Unicorn Mafia

Ooh, here’s a fun one! Nicely awkward. (If you couldn’t tell, I purposely create mild to moderately awkward situations as a hobby.) Well. Traditionalist Christians (and other religions as well, I believe, but I won’t list them because I’m not sure which ones), generally to the Right, insist that, because the Bible (or other applicable scripture) says so, homosexuality is wrong/sinful/etc and should therefore be illegal. The Left seems to be kind of wishy-washy on the whole thing, both wanting to appear accepting of everyone while still appealing to most voters. (Um, guys, dunno if you heard, but there’s no law against gays voting. Maybe keep that in mind…?). The problem here is that extremists tend to be the loudest with their opinions, and are therefore heard more often, making them appear to represent the majority. By far, not all of Christianity condemns homosexuality. The bishop of the United Methodist district in which I live has made some very eloquent and sound responses to this. She says that, especially compared to teachings of the all-inclusive nature of God’s love, scriptures condemning homosexuality are dramatically few. She uses the New Testament as an example of an “updated truth” of sorts. For example, the Old Testament (or the OT as I like to call it because it sounds gangsta :D) forbids the consumption of cloven-hoofed animals. Yet in the New Testament, God Himself provides a disciple (Paul?) with pork as nourishment. God did not fall silent for 2000 years and leave us with only an obsolete series of scriptures for guidance. New truths are being constantly revealed, while ancient ones are still retained in spirit, even if their details are not the same. If you’re still not convinced that homosexuality is morally acceptable, that’s okay. At the very least, though, pretend to show all humans respect and dignity. They deserve it. I’m looking at you, Westboro. Geez, I don’t even know where to begin with them, so I won’t. I will say this however: you can have whatever moral/religious views you wish. That’s why this is America. However, trying to impose your personal views on others is injustice. Straight up. The founding fathers may have been Protestants as people (actually, I was taught that they were Deist, but whatever), but politically, they created this nation based on freedom of religion, speech, and doing whatever the hell you want so long as nobody gets hurt. As someone whose population of friends is about 1/3 LGBT, I can assure you that gay people do not want to hurt you. They don’t even want to take over the world and make it “fabulous” (although I think I’d be kinda okay with that if they did). Their only agenda is to be treated as equals and achieving their freedom to love.

With this post, I fully establish this blog as an entity that makes no attempt at pure journalism whatsoever. While I do my best to get my facts straight, this is based on the world as seen through my eyes. Commentary, if you will.

That being said…religion IS quite the spider’s web, isn’t it? Sticky and elaborately complicated. You could debate for an eternity about the benefits and downsides of its very existence, but I don’t really feel like doing that. Rather, this series will be a basic overview of my beliefs, which are subject to change at just about any time. I’ll comment when the changes are significant.

Due to the fact that this blog was created for use at a journalism conference, I’m going to try to stick to topics having political weight. (I want my college credit for this thing after all!). However, let me make something perfectly clear: I firmly believe that, as far as I’ve seen, religion and politics should be as absolutely separate as possible. Apparently though, there are some very, er, loud people who think otherwise, so I’m going to attempt to squeak over them. Prepare yourselves, dearies, for inevitable uncomfortableness due to the very nature of these topics, and enjoy. Oh, and of course, leave me the most intelligent feedback you can come up with, whether you agree with me or not! ^_^

Love and nice, warm, Campbell’s Chicken Noodle (it tastes better than the title, promise),

>>Madison<<

If you’ve watched the news lately, you’ll notice that networks and newspapers alike won’t shut up about all the incredible, crazy changes that are going on in the word due to the Internet! Facebook and Myspace and Twitter, oh my! And on your cell phones, too! Goodness gracious, they just can’t keep up! Why, it’s a revolution!

Look, guys. The sites listed above are tools we use every day. They’re really very simple to use, and anyone can access them for free. Yes, they are creating important changes in the world, but instead of reporting on the technology itself, put it to good use, accept it as a reality rather than a science fiction concept, and move on. Do you remember how different the Beatles were, how your parents “just didn’t get it”, or straight up hated them, even? Do you remember hearing their songs on the radio constantly and eventually getting very used to their sound? Did you or did you not roll your eyes when your parents STILL scoffed at their music? Well, that’s what my generation is doing to you. Most people are over the hype. You need to accept this change. Let’s move on, shall we?

