Tueday afternoon Rantings
PuroFreak
Posts: 4,131 ✭✭
"Jacksonville Jaguars Player Critical After Shooting"
"100-Year-Old Woman Shot Dead in New York Home"
"Missing Toddler Caylee Anthony Likely Dead, Florida Police Say"
"2 killed in crash involving suspected drunk driver with previous DWI arrests"
For those of you who don't read the news much and don't spend countless hours bored in front of the computer while at work all night, these are 4 news headlines that were on the home page of a couple news sites. As I was reading through these stories this morning I realized just how tired I am of things like this happening and people out there making excuses for these pieces of garbage. The stories are all the same, "He came from a broken home in a bad part of town with no money and no options," "The schools aren't doing their job," "Rap (or Rock) music is leading them to this kind of violence," "No one gave him/her a chance in life..." Everyone has an excuse for the actions of these people and what it all basically boils down to is a total lack of morals and responsibility for one's own actions. All throughout today's society everyone is trying to find someone else to blame, political figures, teachers, the media, religious figures, lawyers, and psychologists spend countless hours and dollars trying to find someone else at fault. People aren't held accountable for their own actions today and what it all boils down to is that parents don't take the time to teach their children right from wrong and teach them that you have to take responsibility for what you do, whether it be good or bad. The MTV generation of today has been drilled through TV (a.k.a. The modern day baby sitter) this entitlement mentality that they can do what ever they want and face no consequences because they are are bored and the world owes them everything their hearts desire. Now many people are quick to shout that the government should censor these things to keep our children safe, but that is without a doubt NOT the answer. The answer lies in taking the time to teach our children that the guys from Jack Ass, Paris Hilton, Bam Margera, Lindsey Lohan and the billions of other idiots out there aren't role models and that the world doesn't owe anyone ANYTHING.
The second issue here deals with the inability to hold people responsible for their actions by law enforcement and our wonderful "in-justice" system. The last headline on this page sums it up, "2 killed in crash involving suspected drunk driver with previous DWI arrests" In this case, law enforcement did their job the best they could, they have arrested this deviant and locked him up on several occasions but for some reason he was still on the streets and now two people are dead because of this and three others are in the hospital seriously injured. He will be charged with Intoxication Manslaughter and IF convicted will be back on the streets in a few years behind the wheel again endangering more lives on a daily basis. The charge should be increased to First Degree Murder plain and simple because that's what it is. He might has well have mapped out a plan and assassinated these two people from the roof of a building somewhere because the outcome would be the same. He should be tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for his actions but oh no! The wonderful people at the ACLU would have a fit over his civil liberties being violated. Well to that I ask "What about the rights of the two people he killed?!!?" Why are their rights any less important than his? Why did they have to die because of his selfishness and lack of concern for anyone else and he gets to live the rest of his life out with VERY minimal repercussions? In my perfect world the police would have been totally within their rights to shoot him dead on the spot the moment he tried to flee from them and the case would be closed. No administrative leave, no trial for him or any of the involved officers! This is total madness and scares me to know that my son is going to be raised in a world like this. All I can do is try my best to teach him better than this and hope and pray every day that he isn't ever affected by these people. If you want to read something that will get your blood boiling here is this link to that last story. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/090208dnmetcrash.32a228ca.html
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Comments
amen.
dont blame me (or anyone) for your problems.
if your life is messed up look at yourself first.
people are far too scared to look at themselves.
This is a sad side (and distortion) of our rights or what we have left of them.
Take a moment to close your eyes and focus entirely on your breath... Count each breath as you exhale it... Don't think of ANYTHING... Just leave your mind completely blank other than counting breath... One catch though... If you have ANY thought, (i.e. what you're going to have for lunch, what you're going to do about that guy at work, what you'll do at home tonight, what cigar you'll smoke, etc) then you have to start over... How many average people out there do you think will EVER get to 10???
Yet so many people do tasks day in and day out that require lots of concentration and yet have thousands of things/thoughts buzzing around in their head at a frantic pace... Yet nobody (or not many) ever practice clearing those thoughts out and remaining totally focused...
Anyway, point being... In doing zazen, which is "practice" similar to above, one of the first things that happens as you begin to be able to still your mind is that your awareness turns inward towards yourself... The Ego which normally only allows ourselves to see ourselves as a perfect person will begin to break down...
Essentially, with enough practice, we see ourselves EXACTLY as others see us... No icing on the cake, just cake itself...
That can be one of the most horrible and terrifying experiences for many people... It sounds trivial, but it's AMAZING how much our ego does to cover our "true" nature from ourselves... In fact, many people who try never get that far... They begin to catch small glimpses of themselves and literally quit... They just can't take it...
Of course on the other hand... Seeing yourself as others see you can be one of the most remarkable things imaginable... It's one of the few things that can foster a TRUE change in yourself...
......
Now if only some of those annoying punks that mooch off those too generous to say no, think the world is out to rip them off, and who feel that they know EVERYTHING about ANYTHING would have the same happen to them...
.....
FINE! Cohiba me then... and leave the box...
Im just analitical by nature (or is it just ****?) so i try to look at myself often. I know that I fail quite often at seeing what others see. I may have to try that.
and nice point near the end as well.
im sure the point will be missed.
Those concepts are very similar to the ones taught in a book I read called the Rock Warrior's Way. It's a mental training book geared towards rock climbers, but its concepts are easily applied to all aspects of life. I also took a course from the author (Arno Ilgner) and we practiced exercises such as the breathing exercise you mention. He talks a lot about assuming the "observer" position, and simply observing our actions without judging them.
That last part -- observation without judgment is really the trick. If you're set on assigning a "right" or "wrong" to these observations, you're merely applying your ego in an alternate fashion. Engaging in this exercise helps you to realize that it's less about people being right/wrong or good/evil -- they're simply different (except you, you're a jackass). Likewise, you as an individual are no better or worse than anybody else. It's a humbling concept, but no matter how much more intelligent or outgoing or successful or ... whatever ... you are. That doesn't make you any better a person.