To Religion? or Not to Religion? ... and interestingness on CUBA

So I have been having some revelations lately. My main one is that I am on a one man (i mean, one WOMAN) mission to eradicate ignorance. Yes, that means..I have INFECTED Your mind!! muahaha :)

First, I would like to say that I have become spiritually baptized. I love it. I have come to the realization that despite religion, I can survive on the basis of my morals. My internal compass that navigates the instinct to act wrongly or act righteously. It is this compass, I conclude, that tells me to continue to do the good that I do, and stop doing the bad that I do.

"When I do good, I feel good, when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion." -Abraham Lincoln (stolen from Supreet).

I love this...why? Because it brought me to the realization that we ALL have a moral compass within us. I mean, at least, those of us who grew up being punished by our parents on what was wrong and what was right. So, then, what is the need for religion? To regulate our wrongs and rights? To tabulate them? To remind us that some of us are ethically superior than others? No! Religion is simply the act of bringing our morality into consciousness. We use religion to become conscious of our morality or immorality. Case in point: If I steal a small thing, it doesnt matter. Then I do it again, and it doesnt matter. Then, after stealing several small things, I eventually feel uneasy in my tummy because I know I should not be doing this more often. Now, replay this situation with the consciousness of religion. If, at the very first time of theft, I had realized that (in other words, if I had become conscious) of my actions, would I have done it? In my opinion, religion would make me conscious of my actions BECAUSE we are so used to associating fear of punishment with a bad deed, and thus, we become mindful of our actions. Therefore, we all have morality within us, but it is the practice of religion that allows us to be more conscious of our actions. Therefore, people without religion may find it more difficult to be conscious of their immoralities, as they do not have an innate fear of punishment that comes about from religion. True or not true? I would like to know.

Additionally, I would like to take a moment and SHOW you that the SECOND highest doctor to patient ratio in the WORLD is in...CUBA. Yes, Cuba! But many potential doctors are lost due to more lucrative jobs such as taxi driving for the tourism industry since it has higher pay--que lastima! Pero, why do we view "third world" countries such as Cuba with such a US-mentality that they are inferior to us? If you met a Cuban doctor in the US, would you take them seriously? They are JUST as smart as us, but we fail to recognize that. So many potentially SMART cubans could become doctors if they wanted to, but they dont...because taxi driving simply pays more. OPEN YOUR MIND!!!!!!!!!! Look at the world around you. And stop stereotyping!

Medical staff in Cuba

According to the World Health Organization, Cuba provides a doctor for every 170 residents,[53] and has the second highest doctor to patient ratio in the world after Italy.[54]
Medical professionals are not paid high salaries by international standards. In 2002 the mean monthly salary was 261 pesos, 1.5 times the national mean.[55] A doctor’s salary in the late 1990s was equivalent to about US$15–20 per month in purchasing power. Therefore, many prefer to work in different occupations, generally in the lucrative tourist industry (e.g. taxi drivers), where earnings can be 50 to 60 times more.[21] as
The San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio have all reported on Cuban doctors defecting to other countries.[56] According to the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the reasons that Cuban doctors defect is because their salary in Cuba is only $15 per month. [10]

GaGa .. Fashion, put it on. on meh.

Since there will be some down time from now until the next round of midterms (ugh I dont even want to think about tests anymore) I have resolved to update this blog more frequently.

Well yesterday I had some thoughts on Lady Gaga. I will not be ashamed to say that I, too, have fallen into the fallacy of Lady Gaga culture. It is a fallacy because it is not true; her culture only exists within her, and it cannot envelope others around her. This will contradict a few points I am about to make, however. Lady Gaga has this devilish ability to influence. I feel like she has been climbing the the mountain of power but has steadily approached the top through her success in the music industry. With this power, she has been influenced, and influences herself, by other people. For example, the first time I watched "Bad Romance" I thought, dang, Lady Gaga is so unoriginal. Anyone can tell you that her hand gestures mimick the King of Pop's signature moves, anyone can tell you that being the lead dancer with 20 backup dancers is a Bollywood trademark, and anyone can tell you that her ploys have all been done before.

