The Loss of an American Superhero part 2: the Facebook affect

In a world that has rapidly become one big virtual society, filled with people who consider themselves global citizens, the will of Americans to stand up for those who can't has virtually disappeared. The easiest form of 'activism', hitting the 'share' button on your timeline, has become the only way most young people act out at all, costing out great nation not only knowledge and freedom, but it's core identity as well. 

In the 1960s, youth culture in the US was united possibly more so than ever before as they fought against the wars in Korea and Vietnam. They organized sit-ins, protests, marches, and even fashion trends all to assert their power as free Americans and truly support the causes they beleived in. Now we dismiss the worlds innumerable atrocities as simple 'trending topics' and articles that get passed around our friends' Facebook pages without even being read. It's easy to protect the little guy from the cushy desk chair in your parents suburban basement while you simultaneously browse Pinterest and fight for points on spotify. But what does sharing a cleverly worded status update do for the intolerably oppressed people living under dictatorships and unacceptably controlling governments? Absolutely nothing. You can iMessage your friends all you want about avoiding coke products in an effort to boycott the sponsors of the Russian hosted Winter Olympics but trading cola for sprite for a week until you loose interest does little to stop gay prosecution in Russia and you probably didn't think to check that sprite is a coke product too. 

The advantage of the modern era is that we have every bit of knowledge in the world at our fingertips and Americans are lucky enough to live in one of few countries that doesn't filter online content to their citizens. Unfortunately, most people are too concerned with gaining the next level in candy crush to educate themselves fully on what is happening in the rest of civilization. 

What drives me to speak so passionately about this is a current issue that strikes me especially close to home. The war President Vladimir Putin has struck against gays in Russia has escalated to sickening heights and only grows worse with American ignorance. A few months ago, statuses circulated for a couple of days on Facebook about boycotting certain companies to put a dent in funding for the coming winter games in Sochi because of a Russian law passed that labels any pro-gay propaganda or anything depicting any kind of alternative lifestyle as pornography, the vague wording of which subjects anyone condoning homosexuality or teaching it's acceptance to children to fines or possible arrest. What most of these Facebook fanatics don't realize now that the topic is no longer trending is that, not only is Stolichnaya not actually made in Russia, Putin's war against gays has only gotten worse. He has banned the adoption of Russian children to gay couples and to any single parent or couple living in a country where marriage equality exists. There are laws in effect that allow police to arrest and detain for weeks any tourist or foreigner whom they suspect might be gay or pro-gay. A law is also currently in the works that will allow Russia to repossess any child that was previously adopted by a suspected gay or lesbian couple and would allow police to take children from gay or lesbian biological parents. Any kind of hate crime against a homosexual person goes completely ignored, including the sexual assault and murder of a young gay man in Volgograd in May of this year.

Mr. Putin's hatemongering is completely unacceptable and must be stopped. America has it's own tolerance issues considering the heavy fight for gay rights and marriage equality that still takes place today but at least we are lucky enough to be protected by a government that still considers us people and a president that is finally beginning to stand up for equality. It is our duty as the Clark Kent of the modern world to unbutton our shirt, strap on that red cape, and fight for the freedom and equality that is deserved by our brethren around the world. We may not be able to change the opinion of conservative religious fanatics but we can fight for tolerance, if not acceptance. Sitting in front of your computer screen and sharing an article like this one is certainly an aid in spreading awareness of the issue but if that awareness doesn't pull anyone out of their chair, what good is it? Get out of the damn photo booth, Superman, and join the freakin fight. 

The Loss of an American Superhero part 1: Syria

When WWI and the Great Depression were succeeded only by a greater World War and unspeakable genecide in Germany,  the image of Superman was created as a symbol of hope for the world. More than hope though, Superman was truly a symbol of America. A muscled man clad in red and blue that flew into the depths of danger to save innocent lives and protect the peace of the world was exactly the image the world had of the USA and it was that image that we as a country were determined to live up to. But after unsuccessful wars and efforts that left us bloody and hurt without bringing much peace to the world, it seems we have lost the will to fight for others and replaced it with self preservation and cynicism. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am about as far as it gets from a bleeding heart liberal and very rarely involve myself in other peoples problems. I generally believe that strife leads to strength. But there are cases of injustice that simply cannot be tolerated. 

