Pledge of Allegiance

So as I was writing the last post, the subject of the Pledge of Allegiance popped into my head... here it is, just in case you weren't brainwashed long enough to memorize it in school...

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Anyways, I think it is crazy that they made us stand with our hand over our heart, face the flag and say that everyday... like seriously...what does that even mean? It is also absurd that they made elementary school kids do it...it really was a brainwashing technique. So I looked up Pledge of Allegiance on wikipedia and apparently it is a 1942 state law that elementary students must recite it... A LAW!! So of course, I had wondered what will happen to the child if they refused to say it...? Well in 2006, the Florida case Frazier v. Alexandre, ruled that requiring children to stand and recite the pledge violates the 1st and the 4th amendment. But that still only pertains to the state of Florida.

Another controversial thing that has been noted about the Pledge of Allegiance is the "Under God" portion... sidenote:The one nation under God part is referenced in Rick Ross' "Burning Money Fast" song.. As recently as March 2010, in the  Newdow vs Rio Linda Union School District, the Under God portion was upheld, because it "did not establish a particular religion and it was due to ceremonial and patriotic nature" hmm...
It is also important to note that "Under God" was added as late as 1954..so it is not something that has always been there, in fact, since the Pledge was written in 1892 it has undergone 4 revisions... Well I could go on and on, but I won't...

Until Next Time...

Lift Every Voice and Sing

The other day I was watching CNN with my mom and a segment came on about a professor who was bringing up the validity of the Black National Anthem. Of course he was black and just happened to be a professor at Clark Atlanta.

A poll they took said that many Americans (mostly white) never even heard of the black national anthem...I thought that was interesting...  Anyways...so I started thinking about the "Black National Anthem" and my exposure to it...Well at my elementary school they would play it on the intercom right after they Played the Star Spangled Banner and before we said the "Pledge of Allegiance (I need to write another post on that)"... For some reason I always like it more than the National Anthem...Maybe because the National Anthem was just so extra...with all the cannons going off and it was odd to me how the whole thing seemed to recreate a war scene... (I definitely don't know the words to the National Anthem)

Also I remember in 5th grade chorus, when we had to chose to sing a verse from either the Star Spangled Banner or "Black National Anthem"... I definitely chose the latter, once again cause the SSB was just sooo extra.. But actually that whole singing in front of the class thing was awful because I can't sing...I never could. So that was just pure hazing to me...

Ok back to the topic, the Clark Professor,Timothy Askew says the Black National Anthem is divisive...can you even be serious? Like most folks don't even know what it is...let the black folks have something...geesh! And its soo ironic, because Clark is an HBCU, and in Atl...

Anyways, check out the article...he has valid reasoning, but still....I actually really like "Lift every voice and sing," possibly I was brainwashed to as an adolescent, but I also think it is a much more soothing and well written song/poem.

Until Next Time...

Boondocks...I told you so...

So for some reason I was resisting watching the Boondocks for the longest... Not exactly sure why... It is actually ironic because I remember many years ago when we used to subscribe to the AJC (Atlanta Journal Constitution), I would always make it a point to look at the comic section... (mostly because it was wrapped around the shopping ads section), but I would peruse it and one of my favorite Comic strips was Boondocks... (probably because it was the only one that actually had black people in it)... I definitely looked forward to reading it every Sunday. So a couple years back when I heard that a TV show was being made, I did a silent applaud for Aaron McGruder, but I didn't plan on watching it (maybe I didn't want to ruin something good from my childhood).

So...my sister has been pressuring me to watch it for the longest, but I never quite did...I didn't even know when it came on. And then earlier this year when I visited my line sisters they were watching it and I loved it... So now that I started taping it on DVR, I have become a loyal fan. Yes I am late on the bandwagon, but I'm on it...Yay boondocks...2 more minutes til it comes on...

Until Next Time...

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

 So I watched this video a while back when I was studying for finals last semester...it was definitely inspirational... So as most people knows he is the Co-founder and CEO of Apple and creator of Pixar. Steve Jobs is one of those people whose brains I would like to explore...

This was his commencement address to Stanford a couple years back. I am usually always inspired by commencement addresses too bad I always get screwed over ... (ie. Vicente Fox, who barely spoke English and was just ridiculous...I don't even know what he talked about, in fact I don't think anyone knew)

His speech mainly concerned how you have to and can make the best out of even the worse circumstances in life. Amazing...


Until Next Time...

Been Gone For a Minute...

So this definitely proves my free time theory...when I am the most busy and bogged down with stuff to do, that is when I find time to write on my blog. So you can deduce that, that I have lots of free time, because I haven't written on here in quite some time. It's not that I don't have a lot to say (because I have an opinion on lots of things), I just haven't actually done it. In fact I have been slacking on my actual blog reading...

So let me do the usual catchup...hmm... A couple weeks ago I went to Myrtle Beach with my line sisters...It was definitely an eventful and fun filled weekend. :-) Then a couple days later I headed to Puerto Rico for the NOA Convention. I throughly enjoyed the convention... I met lots of other optometry students from around the country, lots and lots and lots of Doctors... We stayed in the Caribe Hilton, which was a beachfront hotel, so when we weren't in meetings/seminars/CE classes I was outside by the ocean, on a hammock, or in the pool. Definitely great... No one can tell Optometry truly isn't a great profession...haha. 

I am in the home stretch of summer, so I have just been tying up lose ends and taking care of business... Ok so this is a pretty boring update. I think I'm going to watch some videos on Tedtalk... You can never have too much inspiration...Until Next Time...

Ok... I'll admit it!

So I just realized that my last blogpost was in late June... So basically I've been slacking. I have so many ideas for posts, but I just never really got around to it...yeah yeah I know. Excuses... I wish I had some elaborate reason of why I haven't been blogging, but honestly I don't. I have been doing a whole lot of nothing, but I've definitely been enjoying myself. That's all that matters...right!

In a couple hours, I will be leaving to go to Myrtle Beach with my line sisters...woohoo...aAnd of course I haven't packed a single thing. Yeah I know... I always do that...good thing we decided to leave later on in the day.

After I get back, I will be leaving for Puerto Rico for an Optometry conference...yay!! I'm excited, never been to P. Rico...so that should be interesting. I officially have a little over a month of my summer left, and I have no idea what direction it is headed in... And in a weird (I can't believe I am not freaking out, because I don't have control) way, I am ok with that... I think I have evolved and grown soo...much this summer...

Until Next Time...