Real Food

So, I finally started caring about the food I put into my body. I also watched a couple of documentaries that scared me into doing so! So far I've only cheated twice - one with a couple of cream cheese wontons (who could resist?) and once with chips and salsa and tortillas at a mexican restaurant. Other than that, I've been eating fresh veggie juices, fruits, whole and sprouted grains, and pretty much anything else that hasn't been processed.



Here are some samples of the meals I've been enjoying:

Zucchini pasta with fresh roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, and brown rice.

> "Green Lemonade" - Freshly juiced romaine lettuce, kale, lemon, and apple. It's good, really!

Butternut squash soup and rice pasta with tomatoes and basil.

Lunches have been goat cheese and spinach sandwiches on sprouted grain bread. Breakfast has been Green Lemonade and all the fruit I want. Today I made sprouted grain pita chips with guacamole. YUMMY!!!

4 days in, and 4 pounds lighter.

Stereotypes

Here is a brilliant letter written by my good friend and co-editor, JG, in response to an anonymous email regarding Muslims in America (I would post the original letter but I'm afraid of getting sued!) Thanks JG for letting me use your material so I can finally update my skimpy pathetic blog (who is complacent now??)!

Dear Anonymous Responder,
You are an idiot. You have made some racist and ill informed statements in your response to President Obama’s speech in Cairo. It is clear to see that you have some very strong feelings against Muslims. My question to you is, where are you getting your information? You make statements without any facts to back them up. In fact, just by reading your response, I’m not completely convinced you are even from America. Regardless, I’m here to point out a few gaps and flaws in your response. I hope you don’t mind.
1st off, of course Muslims weren’t there when the Pilgrims landed in America. And of course there weren’t Muslims at this “first Thanksgiving” that you speak about. This Thanksgiving you’re referring to is a fairy tale told in elementary schools. The Pilgrims slaughtered the AMERICAN Indians, took their land, and gave them smallpox and syphilis. Ever heard of the Trail of Tears? That’s how the true AMERICANS were treated. How is the treatment of American Indians by the so-called Founding Americans any different than the acts of terrorists today? They aren’t.
Why did you even state that no Muslims signed the Declaration of Independence? Of course they didn’t! They obviously weren’t there. Neither were Germans, Asians, Italians or anyone else. What’s your point? This country was founded by ex-Englishmen. They founded this country so that people, like themselves, could escape religious and governmental persecution. That’s what this country is founded on (along with a lot of blood and tears). That is why many Muslims live in the United States today. This country was made for people to come here to live freely, including Muslims.
I’ll give you credit for one thing. Muslims probably didn’t fight in the Civil War. The battle was between Americans. Oh, and of course the Black Slaves that were forced to fight in the war as well. You ask where the Muslims were during the civil rights era. I’ve got one name for you, Malcolm X.
You say that Muslims were aligned with Hitler. Hmm, remember a guy names Benito Mussolini? If you don’t, he and Hitler were buds. So, according to your logic, all Italians must have been Nazi’s too. Do you follow? What exactly are you proposing anyway? Sounds to me that you’re suggesting a Holocaust against Muslims? I guess that would be a solution to your problem. Say hi to Hitler and Mussolini in Hell for me.
Just to clarify any confusion of Muslim heritage in America, please know that Islam is the fastest growing faith in the United States. Along with that, Muslims have been immigrating in waves into the United States and forming foundations, culturally and economically, since as early as 1501. Now here’s the ringer, they came over as SLAVES! So there you go, I guess Muslims formed their roots here against their own will. How’s that taste? Do you know how I know this? The information I have gathered all came from books. Non-biased and purely informative books. Where did your information come from?
Another thing really quickly, that thing that Muslim women wear on their heads is called a Hijab, not a “Hajib.” Just saying.
What I’ve taken from your poorly thought out and ill informed response is that you’re an ignorant racist. Well, who am I to judge? After all, I guess we’re all a little racist. I’m racist against ignorant assholes like you. Thank you for exemplifying everything in life I don’t want to be.

The Art of Humanity?

