Local History Proposal

Plymouth is probably one of the smallest towns in Maine, and probably lacks all sorts of things that bigger towns would consider necessities. Although everybody has picked the store because it's the only source of independence the town has, I looked just up the road from it to the building that was once a school. It's now the town office as well as the post office, and all aspects of it made me proud of my town. The fact that Plymouth once had its own source of education and it was giving knowledge to citizens of the town locally makes me proud. Although the school closed because of a lack of students and the school-aged children were all shipped to Newport, Plymouth still once had autonomy. The building still does serve a purpose of independence - it's where nearly ever member of the town goes on November 7th to cast their votes for the presidential election, and where they go year-round to elect many other officials. Plymouth takes part in our government, and it impresses me to know we aren't ignoring our rights as an American citizen just because we're maybe not as in-the-loop as bigger cities. Town meetings are also held there, where the residents of Plymouth exercise their rights in a democracy. Plymouth, through this building, is not ignorant like it might be if we had no way to connect with the government of America. This building has educated residents and allowed them to be free American citizens for decades, perhaps even centuries and it continues to do so.

(I plan to do a video project.)

The Glass Ceiling is not just for Opressed Minorities

I was recently talking with Angela on AIM, and I made a point that, to the uneducated, may sound racist -

Angela: I am the least racist person ever

Kaylee: Yeah, they don't get that

Angela: I want equality

Angela: Not YAY, MINORITIES!

Kaylee: I know

Kaylee: Black history month, for example - I'm all for it. But we can't have a white history month

Angela: That's because America is white history

Kaylee: If we moved to Africa, we still couldn't have one

Angela: Exactly

Kaylee: Because they've suffered from us too much for us to deserve one

Angela: I totally get you

Kaylee: Yeah

Kaylee: Maybe if somebody had been cruel to us in the past and then we moved to another country, we could have pride

Call this racism if you really want to, but I am not a racist. I believe every race should be equal in what they do. I'm not trying to sound like the typical air-headed white person who believes they're better than other races. I believe every race is equal and you do not get special treatment because of how you were treated in the past.

Whenever I think of this, I compare it to adopting two children. One was in an abusive household when then were very young, the other was simply given up at birth because the mother could not take care of them. Although you do want to make sure the child who was abused is secure in its new home, you do not go out and spoil the formerly abused child because of its past. When you give the children a snack, you don't give chocolate ice cream to the abused child and broccoli to the one who was raised without the abuse. You don't compensate for what happened a long time ago. It had nothing to do with you, and yet you still try to balance the wrong somebody else did with special extras.

Last time I checked, that was not equality. That was feeling bad for the other race. That is not balanced and fair treatment, that's saying, "oh, poor opressed minority. Since you're not quite as good as we are, we couldn't possibly deny you the chance to make you look like you're actually as good as we are. This would make us look good."

Both races' views of equality are EXTREMELY flawed.

While I'm at it, I would like to play both sides of the "Mexican" immigration issues.
First of all, Mexico is NOT where all of the illegal aliens are coming from. It is not okay to call every illegal immigrant a "dirty Mexican" or whatever you think they are.
Secondly, on the "liberal" side, JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE MEXICAN DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN ILLEGAL ALIEN. I have complete and utter respect for those Latinos and Latinas who earn citizenship and are legal taxpaying citizens.
On the more conservative side, illegal aliens should not be allowed into America. It does not matter how opressed they are. Just because they don't like their country doesn't mean they can break through the border and come to ours. Those who get citizenship have earned it. America is not a free ride. You cannot come here illegally and expect a job, house and welfare when you don't pay taxes because the government does not know you exist. It's not fair to the legal citizens of this already-overpopulated country. I believe it's time to stop getting a free ride in the "great country of America" and time to start looking at improving where you already live.

J. Lo's song "Jenny from the Block" nearly made me sick. She was not poor, or "ghetto" or abused in the environment she was raised in. She was taught in CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, took dancing lessons and went to college immediately after graduating. That is not somebody who has struggled to grow up. To quote her lyrics,

"Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got
I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the block
Used to have a little, now I have a lot
No matter where I go, I know where I came from"

She would know NOTHING about struggling to go from rags-to-riches, but because she was "from" "the Bronx" and is NOT white, she is idolized as a sort of little Oliver Twist who had such a difficult childhood.

In America, race makes you. If you are any race but white and proud, you are sort of seen as a martyr. If you are half-French, no one cares. If you are half-Bolivian, you are worshipped.

That is because the "whites" mistreated everybody else in the past. We do not, as a whole, mistreat anybody now except illegal aliens who are, guess what, breaking the law. Not every white person is the same, and not every white person is a descendant of a big, bad white man. And even if you are, that does not make you racist. Don't get me wrong, these people have every right to express their pride at overcoming their past. But so should we. Taking a quote from the Lion King, stolen from IMDB.com -

[Baboon hits Simba in the head with stick]
Simba: Jeez... What was that for?
Baboon: It doesn't matter, it's in the past.
Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Baboon: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.
[swings stick at Simba again who ducks out of the way]
Baboon: Ha. You See? So, what are you going to do?