Dissonance Chords & Dissenting Opinion

Sometimes, I think atheists think too much.

They think they’re so incredibly intelligent because they follow science instead of religion. They think science disproves the existence of God, without considering the possibility that science could be just another facet of God’s miraculous creation, that He put so much effort and thought into the way the universe works.

They think that because war and violence occurs, God can’t exist. Because He doesn’t answer every prayer, because people are allowed to die for senseless reasons. I have to wonder what kind of naive living situation they had while they were growing up. I figured out early on in life that bad things help a person to grow. God is that loving parent that allows us to hurt in order to grow from it. It’s hard, but sometimes a child can’t learn to stay away from the oven until he burns himself. Sometimes we can’t appreciate life until we experience death. Sometimes we can’t appreciate the beauty of the world around us until we witness the destruction of a forest fire.

And God understands that, whether atheists do or not.

My best friend is an atheist, to a degree. She doesn’t believe in God, or religion, but she does believe that something occurs after death. Obviously, we get along incredibly well. She was raised with morals and common sense and that’s all I ever ask of people, regardless of political or religious affiliation. She doesn’t care that I believe, and I don’t care that she doesn’t. Live and let live. The personal choice to believe is just that: a personal choice.

I’m not saying religion isn’t guilty of attempting to convert people, because they are. It’s part of the Christian creed, to save people by bringing them to God. But nothing drives me up the wall more than a hypocrite, and I can’t stand preachy atheists who moan and cry on and on about all the bad experiences they’ve had over the years with those evil mean Christians who tried to convert them… only to then go after Christians and try to convert them to atheism, in equally nasty ways.

I also absolutely hate how Christianity is the only religion atheists ever go after. Why not just label yourselves anti-Christians instead of atheists? There was a poster on Twitter today who made a single comment about the war between Islam and Christianity, and apologized to peaceful Muslims… only to then carry on bashing Christianity without an apology to peaceful Christians.

Excuse me?

I’m not a member of a church. I’m not baptized, I’ve never taken communion. My parents made the decision to let my sister and I ultimately choose for ourselves. But I have been performing with a local Lutheran church orchestra for the past two years. And I have never seen nicer, more generous people than there are in that church. It reaches this point where I become irrationally angry to hear people whine about Christianity’s evils, when this church has done nothing but good in people’s lives.

They have never preached against other religions (in fact, I think one of the senior/former pastors teaches a class about understanding other religions, and often speak of reaching out to our brothers and sisters of other beliefs). They have never preached about the devil. They don’t demean women (there are actually at least two womens’ circles where ladies of the church meet to discuss the role of women in the Bible), or other races. They appreciate music and the arts. They don’t comment directly on current events.

Instead, they speak of God’s love. Of the importance of charity and kindness and morality. Of being humble and thankful.

I have never seen a group of people be so generous, especially when they don’t have very much to give. This church donated upwards of $70,000 AND sent their own people to help build homes in Mexico. They raised enough money to feed thousands of children in Africa for over a year, and used their own hands and time to make the food. They donate money and food to keep members of their own congregation in their homes and eating well.

I am constantly stunned by the ever-growing depths of their kindness and understanding. The church council leader and several other members of the church are all aware that I’m not baptized and not actually a member of the church. And all I have ever heard is, “If you decide to join us, the doors are open.”

Yeah, those evil dominating Christians have to demand everyone be Christian and start all those wars about others not being Christians and they’re really just evil! How dare they!

How dare you?

I know that there are some incredibly cruel Christians out there. And terrible things have been done in the name of Christianity. But what atheists don’t understand is that those people are not the majority. This is the problem we run into with the sensationalist media. When all they do is report about idiots like Fred Phelps, people forget about what Christ actually taught, and what Christians actually are.

They also refuse to consider that terrible things have been done in the name of other religions as well.

I was fourteen on September 11th, 2001. I didn’t know how to deal with tragedy on such a scale, so I started to question God. I started investigating other options (because even at 14, I hated atheist hypocrisy enough not to want to be associated with them), but nothing ever felt right. Like I said before, my parents allowed my sister and I to make our own decisions about religion. Mine was Christianity. I believe God is there, because I feel Him. Atheists talk about facts without realizing that, fact is, words like “faith” and “believe” don’t need facts, don’t rely on them.