So, why would I call this blog, "The Art of Humanity"? Because the more I speak with people, the more I perceive that our concept of humanity is becoming lost and muddled. Selfishness seems to dominate our society. People are afraid, unwilling, or unable to help each other.


Take the issue of healthcare. We have all heard it. "Why should I pay for someone else's problem?" Well, because you should WANT to help them with their problem. Personally, it seems unnatural and inhumane to say something like that. Every time I hear it, I cringe. We live in a first-world, wealthy, powerful country, yet so many have no access to decent healthcare. Why? Because our economy dicates it to be so. A healthcare system for everyone makes no one any money (except for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals). Our economy as it stands now favors the uber-rich and the most powerful corporations, with an emphasis on stockholders and dividends. The business of healthcare is a very big one for many companies. So, why would they want us to turn our heads and look somewhere else for our medical needs? They don't! We need to take it upon ourselves to DEMAND something better. The newly deemed "Obamacare" is a very small step to someplace better, but it is not the solution by any means, and unfortunately our population is so against anything that even SOUNDS like socialism that it will probably get repealed or ignored anyway.

Why should we demand something better? Well, for one thing, I don't want some fat-cat CEO in a high rise building in NYC making decisions about what operation I should and shouldn't be having. I would like my doctor to decide that. And if my doctor tells my insurance company that I need it, they should pay for it (since I'm paying them to do so!). But since the insurance company won't make money off my operation, they probably won't want to pay for it. For-profit companies should not be making any major medical decisions for me, bottom line.

When you think about healthcare, think about your grandmother. Your best friend, your cousin's child, your neighbor. Then remember that we are all the same, we are all individuals with wants and needs, and a very strong will to live. If you would pay for your grandmother, why wouldn't you pay for someone else's grandmother? Because you don't care about them? Shame on you. Being selfish is doing no favors for our society as a whole. I think we need to take a step back from our busy daily lives, our small cubicles and computer screens, our giant load of laundry piling up in the spare bedroom (I should really take care of that), and take a moment to think about what is really important. Do we want to carry our own banners everywhere we go, and let the "less-worthy" people clean up our tracks as best they can? Or do we want to committ ourselves to something bigger, something more meaningful?

It is a form of art when people look beyond their own tedious lives and demand something more. It's remembering where we come from, who we are, and that this world is precious and we should treat it as such. We can work together to win back our most basic humanity. Yes, we can.

Welcome to The Art of Humanity! This blog is a product of the inability of Facebook to hold all of my ideas together in a cohesive and accessible space. I also figured that I would make fewer enemies by having a separate and specific spot for my political rabble (so if people complain I can just blame them for coming here in the first place!).

A little about me: I am a middle class American who has the necessities in life to sustain my mental and physical needs as a human. I don’t know poverty and I am never starving. I’m also not wealthy by most standards and sometimes I get warnings about the possible closure of my savings account because my balance is below the minimum (I can’t help it if the bank doesn’t consider $5 a savings). So here I am, stuck in this grey, middle area in a place that favors the well-to-do, with nothing to really complain about.

Wait a second. Maybe I do have one, little, teeny complaint.

It is my belief that people in this country have become totally and utterly complacent. They are complacent with their physical nature, with their ongoing education, and with their government.

According to the World Health Organization, two-thirds of Americans are considered overweight or obese. TWO-THIRDS! That is a terrifying number. This number tells me that people are 1) making uninformed choices about their daily menus, 2) addicted to food and unable to combat the epidemic of convenience, and 3) too busy, tired, or unwilling to work sufficient exercise into their daily routines. Why do I mention obesity in my analysis of American complacency? Because often physical complacency leads to a decrease in motivation in other areas of life, including the desire to attend social outings which provide an opportunity to learn about other cultures, religions, and other areas that make us individuals. Do I believe that all people who are overweight are lazy and unmotivated? Absolutely not. But do I think there are people out there who are afraid to socialize, take a walk in public, or go to the beach with friends because of their weight? Definitely. Unfortunately this fear may prevent otherwise intelligent and forward-thinking individuals from influencing and inspiring others. (ETA: After reading this over again, I realized that I might be coming off as a heartless bitch who hates people who are overweight. I don't. I'm not super skinny. I used to chow down McDonald's and Taco Bell (and still eat at Del Taco occasionally!), and I wouldn't exercise at all. It's so easy to fall into that routine, and much harder to come out of it. I have nothing but respect for people who do. I am merely mentioning this because I was amazed at the statistic and figured it was worth mentioning with regards to the perception of our "lazy" culture).

