What I learned in Paris

I learned a lot in Paris these past few weeks. Oh I'm sorry, I haven't been traveling to France lately. I'm actually talking about Ms. Hilton. Words can't describe my distaste for the media blowing up Paris' recent legal woes. I certainly appreciate the humor in the story, but if anything it reinforces the fact that celebrities are above the law in our country. What frustrates me most is the fact that if you ask around, the majority of people can describe the events of last week without pausing. Yet they have no idea what is going on with Iraq, the fight for immigration legislation, or the 2008 race.

So what exactly is the attraction. I suppose the news and media are following suit with the reality television craze. At some point over the last 10-15 years, Entertainment news became intertwined with NEWS. Shows like Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood are wonderful outlets to show entertainment news, celebrity gossip, and the woes of Paris Hilton. But is there a reason this story has to dominate every major news outlet in this country...and for days? Maybe the reason why the political system has become so damaged is because of the lack of interest of its citizens.

Just a thought...

The Birth of a Blog

The title of my blog is pretty self-explanatory. It means exactly what it says. I applaud and celebrate discourse. I challenge myself daily to stay informed, write about things that are important, and to empower myself to change the world. Not a small task for someone who works fulltime and barely has time to eat. But i think it's highly important to my development as a person to remain aware of the problems of the world.

One of the strongest motivations for creating this blog was noticing the disconnect between current events and young people. My demographic, stereotypically speaking, is not informed, does not care, and does not vote. I find this alarming. Perez Hilton receives more hits per day than your average blog. That says to me that people in general are more concerned with the length of Britney Spears' hair, than the important issues that we face today. I also find that many gay and lesbian people have no interest in talking about politics, current events, or the issues of the world. Who's fault is this? Has our government used the GLBT community as a wedge issue for so long that it's created a disconnect? Are we as members or supporters of the GLBT community so fed up that we've completely removed ourselves from the table? If you are old enough to remember Stonewall or the murder of Harvey Milk...the chances are you participate in some sort of activism. But the same discrimination that led to those events is present today.

So what's the point of all of this you ask? I certainly don't have the answers to every problem. I can only offer observations and hope that people join me in discussion. I'm hoping that this blog allows me to share my ideas, beliefs, desires, and observations with other people. If i'm the only one reading it...i'm fine with that.

Will i occasionally get on a passionate soapbox that some might label as annoying...probably

Will I always talk about politics...not at all

Will I occasionally share with you my theories on the 7th Harry Potter book or my current musical obsessions...most definately.

I am more than my political beliefs, and hopefully you'll notice. I'll probably even blog about things that are unimportant and meaningless, but only because i love those things to. I just hope that for every person reading perezhilton.com, they spend a little bit more time watching the news or surfing thehuffingtonpost.com

Allow me to sum all of this up. I love politics and have a strong passion for staying informed. I hope that more adults age 18-35 share that as well. But i do have guilty pleasures such as my obsession with Patti Labelle, my love of college football, and my addiction to coffee. This blog will attempt to show the authentic me and nothing more. I just hope after each post...you give me snaps.