It has been two weeks since I started the daily diary entry concept; I wish I could say that I was being diligent and faithful to it (please note: the diary entries are not here, but on another site). I haven’t written in it since Wednesday, partly because it is the end of the semester and students are badgering me about final grades.

What I miss are the days when I used to wake up in the summer time, after both my parents had gone to work, and write in my journals and notebooks all day long. The lack of responsibility (I mean that in a good way) meant that I could spend my summer days in solitude. However, it did not make for good writing. The best writers have experienced life. They have worked different jobs. They have seen what makes people tick (or not). They have struggled or watched others struggle. Living in a vacuum may give one the time to write, but not the ability. The best writers, in my opinion have been tortured souls who have poured their hearts out on paper.

Over the past few weeks I have watched the Baltimore riots with extreme discomfort because it is impossible for me to take a side, because I can see injustice being done on both sides. I have seen videos where police officers were violating individual’s civil rights in Baltimore, but I have also seen the senseless torching of buildings and the throwing of rocks at the police; both need to stop in order for there to be peace.

What disturbs me most, however, is the rally cry of the Democratic party with the claim that more government is needed to help Baltimore. Baltimore has largely voted democrat for the past thirty or forty years. How come that hasn’t changed anything?

There is another side to this, the Republican claim that these people do not want change because it would result in self-discipline and increased self-reliance. I don’t think it is as simple as that, either.

The truth is that the more a citizenry is dependent on its government, the greater the chances that government will turn into a dictatorship. We are already heading toward a police state. While articles like the ones posted here:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governme...

have merit, they are simply showing bias of their own. As long as individuals see in terms of black and white we will continue to be at war.