, and supposedly our attendance was mandatory. We were soundly disappointed by its focus on the 17-18 year old crowd (which we expected, of course), but in general I felt ignored because I am in the Aviation department and not a single mention was made of the department. The people putting on the orientation were all students and graduates of the Mass Communications and Graphic Design elements of our institution, so a little bias is to be expected (who doesn't favor their preferred area, after all?), but it felt more like we were being preached to than given useful information.

A representative from Monster College (a subsidiary of Monster.com) was there to speak to us and give a demonstration. He was dressed in a decent suit of 1950-1960 cut, his hair was slicked back in a realistic pompadour, and he certainly was good at public speaking... just not to a smallish community college crowd. His information and presentation were geared towards large institutions (say Texas A&M), and his inability to impress any other information on us besides the fact that we should be active in our fields from day one and that our GPAs are now more important than ever before (thanks to a series of computational tools that prospective employers use).

When the Master of Ceremonies announced that it was time for everyone to don their free T-shirts and take a group photo before break time, the wife and I were most unimpressed. Many of the more serious students were of like mind to us, and we left as soon as it became apparent that no second roll call would be made. After some attempted errands ended in failure, we've returned home and I have a late lunch cooking in the kitchen.

What has colored my day as an okay day, however, was our early morning walk. Normally, the wife and I have been getting to the track shortly before the time we were due to the orientation. Today we opted to cut our sleep short and go for our customary walk before sunrise. The weather was cool and calm, and we observed a small family of near-feral cats on both our way to and from the track.

Those kittens and the amazingly cool (for this time of year) temperatures on the morning of this hot Texas day have me feeling better about my situation and my place in things than I feel I otherwise would. Even on a day when I felt lousy, didn't want to go anywhere or do anything, and certainly felt railroaded into going to something I surely felt was a waste of my time by the end of it (if not before), a small pack of kittens playing in the grass outside someone's home brightened my day.

I can only hope that I can be of similar service to someone in my life. Even just once, it would make me feel better about how much I believe I should serve society and those within it. Hopefully it would be more dignified than wrestling in the dewy grass, but still... the image is there.