YingYangFox's Poetry Thoughts and Feelings

A blog about the things I feel about the world as well as original works of poetry I've created.

[yinyangfox1224]

Why don't we give Homes away to the people who need them.

What bugs me the most about humanity, is the fact that it is selfish. Humanity is extremely selfish, and that goes for everyone, myself included.

We claim to want to help others for the common good, but in reality we think about how much it will cost us to help them. Homelessness included. The government builds shelters to house an enormous group of homeless people, not helping the individual, who wants to find a job, wants to live on his own. We could just start building singular homes, or better yet pay for them to live in a decent place, and help them find a job. The problem is, no one is going to work and build something free of charge like that. It all costs money because of the amount of time spent trying to build it. 

Sure one may argue that nothing in life is given away  for free, and I agree with that statement, but for people who are struggling for survival, who have jobs and are unable to afford the basic necessities, don't they deserve  a chance?  I think it's unfair that certain professions like manufacturing pay less than other professions. It's a skillset that's being used to benefit society as a whole. Fastfood, government positions, Farming, creating cars, are all very different professions in their own right, but they are all important positions, that benefit society in some way shape or form. We as a society however, decide whether or not certain professions are more useful than others, and because of that their is a pay gap between every profession. It's because of this pay gap that some people suffer from homelessness. It's not entirely to blame, people make their own decisions and sometimes those decisions can backfire, but it's partially to blame. If we went to a barter like system, it would be easy to pay for the things that we need to build this particular group of people homes. We donate our time and energy to one another and we can solve any problem, but we let a piece of paper, an object that has no true value and does nothing for us, dictate whether or not we can help another person.

[yinyangfox1224]

People who are a part of ISIS aren't true followers of Islam.

Today I blog about ISIS and , mainly because I'm fed up with the ideals this group has, the killings of two American Journalists, and the fact that the U.S plans on going to war in Syria and Iraq. Many people call these two groups, radical Islamist groups, and terrorists. I agree with the term terrorist wholeheartedly,( these people cause nothing but terror) but the idea that these people are actually Islamic is a load of crap. I believe in Christianity, I have a bible and believe in the ten commandments, I don't own a Quran, but by looking at the Quran I can tell you these people do not practice what they preach. " 17:33: And do not take any human being's life - that God willed to be sacred - other than in [the pursuit of] justice."

What is Justice- "the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals"

So if I pursue justice.... I take the lives of two innocent people who had nothing to do with the actions of the U.S government. Because that's following God. Because taking hostages, is all right in the name of god, because you have two innocent people, who didn't do a thing to you, all dying for your cause. I have  big questions for you ISIS. ARE YOU GOD YOURSELF?  Should I kill my neighbor if my teacher gave me an F on my report card because I want justice?  Do you have the ability to judge whether someone should live or die, whether someone is sacred to god? The answer to all of these questions is no.  You're not followers of anything. The only thing you can be are psychopaths.   . According to your doctrine ISIS, according to what you believe, we have every single right to destroy you.... in pursuit of justice because you are nothing more than mere criminals yourselves. You murdered two innocent people from the United States, and you have killed others as well. You give your own religion a bad name and it's because of you there is prejudice in the United States towards Muslims. I don't hate Muslims, in fact I haven't met one, but there are others who do because of groups like you.

[yinyangfox1224]

"Hobo -a person who has no place to live and no money and who travels to many different places"- Merriam Webster.

I hate this word. I hate it as much as I hate a certain word that starts with the letter N. It's so derogatory, so insulting to the people who suffer from homelessness. I bring this up because I was having a conversation with a friend, and somehow or another this word was brought up. When you use it, you're basically saying that a person is a begging wanderer 

You would wander too if you couldn't find a job that pays well enough to afford a home. In fact, isn't that what we all do when times are tough. I remember that not too long ago my father couldn't find a job anywhere near where we lived. He considered getting a trucking job in North Dakota. We may have had to move because of the fact that he needed a job to help pay the bills. So to call a person who has no home the H word, it's sort of hypocritical. We move around so that we can find work and survive. Didn't people move around to do the same thing during the great depression as well?

http://newdeal.feri.org/sevier/essays/gdess.htm

Times are tough. While the economy may be recovering... no one knows how long  that will last.  When people are in need we should offer them a place to stay.  A quote from a line of the  poem the New Colossus. " Send these the homeless tempest-tost to me I lift my lamp beside the golden door." . We should act like a community and do that, and be that light that shines from that lamp. Instead of building more shelters,(where we basically put them in a room with no security, and the possibility of getting your belongings stolen), we build houses for people don't have one for free, out of our own time.  Instead of sitting here on our butts calling people the H word, we should be helping them.

[yinyangfox1224]

The Need for Compassion in Society

When we look at a person(in this case a homeless person) , are we looking from their perspective, or from our own?  Today in class we read a short essay, called "On Compassion" by Barbara Ascher. The essay was very eye opening about the way we look at homeless people, and how we react to them. In my opinion, we should always try to understand the point of view from people who are suffering, because just giving to them isn't enough. Are you truly giving because your heart is telling you to give, or are you giving just to get the person who is suffering out of your sight. Homelessness is an issue that isn't going to go away anytime soon( it probably never will) but that doesn't mean we can't help others get back on their feet again. Imagine if you were the person who was homeless. Sure, some may have pride and refuse to beg(my father...) but eventually that pride will go away because you need food... you need shelter, and no job that you try to get will pay for enough. It's a hard way to live. I think regardless if the person brought their suffering on themselves or not, that people deserve another chance. Sure, it's up to them what they do with that chance, and sure it may take time before that person finally gets things right but I think your compassionate if you at least give someone a chance.

