Monday, January 8, 2018

Random Thoughts for the New Year

On leaving the past behind: 2017 was such a year of chaos, full of hurricanes, shootings, earthquakes, political and social unrest etc. I guess I felt at home in such an environment since chaos and anarchy (though we needed more anarchy) does inspire me, but I spent most of my time working. I worked harder this year than I have since 1998, so I apologize for not blogging as much and canceling my google plus accounts. I just didn't have the time for it. Still, I have to reflect because 2017 was a million stories all in one, so here goes:

On Politics: Politics, it seems to me, is all about people fighting for what they want. There's still a lot of racism and sexism in the world and the transparency of the internet has made that very clear. What gets me is this belief that if we give some people their rights, it takes away the rights of others. If we give women power, somehow men will be dis-empowered or if we let blacks or immigrants speak out, whites will lose their privilege and so on and so forth. This is all absolutely ridiculous. If we all had rights, we'd all have equal advantages and no one would have to fight with each other. It's not about competition, its about cooperation. Our party system makes politics out to be a constant competition and because of this, we bicker with one another rather than work with each other to find the best solutions for our country.
I believe that if you want the government to be fair you have to pretend you are not born yet. You have no idea if you'll be black, white, male female, rich, poor, healthy, disabled; in short, you will have no other choice but to back laws that are fair to all people, no matter which class, race or situation they are in.
But humans are egotistical and we only see our own stories.

On the Me Too movement: Me too. I've been assaulted. I've been harassed. Heck, I've been harassed so many times, I've sort of accepted it as a part of being a woman. Luckily, I know martial arts or I'd probably a victim of rape too. I used to brag about the times I fought off an assailant but now I can't help thinking about what could have happened had I not succeeded. Yet if I were to get into that, I get ignored, trolled, told to shut up. I'm happy to see I'm not the only one.
I'm actually relieved women are speaking out. I was once a struggling actress and I was always afraid of the casting couch. Its one of the reasons I didn't pursue acting. I'm glad they got rid of that, for the sake of future generations who have similar dreams. I'm actually really grateful for this movement.
Just, to set the record straight, sexual assault is not the same thing as complimenting a woman or telling a dirty joke. Grabbing a woman by the pussy at work, without her consent is not the same as being afraid of saying the wrong thing. If you can't see the difference, you're an idiot and nothing I say can get you to understand so I'll just leave it at that.

On Natural Disasters: I'm not going to list all the hurricanes, earthquakes, fires etc. but it seemed that there was no respite from disasters of biblical proportions. There were so many funds and charities and just when you give to one, there's another disaster. I'm lucky I wasn't affected, at least not that much. It really puts things in perspective. Who are we to complain about adulting when there are people out there who are dying and losing their homes? And when I say "adulting" I'm referring to those who complain about having to be responsible and act like an adult. If that's the worst of your problems, you have it pretty easy.

Did Any Good Come From This? I'm always glad when a year is over but its not like it all ends abruptly, like some kind of parallel universe shift. The same issues usually continue into the next year or even the next.
If anything, I do take the time at the end of the year to make resolutions and reflect on my life. If I don't, I become one of those unhappy people, stuck in a rut who think they have no control over their lives. Life goes on. I helped a lot of people in my day job. My family is still in tact despite all the craziness going on in the world and for that I must be grateful.
There will always be social unrest and acts of nature. Life is unpredictable, except for death and taxes. We know its short. We know bad stuff will happen so we have to enjoy the sunsets when we can. Stop and watch the dew settle on a flower every once and a while. Somehow, noticing these little things makes the other stuff seem smaller too.
Life is short. Be bold. Be crazy. Kick ass if you have to but don't forget that love is still the most important thing.

This photo was taken in the middle of an ugly city. Thank God for blossoms. :)


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