Looking Forward

Talk about changes.

Election day here in the U.S. has come and gone and we are now faced with a reality that a great number of us thought improbable. The bigot, donald trump, has been elected the next president of these united states. How could such a thing happen? How did we end up here? Is the nation really this full of hateful people? It is hard to tell. As we have learned in the past few days, these are truly strange times.

What worries me, beyond how the rest of the world views the election results, is the effect this will have our minority communities. After months of talk, trump has fueled a wave of hatred that I have never seen in all my life. Schools across the nation have reported a rise in hate crimes and slurs. Buildings in major cities have been tagged with such phrases as "Sieg heil Trump" with swastikas alongside them. Our LGBTQ+ community has seen a rise in physical attacks. The Muslim community fear for their lives and what may be down the road. This is not American! This is not the America of the 21st Century. This is a massive setback to times we thought were part of our shameful past.

The days since the election have felt surreal. To walk outside now feels like a hazard. I drive around town, where we have a small Muslim population, and I patrol. What am I patrolling? I'm looking out for their safety. I'm making sure the Muslim kids are not attacked while walking home from school. I look out for anyone who is anyone subjected to harassment that trump went months promoting. Why? Because standing up for our brothers and sisters is the American thing to do.

What Is It All About?

Delaware Dam (5 Nov 2016)

I've had a blog before but that one was a little immature. With this one, and only this one, the goal is to post my photography, list where I have been, and contemplate life and all its questions. This blog will have my wondering as well as wandering, inner reflections, takes on the deep questions, and voice an opinion of American problems and beliefs.

The question to ponder now, to maul over, is why restart such a blog? Has anything major happened to me personally? Well, that is a difficult question. On one hand, no. I still seek knowledge and some great awakening. I still want to travel beyond the Ohio boarders. On the other hand, I have been forced by the untimely death of a cousin to look at life and at what needs to be done. Do I want to be a scholar? Not really. I just wanted a job that I could enjoy. With that, would a common degree in history or English really make me happy? No. Phlebotomy, on the other hand, gives me what I want. New and unique people every day. A steady income. I now realize that, no matter how I live my life, I must live my life for me and not for the others around me. I do not need the approval of others. No one needs the approval of others! If I want to shoot photos of interesting rocks or landscapes than that is what I am going to do.

With all of that, consider sticking around. Who knows what will be thrown onto this blog.