But then I continued to watch her videos. Granted, I do not think they are socially appropriate or even morally appropriate. The videos are extremely explicit. So I wondered how her power translated into that explicitness. I wondered how she and Beyonce collaborated on Video Phone and then on Telephone, how Gaga's influence has had a profound effect on music standards. If she were in another decade, who's equivalent would she be? Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Patti Smith? Anyhow, she somehow was able to converge aspects of Michael Jackson, Bollywood, Beyonce, and Kylie all into herself. So, in being unoriginal, she essentially produced her own originality. Her own original combination of unoriginality.

Beyond that, I think she has a crude sense of fashion. The elements of her fashion are mainly futuristic-schemes. Of course, the fact that it is "futuristic" is only up to her interpretation. Remember, in the mid-1900s when plastic came about, and the whole world perceived it to be a thing of the future? All future schemes were related to plastic; plastic was the obsession; plastic was the miracle material, it had super abilities. Well, guess what? It still does, but we aren't fascinated by it anymore. Instead, we think flying cars are our future--thats what the UFO's and the sci fi movies have led us to believe, no? Anyway, our other preconception of the future is metallics. I dont understand Gaga's obsession with metallic schemes. I do not understand why she so desperately wants to associate metallics with the future. We have already discovered the elements on the periodic table, so if you wanna wear something fashionable that exudes futurism, then go wear some radioactive material!

And, in her fashion, she also aims to be original. But what I find ironic is: whenever somebody like Gaga tries to be so original--in terms of fashion--they can still be imitated. I can pull up pictures from Halloween where people are dressed like Gaga. That's not my point though.  My point is, even though Gaga wants to be "out there" doing her own thing with fashion, people are still able to imitate it and capture her essence. In my opinion, if she really wants to be Gaga fashion, I think she should not be predictable. I don't mind her pyramidal-schemed hats or blouses. I dont mind half-sewn spanish dresses. I adore her ability to create. But I hate that, in trying to be her own, people are still able to be her.

So, what I meant earlier when mentioning that her culture only exists within her and cannot extend beyond...is that she is someone who has taken the concepts of futurism and employed them through her wardrobe and risqué music videos. Gaga culture is just in that realm, and no where else. I do not think many people have the courage to be as unique as her. Not everyone can appreciate it when someone does something different. And that's why, although she has taken influences and can influence so many people, she is only in the realm of her own Gaga planet. I like her, and that's the bottom line. Do you think Gaga is original?
(polls)

The Cycle..of answering..to the Children of the Sky

World, Hold on...One day you will have to answer to the children of the sky.

So the past few days I have just been in finals mode. But the intensity of studying and the pressures of getting good grades somehow lead me to access the deepest recesses of my thoughts. Why have we, as humans, been created so cyclically? We all start life, live it, then end it. The cycle of life. Why are our emotions, too, so cyclic? We are mad, then we get sad, then we feel guilty (or some variation of this). Why are our relations so cyclic? We love, then we hate, then we forget. I don't know, this cycling, although seemingly predictable, doesnt satisfy my innate desire to connect the end to the beginning. Instead of forgetting at the end or dying at the end, why not continue and re-circumference our beginnings? Why is there only one beginning, why must we only get one chance. What is the importance of a first impression, and how can we never rid of the intial emotion or impression that we perceived of some one or some thing?
Among other thoughts, why are some of us more amibitious than others? I watched Precious last weekend and the reason why this thought comes up is because the mother was yelling at her daughter (who had been pregnant twice and stuck in middle school as a teen) that she was only good for welfare. No education will help her. Shit education, shit life. That's the cycle. And I cant help but think, even if education cant get her nowhere, why does the daughter's ambition matter to her? Anyway, my thoughts on the movie are somewhat critical. I did not particularly gain any insight from the movie; I felt like CRASH or Freedomland captured a truer essence of what racial tensions are like. However, I did appreciate Gaby's acting, she had moved me. And it wasnt on the typical scenes, either. It mostly came whenever she wrote in her journals and struggled to read. When I was a tutor for Kumon learning center, I remember yearning to teach the little children how to read. It is one of the most powerful, rewarding experiences you can ever endure--to teach a child how to read. I encourage anyone who has ever interacted with a child, even if they are your baby cousin, to at least sit there for a minute or 10 minutes and spend time teaching them the ABC's. When your life is ending, what will you have to say about who you helped? You may have fundraised for a cause, or fed a homeless guy on the street..but there is no everlasting gift better than teaching a child (or anyone for that matter) how to read.