Hilarious

I had already heard of the blog "Stuff White People Like," but hadn't visited it until I read a fellow blogger's article on EcoMetro. Her reference included things like "farmers markets," "organic food," and "Priuses." I just visited the blog myself, and here are some choice paragraphs, which I have ripped off for your enjoyment in a most unethical manner:

Being a truly advanced white person means being able to speak with authority about pretty much any field of conversation- especially politics. In order for white people to streamline the process of knowing everything, all human beings can be neatly filed into one of two categories: People I Agree With, and People Who are Just Like Adolf Hitler.
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It’s also critical that you avoid the fatal mistake of getting creative and comparing people you don’t like to other evil dictators, such as Joseph Stalin or Fidel Castro. With few exceptions, white people are actually fond of almost any dictator not named Hitler, and your remark that “this is just like something Mao Zedong would do” will be met with blank stares and possible social alienation. This is because, with the exception of Hitler, oppressive dictators share a passion for many of the things white people love- such as universal health care, conspiracy theories, caring about poor people while being filthy rich, and cool hats. Stick to the script and compare things you don’t like to Hitler, and Hitler alone.

Things I don't believe in

I have recently gotten several e-mails from the same person, and have over the years received many with the same disturbing messages.

Here is one thing that stumps me: since when do loving Jesus and the military have anything in common? I don't understand. No matter what your views on the military in general, how can you make a case for it being somehow religious? Nowhere in the Bible, and especially not in the New Testament, can you find some sort of implication that Christ's followers should be especially supportive of their local government's military or war in general. Now don't get me wrong: I am not like the Vietnam-era protesters who held the poor veterans responsible for the war. Those enlisted in the military are not responsible for today's war; they have no control over it, and I respect them for wanting to protect us. However, America is not God, and the military is not his warriors. The United States to the Christian is like Rome was to the Jews in Jesus's time, or like Babylon was to the Israelites of old. We are meant to live here, to love people and do God's work, but not to give our hearts or allegiance to the geographic or political terrain. We are meant to follow the laws and pay our taxes as long as that does not interfere with following the much more important laws of God.

Here's another thing: how can someone I see as loving, as being a "good person" completely demonize an entire group of people based on their religion? I have received e-mails comparing Muslims to the Nazis, and I end up feeling the senders are much more akin to that particular evil. Are there Muslim religious extremists, willing to kill themselves just to kill off other human beings for the sake of their religion? Yes. Is this true of Christianity as well? Yes (forgive us, Lord)! I wish it were not so, but there have been crazies throughout the ages of every race and religion who were willing to kill for what they believed in. That does not mean that your average-Joe Muslim in his place of worship is a Nazi. If you are going to be a bigot, you need to examine yourself and your heart. Obviously I do not think Islam is the "right" path; I follow Jesus with all my heart. I also don't think certain groups of people are envoys of Satan as much as that he tries to work in all of us. I am just as capable of intensely evil action as any terrorist may be, and if I fear that within me, I just may try to judge others and make it seem that there are specific groups of people who are evil--thus making me innocent if I am not one of them.

Anyway, forgive the rant, but my religious beliefs lead me to be a pacifist who loves all people equally. It seems to me that Jesus was just that, and if I aspire to be like him, I must follow his example. I may not be "patriotic"--should I want to be? I may be judged. I don't particularly care.

Discouraging

Something about job-hunting has the ability to make me feel like a total loser. I think it is set up that way, to break you so you will finally accept whatever Baskin Robbins job comes along and be grateful...

A year ago, the company I worked as editor for started having a difficult time; last October I was finally officially laid off. That was hard to process, because I had thought it was the beginning of a really enjoyable career, and then it ended after just a year.

I started freelancing, which scared the crud out of me because it required being okay with instability, okay with not having all of the control all of the time. I began to think that God wanted me in that spot, however, because things started falling into place: I kept getting encouragement, work, and affirmations such as Vinnie wanting me to work as a subcontracting editor for Declaration Editing.

However, working at home is not exactly chicken soup for the soul. I am so lonely! I don't feel like I can have people come over or talk on the phone (not that I EVER really wanted to talk on the phone anyway), because I can't exactly bill clients for time I have spent socializing. So I spend all day all by myself, feeling bored. It is a little better when I get out and have work dates with fellow freelancers or friends, but it really doesn't solve the problem--I crave regular interaction, a routine.

I have finally thought, okay, it's time to get an outside-the-home job. Especially since I have also kind of had it with the financial instability. I have been blessed with a few good months, but I am starting to see some gaping gaps in my pipeline--in fact, I don't quite know what I will do tomorrow! Or next week! To add to the financial pressure, our tenant has announced that he is moving out. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to rent out the basement again--our toddler-equipped family could use the space and the relaxation of not worrying about Selah making lots of noise, etc.

It turns out that jobs are even more few and far-between than I thought! I don't feel that picky; while I want a publishing job again, those are pretty scarce, and I would be more than happy doing slightly less interesting work in a more exhilarating atmosphere (read: any atmosphere). I have already had high hopes for a couple and then not gotten them, which is discouraging. I have my masters, 3 years of editing and writing experience, and yet I feel like I am trying to get an engineer's job with a junior-high diploma or something. Now that I actually have a field, I don't feel I should just cop out and get a really stupid job like I would have five years ago, last time I was in complete misery over a job-hunt.

I don't know if this is supposed to be some kind of sign, or if it's just that life is not easy. It doesn't help that Selah's been nastier than anything (I think she's sick), and that this blasted rain will not stop! It makes me kind of want to be a kid again, looking forward to summer vacation and Mom's reassurances that everything would be fine...