I believe because it feels right, to me. I think evolution is the most likely theory, but who’s to say the original being we evolved from wasn’t created directly by God? I accept science that makes sense regardless of the Bible, because the Bible can’t be taken literally. Each translation is different, so how can we know what God truly wants except to look at the big picture?

Love, generosity, and kindness reaps rewards.

That’s something even atheists should be able to believe in.

Am I missing something?

No, really, I want to know. Why are there still people are there supporting Barack Obama?

I understand that there are leftwing moonbats out there who are going to love him no matter what just because of his race. I understand that there are fools out there who aren’t going to be able to see past his charm. But what about everyone else?

What has he done, and succeeded at, that makes people love him so much?

The first thing he did when he got into office was attempt to close Gitmo. While some disagreed with this move, it was still a promising action. He wasn’t going to waste any time, things were going to start moving forward right away.

Except that there was nowhere to put the detainees. The only other countries willing to take the prisoners weren’t exactly countries where we wanted those prisoners to be. There was a huge outcry against allowing them on American soil, and now it appears that Gitmo won’t be closing anytime soon. As much as the effort had seemed promising, all it ended up doing was show that Obama doesn’t think his actions through very well.

So I don’t understand. This isn’t the only issue. When the Perez Hilton vs. Miss California debacle was at its peak, one of the biggest arguments in Miss California’s favor was that the she had the same opinion as the president.

This was something her Obama-loving haters ignored entirely, even though it’s the truth.

I know people who voted for Obama because they believed he was the most gay-rights-friendly presidential candidate in history. Where they got that idea from, I have no idea. I’d never heard him say anything about gay rights during the election season. I know that a lot of gays and gay-friendlys were up in arms about Sarah Palin, despite, uh…

tl;dw: 2:45 is where Joe Biden says, “If that’s the case, we really don’t have a difference.”

Sarah responds: “Your question to him was whether he supported gay marriage, and my answer is the same as his, and it is that I do not.”

Or you could just watch this:

Hear a difference? I don’t.

The only thing Obama has done for the gay community is give gay employees of the government equal benefits. To be honest, that’s about all he can do without Congress’s approval, and in my opinion, that makes it a moot gesture since it’s hardly even trying. The only reason he did do it is because there was some backlash against him from the gay community for not getting involved in or making a statement on the NOH8 campaign.

I’m constantly stunned at the things he’s allowed to get away with just because he’s Obama the Crown Prince. Like the bill that would give him the ability to shut off the internet in emergencies. You know what other countries give their leaders that same control? China, North Korea, and Iran. Places that don’t want people to learn outside of their dictator’s curriculum. Places that try to keep people from speaking out against their esteemed leader, or learning the reasons why they should speak out. Places where those that do speak out are shot in the streets for doing so.

And yet we have people out there saying they think this is a good idea, Obama should definitely be allowed to have that kind of power. Anyone who says this is a hypocrite, because you know if the exact same bill had come up while Bush was in office, there would’ve been a huge outcry of “FACISM!! NAZI!!”

Also, what kind of emergency would require such a thing? I know the truther idiocy spread mostly through the internet, but I don’t really consider that to be a huge threat, and considering Obama’s appointment of Van Jones as a czar, I don’t think he does either. What, exactly, would he be trying to censor? I’d be okay if it was just the government sector. I can understand that, to keep spies and hackers out. But it’s not just the government sector. It’s the public sector too. There’s no reason for the government to have control of that.

The Rasmussen poll shows a steady decline in Obama’s approval ratings. CNN and MSNBC largely ignored the Van Jones story, but still the man resigned. People are slowly but steadily jumping off the Obama bandwagon, as he slowly but steadily reveals more and more of himself to the public. He lied when he called himself bi-partisan, and which is more telling of his personality: that he’s friends with people like Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, or that he threw them under the bus and denied being even acquaintences with them as soon as those stories started to hurt his chances at being president? Neither is exactly promising.

I truly believe that the only reason more people aren’t angry is because they don’t look past his initial charm. They don’t look past what’s being reported on CNN and MSNBC. They don’t think about how Olbermann and Maddow are using faulty logic and twisted facts, or just miss the point entirely.

