the mehallo blog. beta.

guest post by alice woodruff

I am not without them myself, so here is a brief list of things which I am afraid of.

–   I am terrified of the Tea Party and the fact that some people literally think they have the right idea.

–   I am terrified that enormous international corporations have to be bailed out or the economy of an entire country could fail [AIG].

–   I am terrified that colleges are literally encouraged to raise tuition rates to make up for the cuts in their funding from the federal government.

–   I am terrified that Congressmen continue to get paid, and retain the right to increase their own salaries, while gas prices approach $5 and the unemployment rate in California [arguably the most affluent state in the Union] hovers around 10%.

–   I am terrified by the ‘I am entitled to ___’ attitude I see from my own peers.

–   I am terrified by a culture that celebrates pre-teen boys as sex symbols and musical idols, then decries and defames them when they begin to experiment with sex and drugs in their adolescence.

–   I am terrified when the income of those pre-teen boys reaches 8 figures, while hard working, Masters & PhD holding professionals have to fight for jobs.

–   I am terrified by a culture in which ‘overqualified’ is a legitimate reason not to hire someone.

–   I am afraid that ‘go to school, work hard, and you’ll get a good job to support your family’ is a fallacy.

–   I am afraid of companies who dictate specific verbage to their employees which they MUST use under threat of punishment.

–   I am afraid of working for a company that believes that fear and punishment are better motivators than appreciation and reward.

–   I am afraid of social networking sites and what they can do to lives.

–   I am terrified by a nation in which the subject matter of a MySpace background image can be admitted as evidence in a court of law and used to prosecute someone. [I knew someone who lost visitation rights to his children bc of this]

–   I am terrified of a nation in which an unemployed father who is actively seeking employment, who has not seen his child in 3 years bc the mother chose to move away, can still receive threatening letters from DSS that if he does not provide health care for the child his wages will be garnished.

–   I am terrified of a nation in which every single penny of that man’s tax returns are denied to him and instead sent as child support.

–   I am terrified of an institution which repeatedly makes me prove on paper that I come from a low income family or else I could lose the financial aid which is instrumental to my college education.

–   I am afraid of making any customer unhappy because it could cost me my job.

–   I am terrified of a company in which ‘he said she said’ accusations, unsupported by any facts, are enough to cost a hardworking mother her promotion AND her job.

–   I am afraid of a culture in which friendships are formed over the mutual hatred of others.

–   I am terrified of a nation that demands proof from its highest elected office of ‘legitimacy of birth.’

–   I am sickened and terrified by a culture that ALMOST cut federal funding to an organization which offers free and discounted health care to low income families.

–   I am afraid of a nation that plasters and promotes images of scantily clad women, then calls them sluts and whores when they remove the g string completely.

–   I am terrified of a culture which believes that rape is something which only happens to women.

–   I am terrified of a culture which criminalizes PLANTS and supports chemistry concocted pharmaceuticals.

–   I am horrified of a culture which thinks that teaching Spanish in schools is unAmerican.

–   I am horrified by a nation that would build a wall between our lands and the neighboring country to the South.

–   I am disgusted and sickened by a culture of people who would claim that Mexican immigrants are ‘taking our jobs’ but would NEVER ‘debase’ themselves to working in the conditions which these immigrants are grateful for.

–   I am terrified of a culture in which humility is a nasty idea.

–   I am terrified of a culture that would take homes, children, jobs, and safety away from someone who does not practice marriage-like monogamy.

–   I am terrified of a culture so inundated and uneducated, specifically in regard to organized religion.

–   I am terrified of a culture that promotes vengeance instead of tolerance.

–   I am terrified of a nation that will perpetuate the slogan, ‘United We Stand’  . . .  unless you’re Mexican, Middle Eastern, or generally  . . .  brown.

–   I am sickened by and terrified of a nation which fought so hard for civil rights, and half a century later interracial couples are still viewed with raised eyebrows.

–   I am terrified of a nation which can name all the actors in the Glee cast faster than it can name the Executive order of succession.

–   I am terrified of a culture which looks down on vegetarians and environmentalists.

I am terrified of a nation built on fear.

Alice Woodruff is currently majoring in animation at the Art Institute of California Sacramento

tags: thoughts // 5 comments  . . .