Many citizens who oppose an American strike in Syria say that Obama put his foot in his mouth when he drew a line against chemical warfare and has no place putting the lives of our military on the line to cover his own ass. But I think this shows how poorly educated most Americans are on most issues, including the history of this particular situation. Mr. Obama didn't draw that "red line" himself, it was drawn by many countries throughout the world, including many in the Middle East, years ago when they drafted and signed multiple treaties banning the use of chemical weapons. This has been a battle the world has fought since the late 19th century when WMDs were first introduced to the world of war in the early years leading up to WWI. Many countries agreed even then that the use of chemical weapons was heinous and should not be tolerated. Even Hitler himself, after surviving chemical attacks during that first Great War, refused to use them against his opposition during WWII (despite admittedly gassing thousands of minorities in his own state). 

The conflict in Syria is not as recent as many Americans are aware either. The war there has continued for over 2 years now and as French and Saudi Arabian intelligence will inform you, president Bashar Al-Assad has fought with cruelty and inelegance since the beginning. 

The attack on Damascus killed nearly 1,400 innocent Syrian men, women, and children while they slept, according to American reports. And this is only one example of the massacre that the Assad regime is inflicting on it's people. 

What we are witnessing in Syria is not a civil war between its people like ours was. It is a people fighting for their lives against a government that has mistreated them for generations. In the past year, the killing in Syria has multiplied tenfold going from less than 5,000 dead in 2011, and 10,000 in 2012 to over 100,000 people perished this year and "another 5,000 are being slaughtered monthly according to the UN", says Nicholas Kristoff at the New York Times. 2 million Syrian survivors have fled their homes and are refugees in neighboring lands. 

In the face of all this horror, it is baffling that a people once considered the superhero that would save the world are willing to turn a blind eye and say that it's simply none of our business. 

President Obama has explicitly stated that the strike is not intended to end the war or even take a stance on what the outcome should be. The reason for military action is that we cannot stand idly by while thousands of innocent people are slaughtered every day by means that we have sworn for over a century to protect them against. 

The American opposition and those in other countries that speak against a strike do pose valid points. Generally speaking, a diplomatic solution is almost alway preferable to military action. But with Russia using it's veto power to block any resolution in the UN on the matter and Assad's regime refusing to participate in peace negotiations, our options are limited. Even Bashar Al-Assad said in 2009, "there's no substitute for the United States."

Any outcome of their war is scarey for the US. Assad is a dictator and if he wins, his people will endure immeasurable suffering and turmoil in the years to come. If certain groups of extremist jihadi rebels manage to claim victory, it will put or direct enemies in a position of immense power. We must hope for the strength of the moderate rebellion to gain it's footing and overcome their adversary. But if there is a potential result that is clearly favorable to all other possibilities, shouldn't the US actively support it?

Syria is not Iraq. Obama is not putting American boots on the ground (not yet anyway), and the evidence that the Syrian government not only possesses but has used chemical weapons is clear and backed by several different country's intelligence, including France who are generally not keen on much action from the US in any form. Nor is Syria Bosnia where we intervened to prevent further catastrophe and chose to end a war that had gone on long enough. We cannot compare and contrast Syria to passed situations because it is far too complicated and unlike anything we have been involved in. Assad broke international laws that we as a nation have enforced for decades and we must stand by our principles now. 

When did the most powerful country in the world decide it was no longer our duty to protect the innocent from their villains? Ignoring the situation is just as bad as condoning Mr. Assad's actions. When did we as a nation become so selfish and cynical that we are able to condone the slaughter of thousands of people simply because we'd rather not get involved? We teach our children that they need to stand up to bullies on the playground when they beat on the weak. We tell them to be strong and stand up for what is right. Perhaps it's time we practice what we preach and let Superman do his job. 

