Peace and Violent Video Games: Can They Co-Exist?

Dear Readers,
         It has been the debate of technology for almost 30 years now: should violence be allowed in video games? People who are opposed to violent video games usually say things like 'It teaches our children to be violent!' and 'I wouldn't want my kids exposed to those kinds of games', but is this really the case?

        Humans, walking, talking, humans, are only one evolutionary step ahead of the untamed, savage, blood-thirsty wilderness where we had to fight for our lives. A 'hunt or be hunted' type scenario.
     
        Since then, we have grown away from and above that wilderness. However, we brought a few souvenirs with us. Some of them are handy and nice to have, some of them aren't. One of these not-so-pleasant attributes is our blood thirst. We, unfortunately, are violent in nature. (to an extent, anyway.) We happen to like blood and guts and cruelty.

       The result of this blood lust has resulted in hundreds of wars worldwide, some of them involving the whole world. War changed many lives and claimed many. Although it is generally agreed that war is bad, most people still have an odd fascination with it. Thousands upon thousands of books have been written about war, games such as chess was based on war, and there are again thousands of movies portraying war.

      Recent technology has enabled us to take our obsession with war to the next level: Video games can simulate war. Whether it be based on a war, recent or ancient, reality or fiction, video games based on war are by far the most popular with the new generation. Call Of Duty. HALO. Battle For The Pacific. Just to name a few.

    How can these games help the Peace cause? The answer is pretty straight-forward. If we are satisfying our blood thirst with video games, what need have we for real violence? With all of our frustrations and energy taken out on virtual worlds there is no reason for us to be violent in nature. I think if violent video games were promoted, there would be less overall violence in the world, granted that people are taught and understand that violence in video games should stay in video games and has no place in our modern world.

-Me.

Staying Positive?

1. Start each day with a grateful heart.
2. Focus on the positive aspects of every person you encounter.
3. End each day with a grateful heart.
Lucy MacDonald


Dear Readers,
    I've been going to a band camp this week which can be at times a bit torturous. It's like a trillion degrees outside and people don't like marching so much after an hour or two. As a result, people have been grumpy and hateful and have, in general, treated each other like shit. Staying positive is hard as shit in these conditions, but the end of the day feels so much better when you do. I'll be the first to admit that I falter sometimes, but for the most part I try to keep my cool (not a pun on the heat, promise) and stay calm when talking to people. And you know what? It really is a lot easier to make it to the end of the day. So, put on a smile on your face and be nice to you neighbor. It'll be over a lot sooner.


-Me.

The True Meaning Of Esther Day

Dear Readers,
   I searched and searched in vain for a good quote from Esther. Esther is an awesome Nerdfighter who (I believe) is also a co-founder of the site Eff Yeah Nerdfighters (link below). Esther had cancer which took her life on August 25th, 2010. Her request for Nerdfighters (don't know what Nerdfighters are? Link below.) Is that everyone on her birthday tell someone you love them whom you have not told recently. This is an incredibly noble request which I respect very much, so,

I love you Nick!
I love you Nerdfighteria!
I love you Cory!
I love you Jonathan!
I love you Seth!
I love you Breelyn!
I love you Readers!

So, yeah... Happy Esther Day, Everyone.

-Me.

eff yeah Nerdfighters link:
Eff Yeah Nerdfighters

Nerdfighters links:
Nerdfighters Website
Nerdfighter's Co-founder's Youtube Channel

"The streets of our country are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with all her might. And the republic is in danger - yes - danger from within and without. We need law and order! Without law and order our nation cannot survive"
-Adolf Hitler

NO MORE HATE

NO MORE WAR

ALL WE ARE SAYING

IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE!!!

People Who Don't Suck: A Tribute to the People Who Inspire Me

This post is for the people who made me who I am. This is for all those people who have overcome and made things happen and who made the world a better place. This is my thank-you letter.

Hank Green 

    Hank Green inspired me by doing the simplest thing he can do: He is himself. He showed me that there are people who give a damn in this world and there are people who care Hank is a talented musician and the founder of Ecogeek. Thank-you, Hank Green.

John Green

   John Green inspired me by showing me there are people out there that get it. His books' messages spoke to me directly and his Vlog he does with his brother Hank are always insightful and full of truth. Thank-you, John Green.