It’s time to open your eyes. Obama, at his best, is a selfish narcissist, proving his inexperience and not showing any signs of growing as a leader. At his worst, he’s a Marxist bent on turning America into the next socialist failure.

Either way, it’s not looking good.

I think the decision I have finally come to is this:

Any complaint you make about Change, you can make the same, or a similar, complaint about New Perspective. And visa versa.

Which I suppose just goes to show that the whole thing is about personal taste in genre.

I think I have to go Team Panic! for now, though. I started becoming very bitter towards Ryan for reasons I’m still not sure of about a month or so before the break-up was even announced. Plus, he’s really not a very good vocalist (I’m still shocked he sang instead of Jon), and only a mediocre guitarist. Talent and skill don’t necessarily play into taste, of course, and that doesn’t mean I won’t give The Young Veins another shot when their album drops; Ryan does a nice bait and switch, where he pulls off the vocals okay on the album, then can’t be consistent live. So maybe if I don’t have to see them live, I can enjoy them, haha.

But what also plays into it is the fact that I grew up on the kind of music The Young Veins are trying to make… and I don’t want to say I rejected it or outgrew it, because I still love all the music my parents raised me on. It’s just that after 10 years of it, I found myself wanting to find my own musical tastes. Not everyone feels that way; a lot of people embrace this kind of music and continue to listen to it forever while still finding their own tastes, different or similar. Some purists refuse to try anything new.

I embraced a love for modern pop. I love to watch it grow and change on its own (The Young Veins are pop-rock too, it’s just a pop style that’s 30-40 years old), molding into certain styles that scream the decade almost down to the year. I love to watch new bands come along and build on those styles and create something new that’s still radio friendly. I have an obsession with little-known bands covering overplayed pop tunes (I have 3 different covers of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” and none of them are the actual Taylor Swift version). And I think it’s that love of the new, the growth, the different story, that make me more excited for Panic!’s new album than for The Young Veins. Spencer and Brendon have said New Perspective is one of the poppier tunes they’re written recently, and I’m eager to see what else they come up with. I don’t expect Ryan’s lyrics from Brendon, just like I don’t expect Brendon’s music from Ryan.

(For the record, I’m not saying The Young Veins music isn’t growth and development; it definitely is. It’s just in going in a different direction from where my personal tastes are coming from.)

I’m going to give both bands a shot, and who knows what will happen once both albums are out and in my hands. I don’t think anything will really change, except that The Young Veins may have won me over a little more. We can only wait and see.

This is my favorite Michael Jackson song. Enjoy.

I never really was much of a Michael Jackson fan. Of course, I knew who he was, but mostly through all the scandal and gossip that surrounded him. I had a friend in high school whose mom was president of the local chapter of his fanclub, and anytime I joked around about the allegations against him, she’d jump down my throat. It didn’t matter to me: whatever he’d done or hadn’t done, I still knew he was Michael Jackson. King of Pop. A man who was world-famous for his music before he was infamous for what might’ve gone on at Neverland Ranch.

Really, I’m a little disappointed in the general reaction I’ve seen from people after his death. I agree, TV is giving it too much coverage, when there are other things going on in the world. I agree, it’s ridiculous for Congress to have given him a moment of silence when they won’t do the same thing for American soldiers in the Middle East, or for brutally murdered demonstrators in Iran. But there are facts and then there are opinions. Here are some facts I think people need to be reminded of:

1) A man is innocent until proven guilty.
2) Michael Jackson was never proven guilty.

Truth be told, I thought conservatives, of all people, would understand this principle of justice. I was really pleased with our reaction to the scandal that surrounded Mark Sanford; as much as liberals like to jump for joy and attack with sabers drawn every time a Republican is caught in a scandal, we don’t rise to it and we stand for our morals, whether our representatives do or not. I saw a tremendous outcry for Sanford’s resignation, and was happy with that. Compared with how John Edward’s similar scandal was handled, the conservative base has held their own against the liberal base. We know where we stand. We have the moral high ground, still.

But at the same time, watching conservatives lash out against Michael after his death, I can also see why liberals pick on us and think of us as sticks-in-the-mud, you know? Stiff old guys in business suits who talk in monotone voices.

