2nd Amendment, 1st Responsibility

Let’s start a revolution,
bring retribution
to the poor souls
too lost to find solution.

I say EXECUTION
to this way of life
and all the strife
we think we need
in order to fulfill our greed.

There is a system
and you’re in it
but let’s push it to the limit
to see how far
they’ll really take it
before we break it
from within.

We are the only ones,
so lift up your guns.
Even if they’re only pens.

At Sea

Waves crashing all around,
a harsh yet peaceful sound.
A daughter once so lost
is now a woman found.

I Am Not Opaque

There is a strange beauty
in my world of chaos.
And I have grown to realize
that I would not want it
any
other
way.

This is why I stray
from all
safe
hypocritical
havens
and bask in the glory of
dangerous
uncertain
truths.

My madness
is apparent
in the tears I cry.

Your madness
is hidden
in the words you lie.

I am translucent.
This makes me vulnerable
to those who wish ill
upon my insides.

But I can turn light
into a million different hues
as the particles diffuse
through the membrane of my skin
and create
Pablo Picassos
within.

Sometimes the colors swirl
into a sorrow so blue
I wish I never let the light in at all.

Other times
red and yellow
burn such passion onto my soul
that I think I’ve finally found—
The Answer.
I finally know!

But then the grays
cloud over my thoughts
saying
black and white
do not exist.

And I am happy
that light tortures me like this.

Jump!

Standing on the edge
of the precipice
of disaster,
I let myself go,
free-falling into
a perfect pool of peace.

Liberal Hypocrisy

Ok, I just need to get something off my chest. This whole “Miss California” scandal angers me, but not for the reasons most of you would assume, coming from me.

If I had to choose between calling myself Liberal or Conservative, yes, I would say I am Liberal. But above all, I am RATIONAL and LOGICAL. As such, nothing angers me more than a hypocrite because a hypocrite is someone whose actions and/or words contradict each other—the antithesis of reason and logic.

It seems to have become vogue to associate conservatives with hypocrisy (or maybe that’s just because I live in a liberal social sphere?), but liberals can be just as hypocritical. And being that I associate myself with liberalism, it probably angers me more to see a liberal hypocrite than a conservative one; it undermines what liberals stand for.

As such, it really makes me mad that Liberal Media & Co. has crucified this Miss California woman FOR STATING HER OPINION! For the love of Darwin, do you not see the hypocrisy here?! No, I do not agree with her opinion. But it is her opinion. And if you listen to her response, she is fairly diplomatic about it. Here’s a link to the video of her response: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XMvviFbkf0

Now, I’m not saying it was the most intelligent of responses (“in my country…” xD), nor the most direct (she never specifically answered the question about whether or not other states should legalize gay marriage) but it was honest. She said that she was glad that Americans are able to choose one or the other but that she herself believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. This was actually quite bold, given that the question came from judge Perez Hilton, an openly gay man. She could have played it safer and given him the answer he wanted to hear, but instead she remained true to her beliefs.

Let me be clear: I do NOT agree with Miss California’s opinion; I think same-sex marriage should be legal throughout this country. I could come up with many arguments against her position and I could point out many inconsistencies in her beliefs (as further articulated in her recent press conference), but that is not my point here.

My message is to you, my fellow liberal friends: Please remember that freedom of speech is the cornerstone of liberal values. Do not censor your enemy; if you believe so strongly that they are wrong, then this should be apparent when they speak. And if so, present your counterargument and disprove your opponent. This is the only noble way to fight for your cause. Anything less will only work against you.

Anointed Ashes

Back against the wall.
Shoulders bearing heavy weight.
I prayed to bend
instead of break
but I guess my spirit was not so malleable.

And so break I did,
into a hundred thousand splendid pieces.
Some shiny.
Some shabby.

Some sparked into a fire
activating Fight or Flight!
in my central nervous system.

Except not—
for all my senses were dulled.

Major Depressive Disorder
plus
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
equeals
Delayed and Inappropriate Response to Stressors.

So I just watched
as the pieces of my soul ignited
and spread like wildfire at my feet.

I welcomed the warmth.
And then the burn
as the blaze engulfed my gutless limbs.

I am convinced
I would have watched myself incinerate
without ever batting an eyelash
toward the flames.

Had it not been for
the wandering wind that called my name.

A silent whisper
across ethereal space
blew out the entire conflagration
and dropped me
in my place.

Reflux

I know what inspires me.
Sight.
Sound.
I know what ignites me.
Lost.
Found.

I am nourished by all the energy around.

I seek enlightenment.
Knowledge for knowledge’s sake.
But I’m dreaming awake
with nowhere to go.

In this world
you have to make money, you know.

So sacrifice.
Compromise.
Bend until you break.

Your happiness is secondary.
Power is at stake.

To survive this Money Merry-Go-Round
you need to hold on.

But I want to let go.

And each day
I spin around once more,
disharmony rising in my throat.

I have consumed
too much greasy consumerism.

I taste acid in my soul.

Hipster Haiku

You eat Pop-Tarts.
I eat Organic Toaster Pastries.
And don’t you forget it!

Assimilate Your Asymmetry

Embrace your instability

and use your asymmetry

to your advantage.

If your

left foot

is bigger than your

right foot

then use that one

to take your next step forward.

