"Freedom" of Speech

I might have spent more of my life in America, and English may be my best language at the moment. But English was not my first language.

In America, there exists something called the First Amendment (in case you didn't know). It grants us freedom of speech- the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. But on the other side of the spectrum, there's political correctness. In recent times, people have become obsessed with being "politically correct." Whether that means referring to the mentally or physically handicapped as "differently abled" or using vague terms to encompass everyone, words don't seem to 'mean what they mean' anymore. But outside of these conflicting views, to some, English itself is not a language, but a governmental law- and whosoever does not abide by this law is deemed not a true American citizen.

When you leave the country, you don't attempt to learn a different language, you attempt to communicate with foreigners through English, the "universal" language. In America, we immigrants are somewhat expected to assimilate to American culture. We are expected to be fluent in English, although even when we're fluent, we are and will always be inherently "foreign." We are expected to be in the loop of politics. We are expected to know which team is winning which game. We are expected to be cultured. For the most part, immigrants have a good way of adapting to this new environment. But when we aren't, we are somehow seen has individuals of less value, or at least our native cultures seem to have less significance. It's not like it's an everyday occurrence- just some microaggressions here and there that really set me off. Like when I'm speaking to my mother in public- in Korean- and some people decide that there's nothing wrong with looking at us like we're aliens inhabiting a new planet. 

It's hard to find painful examples around here, the community seems to be pretty accepting of other cultures. I don't want to name any names, but some regions seem to be VERY closed-minded when it comes to foreigners. Like yeah, I understand English is a great language and you're proud to speak it. But like literally chill I'm gonna speak whatever language I want to- and unless it's affecting you, mind your own damn business.

This here is not a microaggression, but a full-on aggression.

This too.

I am not saying this accurately portrays all Americans. But these people can literally speak fluent English too.

The Death of the Blog

Blogs that I write are not properly to be called blogs; they do not excite that pleasant sense of carefully thought-out, precise diction. They are hybrid creatures, neither good like a blog submitted before Sunday, nor decent like those planned out before 6:45 pm. The absurdity of these blogs are out of this world, struggling to hang on for dear life, or as I see it, hanging on for dear logic. Nevertheless, the present specimen, lacking a substantial topic and real message, seemed to be content with its grade. It was a pleasant Sunday afternoon, mid-March, a clear and sunny sky. 

That's what I had written before 6. Currently, it is quarter past 6. I'm scrambling to make stuff up, say something intellectual, sound somewhat thoughtful. But no. As usual, it's not gonna work. I look out the window and see freedom. This freedom I cannot reach, cannot obtain, cannot but catch a glimpse. The lifeless, lackluster user interface of Blogger stares back into my soul, unaware of the anguish imposed upon me. I periodically check the time, averting my eyes from the words to the corner of my computer screen, then to my phone- as if passing seconds would suddenly inspire me. But no. "It was useless to try to do anything." You could only watch the extraordinary efforts made by my hopeless keystrokes against an oncoming doom.

Nothing, you knew had any chance against death. Nevertheless after a short YouTube break I kept going, mindlessly spewing out any words that came to my mind to fill the gaps. 5 minutes left, and I have yet to give in. "It was superb this last protest," and with freedom--commonly referred to as dinner--so close I continued on. But even as I did so, the "unmistakable tokens of death" revealed themselves. My fingers slowed down and grew stiff, losing the adrenaline produced from my body's fight-or-flight response. No matter how hard I thought, my brain shut the door and closed up shop. The struggle had ceased. The insignificant blog now knew death. As my hands retracted from the keyboard, the blog seemed "uncomplainingly composed." It knew that freedom had come. It knew it no longer needed to struggle. O yes, it seemed to say, death is stronger than I am.

Time of Death: 6:59pm

A Fairly Modest Proposal

It is a quite discouraging item to those who walk through the schools of this great nation, when they see the children who have fallen victim to a metal toy created by man. I think it is agreed by all parties that the number of families devastated, torn, destroyed by the hands of mentally unstable individuals with access to weaponry is too high. The school has disintegrated from a learning environment to a warzone, where students have lost a sense of security and safety. With preposterous suggestions of teaching educators how to handle a firearm, we cannot wait for more shootings to take place before the authorities deem it necessary to take action. My intention is very far from being confined to only preventing school shootings. I am assured by our merchants, that an average handgun is only a couple hundred dollars. Thus, the government will find this affordable, as they have spent much more money in other irrelevant areas. I shall now humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection. 

My solution is simple. Every citizen in this nation should be issued a standard 9MM pistol, provided generously by the caring government. If a citizen can afford to do so, they may upgrade their given firearm with payment. It would be a great service to our nation, preventing crimes all over the board. Children may defend themselves- but most importantly, the incentive to massacre an elementary school will die down. If an enemy invades, we'll have an army of over 300 million soldiers, guns loaded and fingers on the trigger. Weapon producing companies will benefit off of this, able to provide for the government and their people instead of being shunned for giving unstable members of society the resources necessary to terrorize a learning environment. Seeing gun ownership as the issue, giving every citizen access to a firearm will cause the idea of obtaining a gun less special, therefore lessening the likelihood of impulsive decision-making. 

My proposal is no more bold than those advised by other officials, simply stating what is necessary for the growth of society. I promote this necessary work having no other motive than the public good of my country, making the nation's great schools a safer place to which students look forward to attending.