Like I said before, I really picked on him about all the charges that were brought against him, but so did everyone. I don’t think it changed anyone’s opinion of his music, which is what he was truly legendary for. No one really knows what happened between him and those kids, and to be completely honest, I’m really not sure what I believe; I think it is plausible that he may have done something to at least one child, but “plausible” does not mean “absolute.” I mean, let’s look at some other facts here.

In the second trial, the child’s parents were… not very good people. They were tax evaders, frauds, and con artists. It’s not hard to believe that the child was told to lie in order to squeeze some money out of an innocent man. Parents telling children to lie about such things isn’t uncommon; just watch the Steve Wilkos show.

And throughout both trials, celebrities who were loyal friends of Michael’s as children defended him, swore up and down that he had never done anything to them, and that they had never seen him do anything to any other child. Even now, as adults, after Michael’s death, they’re distraught and heartbroken. Now would be the time when you would expect them to start coming out to admit the truth, if they hadn’t told it before. But, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me who always looked at Michael as someone who wasn’t all there upstairs, but who looked generally harmless.

But I said this on livejournal yesterday, and I believe it wholeheartedly: even if I’m wrong, and he did touch those children and bring harm to them, that’s not the man we’re mourning, that’s not the life we’re celebrating. The legend of Michael Jackson is something entirely different from the strange looking guy we always saw in the tabloids. It’s the legend that everyone is upset over, not the alleged child molester.

I doubt I’ll change any minds, because I get it. The conservative base is built around Christian morals and through that, we deplore anyone who would bring harm to a child. Nothing disgusts and angers me more than a child molester, I promise, I’m not defending that on any level. I totally understand where everyone is coming from.

But I think what all those people are forgetting is what I mentioned before: innocent until proven guilty. I doubt that anyone slinging those nasty words around was there, in the room, as an incident between Michael and a child occurred, or has any solid proof that such an incident occurred. If you did, why didn’t you stand up to get him convicted? You’re just as guilty for not doing so. Shame!

Seriously, though, I think everyone just needs to step back a moment and rethink this. At the very least, show some respect to the man because of what he did in his professional life, before his personal life went to hell in a handbasket. He was talented on many levels, and inspired more modern musicians than you’re giving him credit for. Even if you disagree with me on that point, I should think the outpouring of emotion and excessive TV coverage you’re complaining about proves you’re in a minority here.

So simmer down, folks. A joke is a joke, and your opinion on whether he was guilty or not is your opinion.

But it’s not the facts. Or the point.

Links Links Links:

Vesper In Limbo - A really lovely tribute to Michael.
Lisa Marie Presley’s Statement on Michael’s Death
Elizabeth Taylor’s Statement on Michael’s Death (it was reported that she collapsed upon hearing of his death and was too devastated to make a statement right away)
Statements from John Landis, Corey Feldman, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, and several tweets from other celebrities
Article about Macaulay Culkin’s Silence After Michael’s Death, and a 2004 interview with Culkin about Michael
Mariah Carey’s Statement on Michael’s Death
Paul McCartney’s Statement on Michael’s Death
Rosie O’Donnell’s Poem About Michael’s Death (irritatingly written in internet speak, but a beautiful sentiment nonetheless)
Michael’s Music Takes Over the iTunes’s Top Sellers List

I’m a big ONTD fan, can you tell?

I’m home!

The show was brilliant. We Shot The Moon showed up! Unexpected but totally okay. I love them and haven’t yet had the chance to see them live, but they sounded great. The vocalist is distinctive, and the piano sound is as well. They must be working on a new album, though, because I only recognized one or two of the songs.

Phoenix locals Anarbor were also there. Since female bassist Jess left, they seem to have adopted a sound that is much more rock. I approve. I can’t say if I liked them better before or after Jess, but Slade’s vocals always seemed better suited for rock anyway, as did his appearance… :P I haven’t seen them live in years, so that was fun. Funny, I’ve never seen them in Phoenix! Next time they tour, I’ll have to try that out. The new EP, Free Your Mind, is great, check it out, I bought a copy at Hot Topic for $7.