Teach Love

With all the hubbub surrounding the coming Olympics in Russia and their anti-gay laws, it seems prudent to be fully educated on background of the issue and think carefully about the affect our actions truly have. In Ancient Greece, the Olympics were held at the base of mount Olympia, the home of the gods, to showcase the world's strongest and greatest physical achievement. When the medals were awarded, they used the three tiered podium to show which men were closer to godliness and the heavens. These games were revived years ago to signify unity in the world and allow us to truly test our greatest athletes and compete to represent our nations in friendly, peaceful, non-violent means. They were seen as a period every four years when we would put aside our differences and come together in peace to celebrate being strong and being human. Clearly, these ideals have been somewhat forgotten as social media and the speed of modern life make us all global citizens and allow us constant connection with the world. 

The US was founded under ideals of religious freedom and the power of the people over their government. These principles bend and change with the times, permitting us to grow and evolve as a nation. Russia has been a religiously dominated country for centuries, oppressing the rights of women, minorities, and basically all of it's citizens that weren't heterosexual, White Russian orthodox males. Obviously as free and proud Americans, we find their strict laws heinous and unacceptable but we fail to see is that Russia is not the US. Their country is run by different ideals and principles and we only feed into the international perception of our country by trying to force our own ideas on someone else's government. Obviously, as a gay man, I do not support the choices of the Russians in charge, but I hardly think that boycotting Coca Cola (an American company) is going to change the opinion of the aging Catholics in charge on the other side of the world. When a child is being bullied, we teach them not to fight back. We teach them that the bully is insecure and scared and that feeding into their behavior will only make it worse. At what point in our upbringing do we forget this lesson? When did we decide that exclusion and anger were an effective way of fighting a problem? In the 1980s, when Harvey Milk fought to open the minds of Americans to gay rights, he earged members of our community to come out to everyone. He saw that the best way to fight ignorance was to stamp it out by showing people that gay men and women were a harmless and vital part of the society that they already knew. Perhaps, instead of boycotting the Olympics and Russia altogether, we should be edging gay athletes to participate and win. We should be working to open the minds of the Russians, not shutting them out. Ignorance stems from a lack of knowledge. They clearly understand hate very well so fight to teach them love. Trust your own government to protect you and your rights and fight for progression, not exclusion. Teach them love. 

The Future

Thinking about and planning for what happens next is something that people seem to be invariably controlled by. whether it's searching for new worlds, building empires, fighting for the freedom of our children, or simply college hunting and choosing a major, people cannot inhibit their concern for the way their lives are going to be. The Buddhists' main philosophy on life and living is "awareness". Nirvana, enlightenment, awakening; they all refer to the state of being fully aware in the moment and the now. The only certainty in life is death and it is the thing we are most afraid of. Why plan for a future if you're not going to be able to fully experience it because you are always too focused on tomorrow? I've been reading a lot of Buddhist writing lately and while a lot of people seem to believe they are a simple, slightly detached culture that doesn't understand modernity, their way of thinking strikes me as incredibly insightful and more relevant than any other idea of theology or philosophy. A very large part of their meditation practices are backed by scientific research on the brain and accessing the right cognitive processes that allow to move beyond all the distractions we create for ourselves. Even the Dali Lama is a businessman. An author, leader, teacher, and traveler, he has to be connected to the modern world in order to fulfill his duties. He may not tweet his lessons but is it so much to ask that we put our iPhones in our pockets and experience what is happening around us? I first started researching these ideas in the fall and I remember so clearly the day I started disconnecting myself from my virtual world in order to see the physical one around me. I have lived in New Haven for 3 years now and the beauty of the Yale campus in autumn is truly astounding. The old buildings and falling leaves surrounded by well kept grass and chattering of international students cannot be described accurately in words. Yet if you walk around the campus and really watch, it seems most of the students miss out on this beauty because they are too busy posting statuses, tweeting about teachers, and instagramming their lunches. Later this year, Google is releasing something called "Google Glass". It is a pair of glasses that sync to your phone and basically do everything Siri does for you displayed right in the corner of your vision like a hologram  They are marketing this leap forward in technology as a way of getting our noses out of our phones and to start using thecnology as a method of experiencing the things around us. We will no longer have to pull out our phones and see the world through a screen just to capture a memory of it. 

