I decided today that I do have great faith in the American public.  While the majority is somewhat level-headed and intellegent, they are the silent ones.  It's the minority that is loud, illogical, and pushy. 

    I used to work in customer service and it seemed to me that EVERYONE who shopped at [censor] hated it.  But of course, I was only hearing one group of people - people mad enough to call me.  The great majority of the shoppers at [company X] had a fine experience.

    It's the same with media, we only hear from the people dumb enough to flaunt their idiotic opinions.  Therefore, we have a warped view of reality.  We percieve everyone as messed up and say things like "This country is going to hell" when it's really a smaller problem than we think.

    The sad thing is when these minority opinions gain and kind of power that can change the country.  They figure if they can scream loud enough than they can excuse any stupid idea that they have as legitimate.  Whoever screams the loudest is right.

    Even worse than that, if you oppose their opinions you are labeled a racist, bigot, close minded, intollerant, lunatic.  Take gay marriage for example.  We're going to vote this fall whether to change the meaning of the word marriage to include something that is not in any way prdocutive in society.  In the mean time, if you speak out against the minority opinion you are labeled intollerant, so there is really only one side we're ever going to hear. 

    The minority, unfortunatly, controls most of the media.  The media, unfortuantly, controls most of our perceptions of society.

    One voice that I think we all neet to hear a little more of is that of Orson Scott Card.  He writes a quasi-weekly column for the Onery American.  Recently he has written about the ever intensifying gay marriage debate.  Although I don't agree with every last point he makes, I do agree with his main ideas.  Go read the articles if you're bored.  Here is the first article, and here is the second, more recent, article.

    On a side note, transfering files between two PCs is a major problem.  There are programs like waste, but they require less-than-user-friendly setup.  MSN messanger will it do it, but trillian will not.  So I am in the process of downloading MSN messanger so I can get one stinking file.  What's worse, is all I can get is 1.2kb/sec off the stupid microsoft website!  grrrrrrr.....