Much Ado About Everything: An Introduction

 My name is John. I am a graduate from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Arts in History, with a minor in Anthropology. I am currently working as a field archaeologist doing cultural resource management in the American southeast, primarily in the state of Georgia. And I am so very angry about the state of the world. 

I grew up believing that we should be kind to each other. To treat others the way you want to be treated. To love thy neighbor. I grew up in a small United Methodist church in the middle of nowhere, being taught by my parents to recognize right from wrong, to recognize justice from injustice, and to help those where I can. I believed for quite a long time that other people were raised to recognize the same things. Oh how wrong I was. 

There is a lot of talk in the world about right and wrong, much of which I disagree with. Of course, "right" and "wrong" are subjective concepts that inherently cannot be quantified, but I digress. The America I was raised on was the land of the free, home of the brave, where all could be equal regardless of our differences. I grew up watching the Supreme Court pass a ruling that would protect same-sex marriage nationwide. I witness the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I was taught about the Civil Rights movement and the "end" of Jim Crow. The ruling of Roe v. Wade that would protect women's' rights to reproductive freedom and healthcare. I saw fellow schoolchildren relying on free and reduced lunch programs in public schools, and the passage of the Affordable Care Act that meant that millions of Americans would be able to afford to go to the doctor. 

All of that I would qualify as "right". All of that expands personal freedoms, protects citizens, and provides public services. Listening to Schoolhouse Rock with my parents meant I memorized the US Constitution's Preamble, so I knew all about "promoting general welfare," "establishing justice," and "ensuring domestic tranquility." Is that not the goal of a nation? To make life better for everyone living within it? If not, what's the point? 

Instead, today we are surrounded by people and politicians fueled by hate and bigotry, who would drive a log into their own eye to jab a splinter into their enemy's. They don't care about helping others, regardless of what they might say in speeches or drivel-ridden Facebook posts. What they care about is inflicting pain on those they perceive as a threat for no reason other than their gender identity, sexual orientation, wealth level, employment status, race or ethnicity, or any number of other factors that ultimately amount to being "different". A sad desire for perceived superiority, no matter how small, even drives some of these people to regard their fellow Americans, their fellow man, as little more than subhuman. 

What have we come to? Is this not a place for all? For those who wish to see each other as equal, to lift each other up so that we might achieve better things together than any one of us could do alone? I think it should be. This nation could be so much more than what it is now: an oligarchy ruled by the ultra-rich, driving further wedges between us all so that we might tear each other to pieces while they grow fat from our collective despair. We could - no, should - be more than that. 

Some say to make America great again. I disagree with the statement just by its premise. I believe that America has always been great, we just need to remember why. It's not because this is a place where one can rise up to dominate their fellow man, it's because this is a place where we can all work to make life better for everyone. This land is your land, and this land is my land. It's a place we can live together to make life better, and I truly think that we can. 

This is a very long-winded way to get to what this blog is. This is going to be a place where I can share my thought, writings, and feelings on the world (especially the situation here in the United States, though global politics will likely make their way in) with other people. There's a lot to say and not a lot of places to put it, so this seemed as good as any. Hopefully things get better and I won't have too much to write about, but I doubt that very much. 

Addendum: I also have a lot of academic papers that will probably make it onto this blog, if they do I will make sure to have included context and dates for when the paper was written.