Christien Louviere

This morning I read the opinion page of the WSJ’s Personal Journal (email me for a copy) section.  Three opinions in a row caught my eye because they are all cross-sections of various problems in the US today.  They are things that annoy me (and probably most Americans today), but we only hear from the few that are affected by problems today.  It seems to be what sells in the media landscape.

Politics
In this piece, it is made quite clear how close minded and weak we have all become.  The first instance that someone disagrees with our views and they are written off.  The author makes a golden quote, "People come to dinner parties not with debating points but with
baseball bats. Bush is an idiot; Clinton is a liar — end of
conversation." Unfortunately, it is never that easy.  We are now so inundated with things to make our lives easier that we rarely run across confrontation.  These changes are great, but they come with a price.  Basically, we are on a constant quest to customize our lives to where nothing disagrees with our views.  It cripples us.  As soon as someone disagrees, we write them off.  The result is these extreme camps of left, right and conspiracy theorists.  I remember studying the change of political parties in college.  It’s amazing how empathetic voters have become.  What’s more is that fewer people are identifying with a party because it’s now seen as extremism.  I think it’s sad because it has breeded absolute hate.’  You can’t like or dislike some of the President’s policies (Bush or Clinton), but you either have to hate or love him.  Even further, I hate and find it embarrassing the blatant disrespect we have now developed for people in positions of authority.  Don’t agree with someone…fine.  When did these extremest bumper stickers and t-shirts start.  Like "F the President."  I’m sorry, but things like that should only be said in times of dire hate.  I think it’s so sad.  People have threatened to leave the country.  Are you kidding me?  Go, please get the hell out.  You make us weak.  How about stepping up and doing something?  The people that do things like that are all talk.

Change for Few
The second piece was about the recent firing of Jane Fernandes, who was the provost at Gallaudet University (a deaf university).  She was accused of being an audist.  Yes, because she basically said that, "People that grow up in a hearing family has learning advantages to those that don’t."   The majority of people can hear and most things in this country are conducive to that.  We have excellent learning environments for people that have hearing disabilities.  Many people made great strides in the past to make sure these learning centers and schools were made available.  In my eyes, these people do their elders a disgrace because now they’re searching for something.  I think anyone who says that she doesn’t understand because she’s not one of them is diluted.  The woman is deaf.  She has been accused of not being ‘deaf enough.’  To me, that’s the equivalent of being, as the author states, of not being ‘black enough.’  I had a professor, that was black, in college tell us this in a class.  All of the white kids didn’t get it and all of the black kids got it and thought it was stupid.  I have  feeling most of the deaf people in this world feel the same and are embarrassed.  Of course, instead of the board taking a stand, they fired her.  We’re so unbelievably sensitive. 

Sex…
…Austin Powers once said, "Yes, please."  Not that kind, I’m talking about gender here.  This piece was written by Christine Whelan.  She is a young writer that just released a book called, "Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women."  I haven’t read the book yet, but the subject matter is long overdue.  It basically shows the various reasons why marriage is not in decline, but people are waiting longer and making smarter decisions about who they marry.  The ideas of the past (think Sex and the City…which I love) is that men are threatened by successful women.  I have long thought, and she proves, it that this is bogus.  It may have been true for the generation of men that had to adapt to that change during an era when women really started to make their strides.  However, I have to think that this has not been the mainstream thinking by men in 20 probably closer to 30 years at least.  Many relationships that I witness (good and bad) all want the best for their spouse.   If the relationship is good, then who cares who makes the most money.  If it’s good, it won’t matter.  The women that feel this way are either insecure or experiencing it.  The men that are doing this are insecure….get over it.  Both genders have their strengths and weaknesses, so focus on them together.  Again, I feel that the majority of men and women get this.  I think it’s the minority of people that make us all look bad.

Summary
I get annoyed with how soft we’ve become.  I’m not an old person from an older generation.  I’m 25 and very much in the mix.   I look at my nephew’s (age 7) sporting events.  They don’t keep score and everyone gets a trophy.  It’s just a microcosm of our society…so, so sad.  Good experiences are great, but we become better people through the strengthening of character.  We usually learn more from the bad stuff than the good.  We’re crippling ourselves.  Right now, America’s brand is less than average.  I don’t blame Bush because it was low before he took office.  That was huge reason for 9/11.  We are not at the point of no return to be great again.   How long will it be before we get so extreme that we begin to hurt one another physically? 

I thank you for reading.  Call me if you want to grab some coffee so we can intelligently discuss opposing viewpoints.  Or, please feel free to bash me and tell me how much you hate me.  I look forward to the blatant disrespect.