Friday, October 3, 2008

Palin, Naughty or Not? Results are in.... NOT!

Let's face it, the American culture and structure of our society is very unstable right now. We've been on a steady decline for some time. The Republicans and Democrats are to blame, they are both there, both are looking at the bills, the reports, and seeing the responses of the American people.

There is no quick fix to our situation, but the time for band-aids is over. Our government needs an intense and critical overhaul. Many in America pay more attention to the Operations of Fortune 500 companies than they do our government. Why is that? When did the American people become so disengaged? Or did they just stop listening to us?

Governments and the backbone of "law and order" within any society must also change and adapt. What we've seen is the gap between our changing society and the unchanging of our government. There is a big disconnect and it's not going to be easy to fix.

Both sides have some positives and some negatives, obviously. I'm a democrat and I'm an Obama/Biden supporter. They give me hope. They give me a sense of security. They give me the feeling that they might be able to begin to bridge that gap. With that said, I'm a realist; I know he won't be able to fix everything in a single term (if ever, really). But, what I am hopeful for is some progressive growth in the right direction.

Our nation has been shamed. We have lost our position of power. We have lost the respect of our brother and sister nations. We are a people torn by misalignment on major issues and petty bickering on the minor ones.

As a woman, I am ashamed of Palin. If I attending a corporate meeting, do you know what would happen if I just plastered a smile on my face, winked at my co-workers and rambled on about topics that were not on the agenda? Well, I’d probably not be invited back to meetings on that topic and I may find an HR rep standing near me mentioning what is and isn’t appropriate behavior in the work place. Then when performance review came around, being prepared, engaged, knowledgeable and being a contributing member to company productivity would probably receive low scores – because I did not exhibit any of those necessary traits.

Stop and think about that for a moment. If that was your supervisor talking to you in a team meeting, who just winked at you and smiled and ignored your questions – would you trust her? Would you be a satisfied and motivated employee?

This is no pageant with a tiara, this is a highly important role within our culture and society. An individual to represent us. To guide us. To help shape the future of our nation. A person to stand in and keep us strong should our President die or become incapacitated. Do you think she’s capable?

Is her behavior what we want in a representative not only as a government official in international affairs, but to represent our country as the first female Vice President?

Is that really how we want other nations to view the female population of the United States? That we are airheads that are pretty to look at but lack the ability for critical thought and eloquent execution of communication? That we can’t think on our own? That we can’t quickly think of the New York Times (or Time, or Newsweek, or shoot… how about CNN????) as a worthy newsource? That we can’t think of a single Supreme Court case to offer debate on rulings?

Women of our nation have come far in the world. This is not the time to take steps backward.

I will be at the polls on election day supporting Obama and Biden. They have my respect. I do have a sense of hope with them. That is what we need. We need hope. We need to feel engaged with our government. What we need to do as a nation is fight for our government. If you support McCain/Palin, that is your right and I respect your choices. But I urge everyone, no matter their side to stand up and vote. Now more than ever the American people need to show the government how serious we are.

When the Real Life side of the scale tips...

For those of us who like to refer to themselves as Gamers, there tends to come a time when the level of gaming addiction or obsession reaches a burn out pinnacle. For some the lure of VW’s and fantasy pulls away from real life.

Some gamers are fortunate to keep RL and Gaming Life separate. For 10 years I was fortunate to have a very nice balance between my real life time and my “fun” time. For the last year and a half, I’ve been completely addicted to Second Life.

The stimulation, creativity, social aspects, so much of it met so many of my needs. Unfortunately, my balance slipped and I crossed the line from RL to SL. I spent every free moment in SL. I grew attached to people. Those people started meaning more to me than the people from my RL.

So, the time has come for a forced break from Second Life. It’s been two weeks now and I’ve been able to resist the temptation of logging in. I miss my friends, more than anything else. I admit to definitely missing the shopping as well.

It's difficult to think that I'll not ever come back. I suppose I will just have to wait and see what life has in store for me.