How many people can truly say they read or watch the news on a daily basis? Many of you reading this probably do, but that is probably because this blog caters to that sort of audience. Think about your friends and family. Think about your co-workers and gym partners. Maybe they read the newspaper, but throw everything out but the sports section. Maybe they watch an episode of Hannity on the Fox News Channel then claim to have a scholarly and unbiased opinion on the world’s events. Maybe they watch the 11 o’clock local news about how some idiot wasted 45 minutes of everyone’s time earlier that day by steaming down the 22 Freeway at breakneck speed to avoid the police discovering 10 ounces of Mary Jane taped under their car hood. Okay, let’s just give these people the benefit of the doubt and pretend that all of these areas are viable news outlets and that the people who rely on them for their daily dose are somewhat informed. Can’t we do more than that? Can’t we do better? Yes, we can.

There is this wonderful place that people can find if they look very carefully around their neighborhood and locality. It is a place where people can go to find valuable information on just about anything. It is a place that houses educational journals, books, periodicals, newspaper archives, books on tape (you don’t even have to READ!), and other useful materials. The best part is (wait for it!), all of these things are FREE. What is this magical, mysterious place? It is called...a LIBRARY (pause for gasps, hoots, and general sounds of astonishment). The library is a fantastic place. Many of the more well-funded libraries have the most recent publications (quelling the idea that libraries are dusty, obsolete facilities that house old, irrelevant textbooks from 1840’s schoolhouses). Some libraries will even let you check out books online and pick them up at the front desk, saving the two-thirds population discussed above the inconvenience of walking, searching, and reaching. So, since it is free, easy, and convenient, why don’t we see more Americans checking out books on issues they care about, reading those books, then making informed decisions (a.k.a. “voting”) based on factual information and educated arguments? Complacency. People generally don’t care enough to actually do some research beyond typing their question into Google and clicking on the first link that comes up (I won’t say I’m not guilty of this myself!).

Moving on to complacency towards government. Oh sure, I hear people complain about our government on a daily basis. You can’t walk down the street without seeing a pick-up truck with a giant “NOBAMA” or “MY KID CAN KICK THE ASS OF THE LEFT-WING POLITICIAN YOU VOTED FOR” sticker slathered on the back window. But do you think most of these people take it a step further than childish, moronic, and might I say offensive bumper stickers? Probably not. My goal is not to change these people’s opinions, but to lead them to a world beyond generic complaining. My goal is to motivate them to educate themselves to the point where they can logically argue their positions without resorting to reckless and indulgent statements like, “The government is rich enough without my tax dollars,” and, “The government loves killing babies” and, “I feel this way because I think I read something in the Bible that told me I should...but I can’t remember where it was and if it was in the Old or New Testament...but it is definitely in there.” I love to debate and argue, but unfortunately I just cannot hold a sophisticated conversation with people who say these sorts of things. For the sake of indulging my sometimes sickening need for logical argument, for the sake of the global opinion of the United States, and for your own damn good, please, PLEASE inform yourselves and perhaps DO something about the politicians and issues you are unhappy with. Write to your representatives. Call them. Leave annoying, pestering, incessant voicemails until you hear back, even if it is a letter asking you to kindly stop. Don’t stop. Do something!

Don’t get me wrong. There are many brilliant, insightful, and energized individuals out there. There are also people who would like to be brilliant, insightful, and energized, but they perhaps don’t have the time or means to get so involved. My hope is that this blog will provide a one-stop-shop for current global, national, and local events, as well as an accessible place for friendly and learned debate among colleagues. Politics is not just for the elite or for Harvard graduates. Politics is for everyone, so get involved and share your educated facts and opinions here!