This Week the Trend

A young man commits suicide, live to the world on his webcam. I hear a story of an elementary school class riding the train on a field trip, only to experience the shock and gore of a woman throwing herself before that train. A loved member of SLO Crusade's fellowship ends her life. My tutoring student asks me jokingly how as a math major I hadn't killed myself. Laziness. Having struggled with depression like many Americans, the thing stopping me in dark times was sleepiness and lack of proximity to a deadly substance that wouldn't make too much of a mess.

I've noticed a continual trend these last weeks about depression and suicide. Depression related deaths are a leading cause of death in my age group, and it seems God is dropping it on my heart. But every human being with a soul ought to help in this. The key: Love.

People need honest love. Not the fake love that just tries to convince an individual that there life is important, but a love that causes the person to know why anyone around would be deprived when he or she was gone.

Let the people you love know that you do love them.  I am certain that every person that has committed suicide was loved, but it was just not made known of it. Save a life. Love.

-Tyler Hall

Middle of Nowhere

Note: I only did this because I thought was a clever chain-letter forward thing.

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag this with 10 people you think will like this


IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY
Prodigal

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
We Will Become Silhouettes

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Darkshines

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
You Can Do Better than Me (Bummer)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
You're So Damn Hot

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Satan Is My Motor (Exactly)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU
Hanging by a Moment

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Melatonin

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Soothsayer

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Nature 1

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Can't Get Enough of You Baby (Yeah that's right)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
The New Year

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
No Sunlight (I hope not)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
All The Things She Said (A song by two women married to men, pretending to be lesbians. Perfect.)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I Believe In A Thing Called Love (That will probably be in my will)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt.2 (Preparing for a robot/zombie uprising is fairly common for me)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
The Only Thing Worse Than Beating a Dead Horse is Betting on One

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Closing Time

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Black Wave (Not racist I swear)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Short Skirt/Long Jacket (Death by cross-dressing?)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Nothingwrong

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Losing Hope

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Like Spinning Plates

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
A Legacy's Demise (That's pretty conclusive/harsh. Also kinda strange since my brother has children, so I think the Hall Legacy shall not demise)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Save Us (I think that's a yes)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Come On Home

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Sleeper (If Insomnia counts, then this is truth)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Middle of Nowhere

Why Democracy is a Bad Idea

There is this idea that every American is told in elementary school, that America was based on the idea of democracy, which is true. The United States wrote up a constitution in 1777, that was very democratic. Around 1787, the leaders of the US noticed that democracy wasn't working. Some of the reasons: a simple majority of people will never want to raise taxes against themselves, inability to agree on treaties, as well as others. James Madison, as well as others, outlined some of the reasons why the current system wasn't working in the Federalist Papers. One reason was that democracy leads to something called a "Tyrannical Majority."

Basically in a truly democratic system, if a majority hates a minority, then they could pass a bill calling for the systematic execution of that minority. So, in essence, America's founding fathers were downright fearful of democracy, since, in its purest form, democracy is mob rule, or anarchy. This is why there are so many "checks and balances" that were embedded in our Constitution, to make ways that tyranny by mob would be reduced.

Jump ahead 221 years, and California has a Constitution which allows for a painful amount of democratic influence. Californian voters can make a decision on bills by way of ballot initiatives. So if, say, a majority of Californians really disliked homosexuals, and then pushed for an initiative to limit a member of this minority to be treated as slightly less of than that of a human, then there would be nothing the homosexual minority could do. So basically after the passage of Proposition 8 the homosexual community is on the receiving end of a broken governmental machine being controlled by the moral majority of California.

So say if for some reason 51% of Californians decided that some race of people, we'll pick the Welsh, was the cause to all their problems, I don't know, because their language doesn't make any sense. So then that simple majority could vote that every Welsh person in California could be put into camps to keep them in concentrated groups and away from interfering with our issues again. And this whole process would just be democracy speaking.

America is the land of the free majorities, and oppressed minorities.