Henry David Thoreau 

        I was inspired by Thoreau because of his self-respect and his passion for his beliefs. It's rare today to find someone willing to go to jail because they don't pay taxes that fund wars and hate. It's rare today to find someone who will give up modern conveniences to live in a humble log cabin in the woods because you don't want to negatively effect the environment and the following generations. Thank-you, Henry David Thoreau.

John Lennon

     John Lennon's music has inspired me. What inspires me more is his lack of fear to tell people what he knew was true, and what other people knew was true, even though they themselves were too scared to admit it. May his music and legacy live on forever. Thank-you, John Lennon.

Billie Joe Armstrong

      Billie Joe Armstrong's ability to take life and transfer it into lyrics and song has inspired me. Billie Joe's music has been one of the biggest influences in my life. Without him, and without Green Day, I would be nothing. Thank-you, Billie Joe Armstrong.

-Me.

  

Burning Out

"I'm not growing up,
I'm just burning out,
And I step in line
To walk among the dead"
-Burnout, Green Day


Dear Readers,
    I asked myself this question today, and the answer I gave myself frightened me. My question was: How much of the shit we do from day to day really matters? Who's going to give a damn what we did and why we did it? Why are we given this thing called life if we don't know what to do with it? A more important and equally scary question is this: why has our society made it near-impossible to achieve a life that means something? We have 24 hours of bullshit to watch on television, and we have things we can go to Walmart to buy, and we have dead-end jobs that no one gives a rat's ass about, and what do we do it for? Because there's nothing better for us to do? So we can trick ourselves into thinking we matter? I'm so tired of this superficial bullshit that we put ourselves through every day. I want out and I want to make a fucking difference. How??? How do we bypass this shit in our path to do something someone will give a damn about? I don't want to burn out like the American Idiots before and around me. I want to live.

-Me.

Television & Junk (That's kind of Redundant, Huh?)

If people would demand Peace instead of a new television set, there would be peace
-John Lennon


Dear Readers,
          In the recent years, I have not watched a lot of television. Sure, I'll watch a comedy or something to fall asleep to, but unless the screen says 'Green Day Live', My television screen is usually dark. My thoughts on television are this: TV is too controlling. It allows people to portray their ideas as real-life, and people buy into it as reality. People forget that those are actors on their screen, and swallow it hook, line, and sinker. It's not as easy to fool people this way with printed text. Printed text, unless it says 'Non-fiction or 'based on true events' is always kind of viewed as someone telling a story, and since human nature has been intertwined with distrust, people first consider and form their own opinions about the material. I wish we could snap out of the television-induced trance America has fallen into. 


Are we really too lazy for intelligence?


Peace, Love, and Harmony,
-Me.

The Death of Osama Bin Laden: American Idiots in the wake

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
-Jesus Christ



Dear Readers,
     I haven't been on the internet for a while now, so this post is a little out-dated, but I wrote this the day after I learned of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden was the most famous terrorist in the world, and was found guilty for the tragic happenings on September 11, 2001. Navy Seals found him and shot him in the face, along with one of his wives, on May 1, 2011. I wasn't going to post anything about the news until I saw what was happening on television the next day. This is what really FUCKING PISSED ME OFF: Americans were celebrating. Yes, for the entire following week, there were parties nation wide celebrating the death of Bin Laden. I'm not saying he shouldn't have been shot. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. But, be it so, he was one of the most intelligent people on earth. I mean, he was on the very top of America's Most Wanted List for a decade, and the United States government could not find him. It was a sad day the day he took the path of an extremist martyr to kill as many people as he could. One of the most tragic days of civilization. But we celebrated his death. We should have mourned. We should have been hurt that such a smart man had to die. I remember, in the weeks following 9/11, watching on CNN as people in the Middle East had parties in their streets, celebrating the deaths of thousands of Americans. Everyone in America cried and sobbed and asked how could you do such a thing??? If it was so terrible they did it, why in the FUCK would we be here 10 years later doing the same thing?? Aren't we supposed to be the bigger person? Aren't we supposed to be more loving and non-violent? What happened to that?

To all you American Idiots out there celebrating the death of a fellow human being, shut the fuck up and open your eyes. Never should any human being with any intellect what-so-ever celebrate the death of one of our own kind.

Peace, Love, and Harmony,
-Me.