I have recently had to make some major decisions about where my life is headed and what I want to do with it. I've debated a few different career paths for a long time trying to figure out what is going to make me happy and allow me to lead the life I want. Looking forward I realize that those do not have to be mutually exclusive things. Why can't I simply lead the life I want and make a career out of that? I can and that is what I plan to do. The Buddhists do not tell you to ignore tomorrow and not prepare for your future. They simply urge you to live today. Death is unavoidable but so is time. Experience the now and neither can frighten you. 

Home

Home is an incredibly confusing concept. As word, it is used to describe the place in which we live. Our apartment. Our house. Our cardboard box on the sidewalk of Avenue A. Weather we have recently moved in and are still without furniture (or pots and pans) or have lived in the same house for more than 20 years, we use the same word to describe it. But if we sit down to really consider what the word means to us and where that definition might actually hold truth, people rarely seem to think of the place that they sleep at night.

My parents moved into their house shortly before I was born. While my mother was pregnant I believe. I lived there for 22 years. Experienced all of my growing pains (or, considering my height, lack thereof), my first steps, my first solid food, and all of my first days of school. I remember when I went to college in Phoenix, Arizona. 3 months into the first semester, I referred to my dorm as home and it struck me as odd but comforting. My friends and I had been out, celebrating our freedom as college freshman, and it was probably after 3 in the morning when we were all tired and I stated that it was time to go home. Somehow, the concept of where my heart was had transferred from my parents tiny house in Simsbury to the dorm where my make-shift family lived. That was 5 years ago and things have changed since then. My biological family has grown older and further apart. I have become independent, at least as far as living is concerned.

I moved to New Haven and into my now ex-boyfriend’s apartment 2 years ago. It was a little soon in our relationship but we were very much in love and I spent most of my time there anyway. The closet was small and he did not offer me a drawer but it was the first time in a long time that I could come home each night really wanting to be where I was. Going back to that apartment felt like entering a place where I was safe and loved. A lot has happened since then. I am living in my first lease. A one bedroom with no furniture and 2 of the world’s friendliest kittens. I have only been in this apartment a week and it doesn’t quite feel like home yet. I have a family here in New Haven. A few extremely close friends including my ex-boyfriend. Sometimes we fight, or get a little annoyed with each other, but when one of crashes his car at 5 a.m., the other will always answer his call. I still spend a lot of time in that apartment and it still feels strange. Not really like a home, but somewhere I want to be. That’s the interesting place about home. It never seems to last in one specific place and though we may have a place to sleep and eat, we may still consider ourselves homeless. Home may be where the heart is, but when that becomes lost, where can we go to feel safe?

Losing

A very close friend of mine always says “any life experience is good life experience”. I suppose that is not something I can argue, though I can’t imagine we know whether or not truth lies in that statement until our lives are complete. I have had quite a few short lived experiences in my life and it cannot be disputed that they each shaped who I am in some way. Whether or not something is ‘good’ for a person is very much a matter of opinion but they have all certainly been experiences and no matter how large or small, I have been affected by each.

Something I have grown quite used to in my limited years is loss. It’s something we all must face eventually. I have lost people, places, memories, and dreams. It is safe to say that everything we ever have, we must lose at some point in our lives. But it seems as though our journeys here are meant to combat that truth. We spend our time searching for a job that will last. A home that will last. A love that will last. The latter, most of all, is the most difficult thing to lose and the hardest to get rid of. Often times, even if we lose a person, the love remains. Like a scar on the span that is our life. Covered by adventure, people, places. But always there, reminding us of what our lives could have been. Of what our lives could be. It’s rather silly to think that we work so hard to obtain and maintain something that breaks us so badly. Without it, we are lost. With it, we live in silent terror that it will kill us. But that bravery is what makes us what we are. Many people believe that our ability to love is what separates us from all other species here. The ability to feel so connected to another person that it seems if we lose them, we lose a part of ourselves. Many animals mate for life and I don’t suppose there’s really any way for us to know if that is love or just nature. Romantic inclinations would lead us to believe the former but I think it is a more primal instinct than that. Beyond this feeling of love or attachment or a simple need to procreate. It comes from a need to make something in our lives stick. Everyday we are given millions of options and every choice we make seems to impact our life. Every experience changes us even in the smallest of ways. Perhaps love is simply a carnal need for stability. The need for just one thing in this world we can’t ever truly lose.