This weekend was Labor Day Weekend. I went home and had a fantastic time. Saturday, I got to hang out with my family downtown at the Chicago Jazz Festival which was super fun. Sunday I got to hang out with Katie and see Kurt Elling sing. He encored my favorite song in the entire world (In the Wee Small Hours). I just about died. I also got to meet up with one of my friends I haven't seen since 5th grade, Corinthias. He is still such a gentleman and a genuine guy. It was so encouraging and refreshing to talk to him. Then on Monday, I my family had a BBQ and I got to see a bunch of my extended family which was fun.
Another great thing that happened today was the official start of the happy thoughts blog. Check it out and feel free to join if you want!
http://thinkhappywithme.blogspot.com/
The real reason I wanted to post right now is because I just received an e-mail from my Aunt Tonya. Apparently she went to the 8-28 Rally and she e-mailed everyone in our family what really happened rather than what the media says happened in D.C. that day. I was very excited she got to be a part of something she believes in but then I started to wonder...what the heck is the 8-28 rally? When I looked up what is was, I realized that this wasn't some random thing that my Aunt went to, it was actually a huge deal in America and in the D.C. area. It was at this point that I realized a huge mistake I have been making.
I think the media is ridiculous. I don't like that they use violence and politics for good ratings. Because I find the news to be increasingly depressing, I have stopped watching it all together ( I don't even have a TV in my room this year). By doing this, I feel in this present moment that I have actually hurt my cause - my want to become have a more worldwide view of the world and to learn about other people and cultures. It starts with my own backyard. How can I say I don't like the system if I don't know how to change it? How can I start to learn about other people in the world if I don't take the initiative to learn about them? I have not been practicing what I preach. Yea, I could use a million excuses because I really am extremely busy but I want to make this a priority, not just something I will do when life "dies down" a little. Life only gets crazier by the minute, I can rest when I die.
So here it is, in writing: I will no longer stand for ignorance. I promise that I will make a conscious effort to learn more about what is happening in my country and the world around me.
Signed: Kristin T. Olsen September 7, 2010
Interesting blog post Kristin. It can be very tempting to remain uninformed and ignorant with all the negativity surrounding us. But, it's good to hear that you want to learn more about others and be informed.
ReplyDeleteYou made an interesting comment tonight in the discussion group about not wanting to live within the system we have, instead wanting to change things and reach out to people? I and a few friends I do a Bible study with feel the same way-we want to change the world around us and we don't like living in our current system! It'd be cool to talk more about this some time at homegroup. I'll leave you with a quote from Saul Alinsky, who though sadly he was not a nice man or sympathetic to Christian values in the least, was a revolutionary who understood the mechanics of change. He writes:
"I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be - it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be. That means working in the system."
God Bless and ttyl.