I ended up catching a bit of Paul Ryan's speech on the news last night. There were a couple of things that he said that I thought were rather hilarious.
1. "You haven't failed. Your leaders have failed you."
This statement is very Uncle Sam-esque and memorable. However, this logic is flawed (pause) because if we are really honest with ourselves, the truth is that we have some control regarding our own failure. If a student fails a test, it is likely that that student did something to cause this calamity to happen. The student might have chosen to not study enough or possibly got wasted in lieu of being responsible. There are countless possibilities to explain the failure, but the individual must realize that they had some hand in such a failure.
Given that the Republican campaign is economy-based, this comment likely refers to failure in relation to unemployment. However, there are a lot of people living in the United States. Is it really the President's responsibility to make sure all citizens are gainfully employed? I believe that we as individuals have to apply for jobs and go to interviews. Frankly, our leaders have to focus more on bigger pictures than those of the rugged individual when working themselves. To expect our leaders to make life easy for us is just plain ridiculous.
It is hard to get things done among the three branches of government. The President can only get what he or she wants done when the majority of the Congress coincides with his or her own political party. Anyone who will believe that it is as simple as, "let's blame the President" does not understand the complexities of the American republic democracy.
2. He said something or other about how the Romney-Ryan ticket wanted to clean up this past Presidency as well as the past Presidency before that one.
I thought this statement was hilarious because Ryan inadvertently dissed his own political party because Bush was the President before Obama and he was a Republican. Hence, this statement was an admission that putting the country in the hands of Republicans does not always work out for the best for the nation.
In any case, I was very amused by Ryan's speech. I chuckled to myself and decided to share my thoughts on my blog. If nothing else, Presidential campaigns are entertaining to watch. I like to analyze the words spoken, when they are particularly interesting.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Why It Might Be Advisable To Become A Workaholic
So I had a temporary appointment job over the summer. It was "hands down" the BEST JOB I've ever had. It suited me well, there was tons to learn so I was never bored, and I met some really awesome people. I made friends and I feel like I haven't made those in terms of work friends in a long time. I also feel that I grew as a person and am better for having worked as hard as I worked this summer.
It's been a little over a week since my appointment ended and I've been completely lost ever since. I felt really sad because it was a sudden loss of purpose for me. Having a full-time job had also been a huge boost of confidence for me. It was a nice feeling to be needed on a project.
This sudden sense of loss made me feel like I better understand what it is like to be laid off, suddenly without a job with nothing but free time on your hands. I think after this experience, I understand why my dad's side of the family is full of workaholics. It's easier to live life when focusing on tasks than on trying to fix whatever insecurities I have related to self-esteem or the desire to do well in life as a woman living in a man's world.
When I was left to my own devices, I found I had a lot of worries that work dispelled from my mind. Frankly, I didn't have time to fret about what I fretted about before because I had an interesting job to keep me occupied.
I thank my lucky stars that my little brother Matt was in town visiting. I love him to death and he's amazing company. He's honestly the nicest person I know. He always puts the needs of others above any inconvenience he has to endure. I tend to be more selfish at times, but watching him do so much because he cares about other people is something I admire about him.
I feel really fortunate to have such great siblings. I'm proud of all of them for various things and notice qualities in them that are extraordinary. I also have great parents and accomplished cousins. There are so many wonderful people surrounding me. I hope I can continue to live up to the standard set around me.
It's been a little over a week since my appointment ended and I've been completely lost ever since. I felt really sad because it was a sudden loss of purpose for me. Having a full-time job had also been a huge boost of confidence for me. It was a nice feeling to be needed on a project.
This sudden sense of loss made me feel like I better understand what it is like to be laid off, suddenly without a job with nothing but free time on your hands. I think after this experience, I understand why my dad's side of the family is full of workaholics. It's easier to live life when focusing on tasks than on trying to fix whatever insecurities I have related to self-esteem or the desire to do well in life as a woman living in a man's world.
When I was left to my own devices, I found I had a lot of worries that work dispelled from my mind. Frankly, I didn't have time to fret about what I fretted about before because I had an interesting job to keep me occupied.
I thank my lucky stars that my little brother Matt was in town visiting. I love him to death and he's amazing company. He's honestly the nicest person I know. He always puts the needs of others above any inconvenience he has to endure. I tend to be more selfish at times, but watching him do so much because he cares about other people is something I admire about him.