[yinyangfox1224]

Hilarious Question from a friend

"Is Chicago a city or a state"- Anonymous

I believe you are confusing it with Darude- Sandstorm. Try asking google images.

[yinyangfox1224]

Today in class we watched a  video on YouTube called Faces of Homelessness.  The video was really eyeopening because  if you met one of these people, you wouldn't know any of these people were homeless. It showed that homelessness can be caused by a lot more than addiction and poverty, many people end up homeless because of mental disorders, domestic abuse, fires, and other things.  Even when they go to a homeless shelter, they suffer in an unsafe environment where there isn't much space, people steal your possessions, your and at risk of being raped. I think if we truly want to help the homeless, we  need more programs like the Covenant House program in the book Almost Home. If we can help others get back on their feet by talking to them, motivating them to find work, helping them get off of addictive substances, and providing them a safe  place to live, we can probably end homelessness.

[yinyangfox1224]

Thoughts On Homelessness

A few days ago I started reading Almost Home, a book assigned to me in English class. The book itself tells the stories of children who became homeless, and how one homeless shelter dedicates it's existence to helping children find their footing in this cruel dog eat dog world. Going through nearly 28 pages over the weekend,  I found myself wanting to cry and wanting to put the book down because the subject was so upsetting.  I can't understand why children of all people have to suffer from homelessness.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLJEv7OGfj4

This song for some reason popped in my head when I was reading. It talks about children who have run away, and end up becoming part of a city of orphans. It made sense as to why this song popped into my head because, children who are homeless without parents to turn to, without any family to rely on, pretty much do live in a city of orphans. No one to teach them morals, no one to tell them what path they should be on, it's  a hard life to live. I want to be able to help these children as well as others who suffer because of this, and I hope through this project I can. I've already considered donating a good bit of my old clothing to help the cause.

[yinyangfox1224]

How the internet has shaped my education and its drawbacks.

The internet is an amazing thing when it comes to furthering  education. Search engines (such as Google or Bing) allow me to find information for a certain topic with just the click of a button. Many of assignments have involved making blog posts, creating animations by using a certain website, and submitting essays online.It's a wonderful tool. There are probably a lot of projects I could have failed because I'm limited by the amount of information my library provides or the amount of money I am able to spend on books. Plus the books may not have updated information depending on what time they are written. The Internet provides a constantly updated source of information and without it I wouldn't be able to complete my current project.   Every year Seniors at my school have to create a project that impacts the world around them. My project is about raising teacher pay, and right now the internet is providing me with a way to create my own website to raise awareness on low teacher pay in North Carolina. It gives me an opportunity to reach out to many teachers in order to fix this problem. I need budget records, tax records, tax laws, and constant updates when it comes to articles having to deal with the subject. Without the internet, it would take many years to gather all of this information.   The internet is also a great study tool as it has helped me study for classes like Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Spanish, and even Music Theory. I can be taught through online classes by teachers nearly a hundred miles away from me, and the subjects of theses classes aren't really provided by any of the teachers at my school. I wouldn't be able to take certain classes, such as Psychology( a major subject I want to study in college) or Latin, without the internet because my school doesn't provide these classes. I can use the internet to stay in touch with group members on certain projects, and work online together on presentations through things such as Google Drive and Skype.I've created group presentations on things like the Salem Witch trials, and have collaborated online with group members to create a re-imagining of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat". In science class we shared our results on certain science experiments through the use of a google spreadsheet, and then discussed these results in class. Without the internet, I wouldn't be able to apply for many of the scholarships I'm applying for now, or find information about certain colleges such as Appalachian State University . It has reduced the need for paper, as many state mandated  exams are now done online and these exams allow you to easily go back to any question you had trouble with.

While the internet is a great tool for education, it also has it's drawbacks. Many sources for information on the internet are written by unreliable sources, so the information I find may be inaccurate. The internet also requires a constant connection, so whenever our internet connection at school isn't working, and the assignments we have to do require it, class doesn't run smoothly and the lesson plan has to be changed to compensate. It also doesn't help that if internet connection isn't working at home( or you don't have one), and you need to do  a homework assignment that requires it, you can't.  The Internet can also spread viruses depending on what you download, and I remember at one point in middle school all of the computers were infected by a virus. The internet can become a distraction in class, as I've seen many people look through Facebook or Twitter during school. There have been many moments in my classes when  a  teacher will  out a student is using Facebook. She  then has to stop teaching and ask the student to log off of computer. It disrupts my learning.  State Mandated exams being online also creates drawbacks. I remember specifically when my exam would simply close out on me while I was taking the test due to the flaws in the internet connection. It would erase my progress on all my written answer questions as well, reducing the amount of time I had left on the test.

While the internet has these drawbacks, the advantages it has given me outweigh the disadvantages and has helped further my education tremendously.