Septums & Plugs

I could really care less what people wear on their bodies. If I see someone walking around in old 70's hippie dress I would be amused, but I wouldn't judge. Times change, style changes, and people's mindsets, I think, should move with it. Accessories my parents clearly despise of are plugs and septums. Here's what I think.

A nasal septum piercing.

Septums, if you do not know, are nasal piercings put through the nasal septum, a cartilaginous wall [1] that separate your nostrils. They have grown in popularity amongst the younger adult generation, and seem to have taken the eyes of the next generation to hit their twenties.

An ear gauge piercing.

Plugs, also known as gauges, are ear piercings that focus on stretching the earlobe into a wider circle [2]. This is done for self-expression, for keeping a culture, or just for the sake of fashion. Plugs, or gauges (gauges referring to their sizes), are even much more so popular in the young adult population of America, and are much more accepted than a septum piercing.

There has been a problem within my family, caused by these two types of piercings. First, my brother's wife has a septum piercing. It is not big, and when she is wearing it it isn't very noticeable, yet my mother cannot stand it. Before my brother and his wife got married, my mother even threatened not to go to the wedding because my brother's wife decided she wanted to wear her septum on the big day. I just couldn't see why it was such a big problem. I mean, sure, I don't want one, but who am I to judge or care for what other people are wearing? In fact, when she wears it, it seems like a part of her-- I just don't care if she does.

The other problem is with my sister's boyfriend. He has a septum but he also has plugs, and these my mother and father seem to hate even more than my brother's wife's septum. My mother complains EVERY TIME she sees him with them in, which really bothers me. I think he is a really cool guy; he's funny and knows how to just enjoy himself. He can cook very well. He even wants to go to culinary school. He has a nice personality. Yet it seems that my mother (and to an extent, my father) can only see as far as his nose and ear piercings. To me? I just think, "big deal." I don't even notice them.

I just don't see why there is such prejudice. If someone wants to wear something as minuscule as a septum or a gauge, why make such a big deal about it? It seems even childish to me. Accept people for who they are. And here comes another cliché saying:

Don't judge a book by its cover.


-Luke

[1] Source: Nose Piercings Information
[2] Source: Ear Piercings Information

An extra thought... I haven't posted in a long time. I've been gone on trips and after I got back from them I've just been lazy. Well here I am, I'll start again!

McDonald's, Hollywood, & Coca-Cola

Have you ever heard of the term "Eurocentric?" The term is commonly used in the historical community, meaning "everything about it revolves around Europe." Modern historians, also called Revisionists, started to bring out the rest of the world's histories and contributions to technological and idealogical advancements in the 1960's rather than use the widespread and widely accepted Eurocentric ways of teaching history. History is now most commonly taught in the Revisionist's views, as it should be.

The way that many Americans think today is Americentric, which of course, means "everything about it revolves around America." To many Americans, the world is mainly only about the US and its interests abroad. No where else, except maybe Europe or Japan on a good day (hopefully you've caught onto my sarcasm). Their thoughts are about the last proposterous thing that some talk show host said or about how "stupid" the War on Terror is (or the reverse, how incredibly superb it is).

Here's a humorous representation that the teacher in my freshman World Geography class showed us a couple of years ago, and it pretty much sums up how a lot of Americans see the world:

The way many Americans see the world. Click to see larger.

The thing that took me a while to realize and something I would bet that you did not notice (and if you're an American reading this, it is ironic) is that Africa is not even represented on the map. It represents the ignorance of the American people when it comes to the terrible living conditions and wars that are present on the African continent constantly, and how Americans do close to nothing to help them while basking in their underappreciated riches.

Some Americans are great people. I don't want to say that all Americans are lazy and oblivious to any affairs other than what is going on inside their own house, but in general the American public needs to wake up. Being the superpower of the world doesn't mean we should be able to forget or ignore the hurts of the people worldwide, but should entitle us to do our best to help as much as possible.

I'm just a lowly 16-year-old writing a blog during his summer vacation, mostly just to have something to keep him busy. I don't know if my opinions will go very far, but hey, at least you know at least one American can sort of think in the right direction!

-Luke

America the Greatest

Americans (911 registered voters chosen randomly nationwide via cell phone or landline) hold firm on the belief that the United States of America remains the greatest country in the world [1]. It’s not saying that it’s the most comfortable, the most healthy, or happy (hopefully Sweden has crossed your mind), but most likely on terms of America’s power and security that is felt by many Americans alike.

The poll, conducted jointly by Anderson Robbins Research and Shaw & Company Research, took place from April 25 to April 27, 2011. This takes us before the highly resounded and yet highly disapproved death/killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the terrorist who ordered and approved the 9/11/01 attacks on the United States.

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The results that I found most interesting:

-84 percent of voters think the United States is the greatest country in the world.

-89 percent of Republicans believe so as well.

-84 percent of Democrats believe so as well.

-79 percent of Independents believe so as well.

-79% of voters say that they wouldn’t leave the US, even if its financial problems were not an issue.

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I believe that the United States is still the most powerful country in the world. Our economic problem is huge and we may never recover, and the country’s time as the most prominent power in the world may be limited. I find this sad, but, as some historical person put it into simple, blunt words, “All great empires must end.”

Although the US has not gone about conquering lands (to the ignorant people: no, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are not attempts at modern American colonization), the US has made its empire through its global companies and having military bases in seemingly every country that will let it establish one (minus Cuba).

Our currency, language, and culture is everywhere in the world. And even if the country begins to lose its economic might and eventually falls, its legacy sure will echo through time as one of the greatest civilizations to ever have existed.

-Luke

[1] Source: Fox News Poll