I feel really fortunate to have such great siblings. I'm proud of all of them for various things and notice qualities in them that are extraordinary. I also have great parents and accomplished cousins. There are so many wonderful people surrounding me. I hope I can continue to live up to the standard set around me.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
An Insightful Passage, Why I Respect It, and Why Humans Are Fortunate
I've been reading this interesting book that I checked out from the "New Books" section of my library. I ran across this passage and felt it was written well, so I thought it was worth sharing:
"Miracles that cannot be explained as naturally occurring events depend on ignorance. I don't mean "ignorance" in a mean-spirited or condescending way. Let's take myself as an example. There are so many things I don't know about the universe that it would be ludicrous for me to witness something that I can't explain and, because it stumps me, declare that it must be a magical or miraculous event. Wouldn't it be far more likely that I simply don't know enough to explain what is going on by natural means? The only sensible and honest way to react to something you do not understand is to admit that you do not understand it. Filling in a blank with a made-up answer is intellectually shallow and dishonest. It seems to me that we all would do better to simply admit that many so-called supernatural miracles are mysteries. Sometimes things happen that we cannot explain. Of course some people can't stand to leave loose strings dangling so they pretend to know by saying it was the act of a god. I suggest we embrace the phrase, "I don't know." It seems to get a bad rap, but "I don't know" is a respectable answer when one doesn't know."
- quoted from Guy P. Harrison from 50 popular beliefs that people think are true on page 82
I respect this passage for a few reasons. First, Harrison raises a valid argument for admitting ignorance instead of using a commonplace word like "miracle". Second, he cares about the feelings of his audience and cares enough to explain the intention of his expression. Third, Harrison is smart enough to explain the absurdity of the use of the word using himself as the case example. Fourth, I feel like I think a lot like him and could have written this myself. Fifth, my aunt has been embracing the phrase "I don't know" for years now. It is, in fact, her answer of choice when speaking with her children because it is non-confrontational. Thus, I felt this passage was especially brilliant and worth noting in my blog.
Many events can be explained by scientific reasoning and developed understanding. It makes sense that we, as humans, must hone our skills and strive to understand the world around us and are limited in the magnitude and areas of interest for which we understand.
It is okay not to understand everything because learning and thinking is so important for enhancing the human life. I feel very fortunate to be able to live my life as a human, being able to read, think, and learn about the world around me and acknowledge the wonder of it all. It is cool to observe phenomena that seems bigger than us and later understand the science behind it. Humans are a fortunate species.
"Miracles that cannot be explained as naturally occurring events depend on ignorance. I don't mean "ignorance" in a mean-spirited or condescending way. Let's take myself as an example. There are so many things I don't know about the universe that it would be ludicrous for me to witness something that I can't explain and, because it stumps me, declare that it must be a magical or miraculous event. Wouldn't it be far more likely that I simply don't know enough to explain what is going on by natural means? The only sensible and honest way to react to something you do not understand is to admit that you do not understand it. Filling in a blank with a made-up answer is intellectually shallow and dishonest. It seems to me that we all would do better to simply admit that many so-called supernatural miracles are mysteries. Sometimes things happen that we cannot explain. Of course some people can't stand to leave loose strings dangling so they pretend to know by saying it was the act of a god. I suggest we embrace the phrase, "I don't know." It seems to get a bad rap, but "I don't know" is a respectable answer when one doesn't know."
- quoted from Guy P. Harrison from 50 popular beliefs that people think are true on page 82
I respect this passage for a few reasons. First, Harrison raises a valid argument for admitting ignorance instead of using a commonplace word like "miracle". Second, he cares about the feelings of his audience and cares enough to explain the intention of his expression. Third, Harrison is smart enough to explain the absurdity of the use of the word using himself as the case example. Fourth, I feel like I think a lot like him and could have written this myself. Fifth, my aunt has been embracing the phrase "I don't know" for years now. It is, in fact, her answer of choice when speaking with her children because it is non-confrontational. Thus, I felt this passage was especially brilliant and worth noting in my blog.
Many events can be explained by scientific reasoning and developed understanding. It makes sense that we, as humans, must hone our skills and strive to understand the world around us and are limited in the magnitude and areas of interest for which we understand.
It is okay not to understand everything because learning and thinking is so important for enhancing the human life. I feel very fortunate to be able to live my life as a human, being able to read, think, and learn about the world around me and acknowledge the wonder of it all. It is cool to observe phenomena that seems bigger than us and later understand the science behind it. Humans are a fortunate species.
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