Technology has been changing a number of industries, however, and in noteworthy ways. The music and journalism businesses are both prominent examples of this. The old models of each are based around 3 or 4 massively powerful corporations with complete control over the products that are distributed to the masses. To be successful in these industries, one would have to amass a great deal of skill, intelligence, perseverance, determination, and for the most part, luck. All of the above didn’t mean squat if you weren’t lucky enough to get the attention of someone who had power in one of those huge companies. This was actually a fairly unjust process, but it became an accepted one for quite a long time, for the most part, especially since the corporations had all the power and there was nothing that an average person could do to stop them anyway.

This is no longer the case thanks to our beloved Internet. Anyone can provide you with infinite amounts of music and news, among other things. I am doing so at this very moment. It does not cost me anything, as I am using someone’s free wireless, and I can broadcast the latest headlines or hits across the ends of the earth at my will. For FREE. Now, we all know that money equals power. So you know what I meant earlier when I said that the massive music and news companies were “powerful”; they bought their way there. Needless to say, the Internet is dismantling the foundation of these corporations at a ridiculously rapid rate. (Yay, alliteration! The perfect combination of awkward, unexpected, and poetic.) They are crying and moaning like the main characters of a Shakespeare tragedy, mourning what they believe to be the downfall of their respective industries.

There is a distinction to be made here between the two. From what I have learned at this conference, the traditional moguls of journalism cry of its death, and their death along with it. Those who are bringing about the downfall of these companies generally agree that, indeed, physical newspapers will soon be extinct, yet they are uncertain and varied in their predictions about the future of journalism itself. Major record labels are quite aware that they are DOOMED, in all caps, but they are in denial and are taking down anyone they can with them. Music itself, however, is thriving like never before, and nobody can deny it. Myspace is flooded with independent artists of every genre you can (and can’t) imagine, and they can record their music and videos at next to no cost. They can distribute all over the world without spending a dime, and, if they do it right, they can be very successful. It’s an absolute free-for-all, and the artists are loving it. The major labels, not so much.

Changes are scary!!! Ooooh!! Well, actually, they can be. But they’re very, very necessary. And when everything is different, there will be pros and cons to the change. We will adjust though, and when the dust settles, I like to think that we will be better off for it.

This isn’t a book, it’s a blog, and since the rest of it will be written in first person anyway, I’m not going to write it in third person. Hi. My name is Madison, also known as Angelbones, also known as Alkali Girl (myspace.com/alkaligirl), also known as Queen Macarena Esperanza Loco-Enlacabeza IV, Pirate Bicyclist, Ballerina Mermaid, Chocolate Vampire, and Musical Misuser Extraordinaire. You can call me that when we’re best friends ;).

If you clicked on the myspace link provided above, you’ll notice that I play, write, and record music. It’s my favorite. I’ve been writing songs since I was about 14, when I began taking lessons on the electric bass. You can find more information about my musical escapades at myspace.com/alkaligirl (coughcoughwinkwink).

I’mma gunna be a senior next year. Holy moly. I live in Phoenix, AZ, but I’m hoping to change that in college to either Boston or the Los Angeles area. I have 1 dog, 7 hats, and 3 guitars…uhmm…I’m interested in philosophy, theologies, world cultures, alternative fashion, steampunk and science fiction, Victorian literature, poetry and prose, graphic novels, yoga, meditation, movies of many kinds, visual and performing arts, and to a small extent, politics.

Basically, I am about every kind of nerd you can come up with. Life’s more fun that way.

I was told to make this blog somewhat specific, to give it a consistent purpose. I’m thinking it will simply be my opinion on things that happen day to day here, things that I learn, etc. I am an opinionated person, (and you are too I bet, even if you don’t show it!), and in my humble (snort) opinion, that’s a good thing. I’m a tad jetlagged and tired though so I’ll catch some Z’s and see you later dahling!

Hugs and turtle doves,

>>Madison<<