It may be a

clumsy-looking stride

that slows you down

from time to time

but really

why are we all in such a hurry?

The next time you find yourself

curled up on the ground

while the world around you

whizzes on by

do me a favor:

open up your eyes

and observe the world

from a perspective

that they

will never see.

Super Tuesday 11.4.08

It’s the air. It’s the air that you just can’t describe. First of all, it’s 70 degrees on a clear November night in the city of Chicago. That’s right–70 degrees. At night. In November. In Chicago. Clear skies. Mother Nature herself called the election. This is no ordinary night.

But beyond the beautiful weather, there’s something else. Something else is in the air as I’m standing in line at Congress Parkway, waiting with thousands of other people to get into Grant Park where Barack Obama will speak. Excitement. Hope. Solidarity. Somberness. Anticipation. The humbling cognition that we are all about to become a part of history. All of us together. Black, white, Asian, Latino. Young, old. We are no longer any of these things. We are one group of people, one vast sea of supporters coming together,unified by our precarious hope for change.

Inside the park, the air becomes even more indescribable. On huge television screens, CNN coverage of the election speaks to the crowd. In the distance, I can see the stage where Barack Obama will speak, flanked by a row of American flags. I try to push my way to the front but am met with a fence and a slew of security officers that will not allow any more people into the first half of the park. I’m disappointed and try to find a way around it, but no luck.

By this time, I have lost the people I came with and my cell phone can’t get through to anyone. I guess the phone towers can’t handle 100,000+ different signals all coming from within a 1-mile radius, invisibly saturating the airwaves. So I resolve to stand at the top of the hill by myself and am taken in by a group of strangers who make room for me to sit with them on the grass. For a few minutes they become my family, watching the jumbotron together and feeling the excitement build as the projections keep popping up in Obama’s favor.

Eventually, I leave my newly-formed family in search of my friend Mark. Luckily he sees me and I hear the sound of my name shouted, a miracle amidst the cacophony of voices echoing around me. I make my way to where he is standing and join a new family of anxious supporters. It’s getting close now. Really close. They just called Virginia, and it went blue! Virginia voted Democratic for the first time since 1964. It can’t be long now. The polls in California haven’t closed yet, but not surprisingly, they are leaning heavily toward Obama.

And then, virtually without warning, the ultimate projection from CNN: Barack Obama elected president.

The air becomes electrified. The crowd erupts into elated shouting and applause. I try to capture the moment on video for a few seconds and then stop to fully partake in the celebration. I spontaneously start jumping up and down and give Mark a gigantic hug. I look around me and observe the varying expressions of joy in reaction to the news. Some people are jumping around like me, shouting and laughing and hugging everyone around them. Others are cradled softly in the arms of their loved ones with tears streaming down their faces. Others stare ahead with determination and fists pumping in the air. It’s like nothing I have ever experienced before.

John McCain speaks. Music plays. Pledge of Allegiance. The Star Spangled Banner. And finally… President-Elect Barack Obama takes the stage. Deafening cheers greet Barack and his wife and daughters and they wave to the crowd for a few minutes before Barack takes to the podium. “Hello Chicago,” he begins. And the rest is history. This is what we waited in line all night for. To be in the presence of this great man that we have just chosen to be our next President. He gives us a humble and moving speech, as always. We listen in awed silence, with short bursts of cheering and applause in between. “Yes we can.”

Not even the cheesy, epic victory music as he retreats can damper my spirits. The tranquilly victorious crowd begins its own retreat to the streets of Chicago. Although some of my fellow supporters did decide to take the liberty of creating their own opening in the fence, it was all in good spirits and the fence remained in tact with no violence or injuries to anyone involved.

Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile (and then some) becomes flooded with people. The streets are closed off and police officers man the streets; some on horses, some on foot, others in squad cars. But not one officer has to take any action. It is like a peaceful riot, with people standing on top of benches and medians waving flags, singing, dancing, shouting. One guy even decided to get on top of the lion statue in front of the Art Institute and waved his shirt around his head, screaming wildly, but his friends helped him down and no authorities had to get involved.

On every street corner (or any part of the street really) there were entrepreneurs selling T-shirts, flashing buttons, and every other imaginable form of paraphernalia. But there was no pressure, no fear, no feeling of being threatened or bothered, no need to look the other way and pretend that the stranger in your path did not exist. For once, on the streets of Chicago, people acknowledged one another. They acknowledged the people around them as neighbors, friends, brothers. No need to avert your gaze. We made eye contact. We smiled. We felt connected and unified like never before.

At this point, it wasn’t even air anymore. I was breathing in pure, crisp, magical bliss. Everything was surreal. I felt like I was walking in a dream or in some alternate universe.

I still can’t fully wrap my mind around it, nor find the right words to express it. But maybe this is one of those moments for which human language is insufficient to describe. That is why it was so important for me to go to the rally; because I knew that nothing could replace me being there myself. I’m sure watching it on TV was moving in its own right. But what you missed on TV was the air. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, then air must be worth a million pictures.

So next time you go outside, pay attention to the air. Feel it. Taste it. Listen to it. Breathe it in deep and repeat after me: YES. WE. DID!

The last photo was taken from another site. All other photos were taken by me.