10 Times George Carlin Nailed Humanity on the Head

"If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little."

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."

"The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions."

"By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth."

"Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit."

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A continuation on my post about nationalism and humanism

I was raised by devoutly Christian parents. Parents who, in everything they did, showed me how they believed Jesus would want them to live, by emulating him every chance they got. If someone, or something needed a home, that meant we were getting a new family member. Whether it be a 3-legged dog, or cat that no one else wanted, a pain in the ass horse caught in barbed wire on the side of the road, a sick puppy who no one else was going to rescue from the pound, my friends running from bad situations at home, special needs and disabled people who's families needed respite or later in my life any of my many poorly thought out boyfriends/girlfriends who had no where else to go. They taught me, in the easiest way to teach a child anything, by acting: That when someone is hungry, you feed them. When someone is naked, you clothe them. When someone is homeless, you shelter them.

While I do not believe for a moment that you have to be a Christian to have these values. I think it is a slap in the face to the religion you pretend to represent when you refuse to acknowledge what Jesus himself would do in a situation.

I'm not a Christian, but I am extremely proud to be the daughter of 2 of the best Christians I know. It is because of their life lessons that I strive to take care of those that need care, regardless of how different from me they may be. It is because of them, that every time I see someone call for us to "blow away the middle east", "shut down our borders", "turn away refugees", "kill all the Muslims", etc etc ad nauseum, it breaks my heart.

Arguably, I put the lives of my children above anything else in this world, because as a mother that is how I was genetically programmed. I know, that there are billions of other mothers on this planet who feel the same way about their children. I cannot imagine the pain of being turned away from a safe harbor with hungry, frightened and tired children in your arms or by your side. I cannot imagine feeling the winter set in, and knowing, that if something does not change soon you will watch them freeze to death. I can not imagine, the loathing, self-doubt, and horror that is running through these mother's veins as they wonder, "will anyone help us" "did we do the right thing by running" "what if we had stayed" "will we ever be safe" "will my children ever be free from nightmares" "will the bombs follow us wherever we go" "will I ever have somewhere to call home".

I don't care what religion they are, or what country they are from. There are terrified children out there who have been running for their lives only to be stopped at a fence, or a wall, or a checkpoint and told "No. Your life is not valuable enough to save. For the sins of your nation, and your religious zealots you will have to die here."

I don't understand how you can want to do anything other than pick those children up and carry them home. I blame you mom and dad. It's your fault I'm not an asshole.

Nationalism vs Humanism

Invisible barriers drawn as lines onto maps should not be the decisive factor in whether someone lives or dies. Where someone is born does not designate their importance. Being born in this country was a matter of luck. You did absolutely nothing to earn it. Nothing. You have never fought for it, shed blood for it, or even strived to make it better. Yet you believe that you deserve all that you have, and that those who've run, swam, paddled, dragged and carried themselves through things you probably cannot imagine should be barred entry because less than 1% of them might hurt somebody? How is that logical? 

Many people consider nationalism as a form of patriotism. However, upon closer reading of the rules of this attitude, those two terms have nothing in common apart from love of homeland. The term nationalism originated with the Latin word natio - race, nation, it defines ideology in which the highest value is the good of the country.

According to principles of nationalism, only a homogeneous nation, connected by language, culture and history, is an ideal form of social organization. Nationalism rejects ethnic minorities, strives to racial segregation and is reluctant when it comes to relations with neighboring countries. Twenty-first century concept of nationalism, based on social Darwinism, compares social life to the world of nature, where the constant struggle takes place, and only the strongest can survive.

There is nothing wrong with loving your country or being proud of it, but nationalism puts your own nation above others and above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice. Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love; love for one's country which is not part of one's love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship.

Nationalism is inherently divisive because it highlights perceived differences between people, emphasizing an individuals identification with their own nation. The idea is also potentially oppressive because it submerges individual identity within a national whole, and gives elites or political leaders potential opportunities to manipulate or control the masses.

Hitler used nationalism to convince his people they had the right to rule the world. Israel used it to deny Palestinians their human rights. We have seen it again and again throughout history used to demonize others, justify war and commit atrocities. I am seeing it in my own country now, tearing people are part, making some think they are better than others.

At this point we ought to recognize that there is a humanist outlook now emerging in this world, which is trans-cultural. It cuts across frontiers and the cultural divide. If you tolerate all ethnic differences equally you are going to conflict. We have to move beyond that. Ethnic groupings are accidental, based on geographical isolation, with cultures and languages developing over a relatively short period of time in human history. We are reaching a stage where ethnicity can be reactionary, regressive, and divisive.

I favor liberation and tolerance, but a new planetary society is emerging. This global culture is authentically humanistic; it goes beyond chauvinistic ethnicity; it opens the door to a new, more inclusive ethnicity where we are all members of the world community.

