Spring is in the air

Spring time has finally arrived. It seems to come a little later each year for some reason. Of course winter seems to start a little later each year too. Its like the seasons are sliding down the calendar. But that is for another post.

Spring is here and with it comes change. New Years is always a popular time for making resolutions and promises of change but I think that spring is the universal time of change. Life seemingly comes out of everywhere. The birds are back and singing. The squirells are running around again. The trees are budding and flowers are poking through their blankets of dirt. The weather warms, spirits rise and everything just seems fresh and new. Ready for change.

Change is of course hard and difficult for many. I'm not too sure that I handle change all that well myself. I tend to put up with a lot of crap before finally doing something about it. It seems that my entire life is a testament to silent resignation.

Things in my life aren't all that great. Of course things in most people's lives could always be better. Obviously the recognition of problems and finding solutions often requires effort and change. So the status quo remains for another day, month, year, decade ...

I've been thinking about making a number of changes lately. Some of them stem from school of all things. Obviously I'll be changing careers when I'm done school but that is something I anticipate with great joy. However with the change in career, I'm also thinking of changing homes. Specifically I'm thinking of moving to the UK for a year or two. Its a big decision and one that I haven't committed to one way or the other quite yet. I'm starting to feel some pressure to decide sooner rather than later as I figure that it impacts my living arrangements now.

I want to move. I don't like living where I am now. The person who lives above me is quite oblivious to the fact that I live downstairs and that much of what she does effects me. I hear almost everything, much to my great annoyance. Especially when she's having sex. But there are other things as well. She has friends over quite a bit, which I don't begrudge her but they do nothing but blast music and stomp around for hours on end. I couldn't tell you how many times they've come home from a night out at the bar and start blasting the music at 3am like there was no one else in the house. Last time it happened I called her on the phone and asked her to turn it down as I'd like to get to bed. It was 5am and they were annoyed that I would impact their fun. I know because I could hear everything that they said.

Many would advise that I talk with the landlord. I would if it wasn't a bit complicated. You see the woman that lives upstairs is the landlords ex-girlfriend who is friends with his parents. As far as I know she lives there for free. I know she doesn't have a job so I can't see her affording the rent. Add that to my beta-male nature of simply taking it and now I'm to the point where I just want out. Of course the financial terms of the place are quite good and I find them hard to give up.

But I digress. I want out and where I move to I think impacts my decision to move to the UK in a year. I figure that if I'm going to go then I can move in with a room mate and start getting rid of some stuff. But if I'm going to stay here then I may as well just stay by myself as I'll need to keep everything that I have. I've made the decision to move now I've just got to decide in which direction that move will take me.

Add to that that I'm making a concerted effort to develop positive habits surrounding my health. I haven't seen a doctor in probably a decade or more but I'm quite positive that I'm in crap shape. I figure getting winded in my elementary gym class is a pretty good sign that I need to put in some work. So I've started a running program. I'm only in week 2 of 13 but I guess you've got to start somewhere. If it works I'm supposed to be able to run 10k. If that is the case it could be a good start for playing rugby at the end of June.

Then there is the diet. A proper diet is so important. I just have horrible habits surrounding food. In the past I've made efforts to buy and consume healthier food but invariably the fruits and vegetables rot in the fridge while I chow down on potato chips. I remember when I started playing rugby. I practiced 5 days a week. After 8 weeks I lost 4 pounds. I figure all the french fries I ate during that 8 weeks might have had an impact on that.

On top of that I'm trying to reclaim and rekindle my relationship with God. I've let it slip for so long. I've always had a ton of excuses but none of them are really valid. Relationships take work, the same goes for my relationship with God. Of course I've been rather lazy and the relationship has suffered. Again I've ingrained some really poor habits that I now need to abolish and replace with positive habits. Its coming along but I still have a way to go.

They say change is very stressfull and I would have to agree. Then I sit back and recognize that I'm trying to make changes in 6 different areas of my life all at one time and I wonder that I'm not a basket case.

I guess all I can do is continue to struggle onwards and hope for the best. I don't really have a choice I figure. The other path was a path towards destruction. I want something more than that. Now I've just got to be man enough to take it.

Wish me luck.

Glenn Beck

I haven't done a whole lot of political thinking lately. Mostly I've been tied up with thoughts of how to get 6 year olds interested in square dancing but that's for another time.

Have you ever watched Glenn Beck on CNN? He has a national hour long program on CNN each night of the week where he talks at you about various topics of interest. I was recently asked what I thought of Glenn's desire to have Iran labeled as evil. He's not the only one mind you, but he does like to spend much of his air time devoted to the coming holocaust that is Iran. If you don't know what I mean check this out.

Now I'm sure that there are quite a few people out there that agree with Glenn and his opinions on many issues. He is a self professed conservative republican and makes it well known on his show. But I have to wonder about his penchant for labelling Iran as evil. Especially when he goes about trying to convince others that they too should label Iran is evil.

What does labelling Iran as evil mean? What are the effects of such an action? I think that bringing terms like evil and hate into a political discussion is meant to bypass logic and make a more emotional connection. People have a much more emotional or visceral reaction to things that they see as evil and it tends to polarize a discussion.

IF Beck is right then how can one argue against evil? If you do of course then your supporting evil, are you evil then? Such polarized good and evil debates are good in Star Wars but don't much place in the realm of politics. In this case, what are the ramifications of accepting the notion that Iran is evil? Does America simply sit back and allow evil to exist or does it take up the holy crusade to eradicate evil? If it does decide to eradicate evil then surely a military invasion is in the offing and who will pay the price of that? Is every person living in Iran evil?

If Saddam was evil what does that make Iraq? Was Iraq evil or was it a small number of people at the top? The US decided to invade and end the evil that was Iraq but who is paying the price? The tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis who have died over the past 4 years who wanted nothing more than to live their lives.

Glenn Beck's insistence that we use the term evil only serves to shortcut logical and civil discussion and replace it with emotional finger pointing. If you want to see an example of how this works look no further than America. You are either for the war or your not. There is no room for a nuanced or multi-facted position on such a complex matter. It is a simple decision. Your either for the war or your for terrorism. Which is it?

That is what is happening here. The drums of war are beginning to beat and people like Glenn Beck are taking up the tune.