I missed most of You, Me and Everyone We Know; I couldn’t get into the album when I downloaded it, so the girls I was with and I went outside for a breath of fresh air. We got back in to catch a song and a half, and I have to say, loved the banter! A band that can crack jokes like that and pick on each other and enjoy themselves that much on stage is enjoyable to watch, and it makes the music better! Panic at the Disco is my favorite band ever, but if I hadn’t seen them live, they wouldn’t be; Brendon is a great example of being engaging and fun to watch. You, Me and Everyone We Know is one of the few bands that’s better in person than on the album. I regret missing most of their set!

Of course, Forgive Durden was amazing to watch. No special guests, unfortunately, but oh it was so great just to be there and see Razia’s Shadow performed live! The band was inclusive to the point that you felt as if you were part of the show, one of the angels or citizens, rather than an outside entity. The band members were all wonderful in their parts (though I wish the venue had realized that the girl vocalist was more than just a background singer and turned her mike up sooner; she had a beautiful voice!), and guest spots from You, Me and Everyone You Know (Ben as Barayas the Spider and I think it was Noel? as Sangara) and Anarbor (Slade as King Malka) were also very well done; Sangara of all people stole the show! Or maybe it was just incredibly fun to sing out his part. Underrated character, apparently. I demand Thomas tell us his story, haha.

Easily, the best part was the finale, complete with a resounding “BROTHER, NOOO” from the entire crowd, and the final chorus sung by all the bands on the tour!

I’m a huge fan of Razia’s Shadow; when I finally got my copy of the album, it was pretty much the only thing I listened to for a month, and I vigorously whored it out to everyone I possibly could (still do! I name drop it just to get asked just to gush). But I missed the last show in Phoenix, and Bamboozle Left, so after seven months of waiting to see it live, it was far from a disappointment. In fact I can’t wait to do it all again! Hopefully at home in a decent venue (the trip to LA was hell; I can’t stand the Modified Arts in Tempe and Forgive Durden deserved better than that), but as I’ve shown, I will go anywhere I have to to see the bands I love!

In fact, the next tour I’ll be reviewing will most likely be the upcoming blink-182 tour! I’ve already got my tickets for Hershey, PA (I’ll be flying out to visit my best friend so we can see them with Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco), and next on my list is to get tickets for the show at Tempe Beach Park, then for Boston, MA! :D

There will hopefully be another political blog soon; there’s been so much going on, and I’m trying to figure out how not to sound like a raving paranoid loon as I share my thoughts, but the fact is that every day I become more and more frightened by the behavior on the left, and I don’t want to let disorganization and confusion force me into silence.

I will be back soon and I will have plenty to say. I just need to figure out how to say it.

While you wait, enjoy the mp3 I found of The Exit (featuring Brendon Urie) from Razia’s Shadow.

I’m going to the Razia’s Shadow tour Sunday night! Headliner Forgive Durden, with Anarbor and You, Me and Everyone We Know as openers. I’m really looking forward to it; I’ve missed Forgive Durden on the promo tours for Razia, which is fine, I guess, because he didn’t perform the whole thing. I’m also a little excited because some of the guest artists live in LA so who knows who might show up for a surprise! No guarantees, but here’s hoping!

Unfortunately, my Razia files are all mp4 so I can’t upload a sample, but this song is my favorite from Forgive Durden’s first album, Wonderland: Il Tango della Signora Francesco Di Bartolommeo Di Zanobi Del Giocondo.

Yeah, another one of those hipster nerds who has ridiculous long song titles. At least he learned his lesson like Panic; the titles on Razia are much more to the point.

Before I go to bed, some food for thought:

1) Someone on twitter said “People who are against socialized health care should try living without insurance for a year like I did.” I said, “Get a full time job like I did.” I was going to get kicked off my parents insurance, so I busted my butt to find a full time job with benefits, and I found one. Now I have health insurance. Wasn’t hard. You don’t have to work for a temp agency just because you’re a photographer; any smart artist understands that it has to be a hobby or side job until you get recognized enough to live off it, and that that doesn’t always happen in your lifetime.

So just get a real job while there are still jobs to get!

2) I have to wonder if pro-choice advocates realize that socialized medicine takes away their right to choose…