Geographic boundaries are arbitrary; accidents of recent history. What say should they have on the worth of a person? On what we can, or cannot do together?

The whole idea of national pride has always been suspect to me. I have only existed since 1988, so how exactly can I be proud of the accomplishments of Americans before me? And how can I be proud of the accomplishments of Americans period, unless that American is me? People who are proud to be a citizen of the country they were born in are fooling themselves. It was not an accomplishment to be born into a given country. It is an accident of history that they were born there. If you become a citizen of a country of your own volition, I can see cause for pride. But just showing up into the world in a given place shouldn't make anyone proud. It is merely, a chance spin in the cosmic lottery wheel. We're all accidents of history and genetics, and the only things we can truly take pride in are the things we have done ourselves or in connection with groups we have chosen to engage in.

Forget Nationalism, be a humanitarian. We are all equal, even though we may not all be the same.

Homelessness in America

Over time our opinions and beliefs change. For that reason I'd like to share with you some facts, and personal experiences relating to an issue that has grown near and dear to my heart over the last year.

Lets start with the stats:

     In 2013 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that approximately 610,000 people were homeless in America. Another report indicated that up to 3.5 MILLION people would experience some form of homelessness in any given year.

     There are 32,000 homeless individuals in Florida. 8% of the nations homeless population resides HERE, and yet we have the most violence against homeless people. We have been deemed the most dangerous state for homeless people year after year. Our state legislature goes so far as to outlaw us from helping the less fortunate. 

I want to help change this. 

2 years ago if you'd asked me how I felt about homelessness I probably wouldn't have had much to say. Which isn't because I didn't care or empathize. I just wasn't educated, and I didn't understand. 

I went to school on Main St in Hyannis, MA. I talked to homeless people every day, and I never truly  saw their struggles. They didn't show them to me. I just saw them as peers. I was always willing to share a cigarette or my sandwich with them but I didn't really understand what homelessness was, or how close most of us are to it. 

A little over a year ago I read an article on cracked.com, about how easy it is to become homeless, and what it entails. It really spoke to me, although I didn't do anything about it right away.

This year I put a lot of thought into what I'd like our Christmas traditions to be, and what kind of legacy I'd like to give to my children. I realized that I want to teach them about love, and about giving with no hope for a "return on investment". I wanted them to understand how lucky we are and also how much we have in common with those who aren't as lucky. So we made stockings for the local homeless people, and we brought the stockings to them. It was a small gesture but we all felt great afterwards.

Then, a few days ago, I recognized a homeless man outside of Firehouse, and I asked him to come inside and have lunch with me. He told me his story, he cried, and he thanked me, not just for the meal but for spending time with him and listening. Here is a snippet of what he told me:

He became homeless less than 6 months ago when his wife divorced him, for another man she had been cheating on him for 5 years of their 28 year marriage. He became unstable and had a mental breakdown. He selflessly checked himself into a mental health facility for a little under 3 months. When he got out he had defaulted on his mortgage, lost his car and a big chunk of his other assets. His job was not waiting for him. At this point he was heavily dependent on medication, considered himself unstable and violent and had no health insurance, however he did have a decent amount of savings. He went thru over 20 thousand dollars in the past 3 months. Staying in hotels, eating out constantly, paying for his medication, etc. Admittedly his decisions were not awesome, but at the time he was mostly worried about NOT murdering anyone. Despite the fact that he is now living on the street, without a job and coming off of almost all his medication he says that going to the hospital was still a good decision because he can live with nothing, but he could not live with blood on his hands. He was visibly anxious during our lunch, and I told him that I too suffer from anxiety and depression, that it's nothing to be ashamed of, and that I appreciated him sharing his story with me when it must have been very difficult. He once again teared up and told me that his 3 grown children didnt know he was in the hospital, or that he's homeless. That his parents, friends, ex wife etc are all clueless. That he hasn't been in touch with anyone. I gave him the change I had in my car and asked him to please call his family and atleast say merry christmas. I also gave him my "card" because it had my number on it and asked him to please call me if he needed to talk.

This brings me to my major point. The revelation I've had this year thru my own financial blunders and inexperience mistakes: It could happen to me. It could happen to you. It could happen to anyone. 

Homelessness is not always the result of a lifetime of fucks ups. Sometime's it's just one or two mistakes that can leave you on the street. Sometimes, no mistakes are even made at all. So before you look down on someone and assume they have a drug or alcohol problem or that they just aren't willing to try just imagine the hundreds of ways circumstances could put YOU in their shoes.

I'm not saying I'm gonna make a huge difference in the homeless populace. I'm probably not. But I AM going to treat them with dignity and respect. I'm going to continue to have lunch with people I know need it, and I'm going to bring some dollar store necessities to the homeless camps when I can. I'm going to treat these people like they're my friends because any one of my friends could easily be in their position.