TaraElla Press - Changing the World One Article at a Time

The Real Fix for Reactionarism

2010-11-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

From TaraElla's Platform

It seems that nowadays there are more and more reactionary people around. You really can't disagree that extreme ideologies like racism are on the rise. Having done a lot of study in why this is the case, I have come to the conclusion that the way the world has changed recently has been too much for many people.

And indeed it has. First of all, 1980s style Thatcherist economics are stupid and a complete return to Keynesian economic policies are in order. The economic miracle of the 1950s West was based on Keynesianism - when you are onto a good thing, you don't let it go easily. Sadly, the recession in the 1970s became an excuse to try out extremist, anti-human type policies. People have suffered too much because of the rise of the economic right, and I believe it is the responsibility of the major centre-left parties of the world to take us back onto the right track. A return to a pre-80s model of economics with no ifs, ands or buts is not radical, it is pro-human.

Secondly, I believe the right to live a traditionalist moral life has been eroded. Hence a lot of traditionalists have decided to wage war on all things progressive - which I believe is misguided, but sadly we must face the fact that this is happening. You see, us traditionalists really don't appreciate the in-your-face sexualisation of society, the putting down of the clean living ideal, the blaring of vulgar hip-hop music everywhere you go, and pressure applied against families that wish to be stable. Responding to us by calling us conservative (even I have been called that a few times!) and upping the action is not really going to help - we will not convert to the hippie agenda unfortunately. Obviously the multi-million dollar media business has its role here, and they should be our main target, but what we can do is to reaffirm the right of everyone not to be offended by oversexualisation and the lack of respect in society.

I am a social libertarian and I believe in freedom. Hence I support extending anti-discrimination to polyamorists (even if I don't agree with their lifestyle), and the decriminalisation of abortion by legislation (Roe vs Wade needs to be overturned because it is improper in and of itself, but whilst I am pro-life I do believe in the state not interfering in matters so personal) for example. But to help people like me make the case for these amendments in the wider world to make your life easier, you have to give us, the traditionalist majority, some respect too. Shoving it in our face doesn't help.

As Economic Status Becomes Obsolette...

2010-11-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

From The Life

Economic status was once the prime mark for measuring achievement. In the 1980s it was the very definition of personal success. Now it seems to have lost that use. For example, many people are suffering right now economically, of no fault of their own. Meanwhile, many more have made their fortunes by sheer luck. For example, I am a musician and writer. In our field monetary reward often comes or just fails to come. It just comes when some billionaire businessman or his associate decides to make us the next big thing, and all he has to do is to slightly move his giant economic muscle to make that happen. It fails to come when they decide to move onto the next big thing, making that thing dwarf over us overnight.

As this is happening, many (more intellectually inclined) groups are starting to refuse to use money as an indicator of success. Along with this should come a new era where brand power becomes less - luxury brands will be appreciated but along with other quality brands on the same footing. This will be further encouraged by the increasing digitalisation of all our goods and belongings - books and music have already gone that way but there will be much more. This era will call for new cultural icons to represent it - just like the excessive 80s had their cultural icons. I am willing to be an ambassador for this new idea. Are you willing to come along?

Religious Right is Pro-Life? It's all a Fake!

2010-11-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

From the Family Values Column

Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott, a conservative religious politician, in 2004 said that the abortion numbers in the nation constituted a tragedy. Now he doesn't seem so keen to carry the pro-life banner anymore. Why? He has a chance to become prime minister on Aug 21.

The religious right is pro-life - only when it suits them. Their real agenda is to impose their dogma on the world. I can't seriously believe that, amongst religious right leaders, abortion is at the top of their list of things to deal with, when there is a 'cultural war' to fight on the rest of us, and governmental power to win for Their God.

Nor does pro-life need to come into conflict with maintaining the legal status of abortion. You can simply join us and our growing ranks of the new pro-life, who will support every method to prevent abortions and curb abortion numbers, but nonetheless committed to leaving state power outside this domain.

Alternative Social Beverages

2009-11-20T00:11:00.000-08:00

From The Life

Recently I saw the government (of where I live) launch yet another ad campaign advising young people not to turn their Night Out into a Nightmare by letting alcohol let them do stupid things or end up in physical danger. Of course this is better than nothing, but I doubt it will have much of an impact.

I guess one of the most important ways to combat alcohol use in society is to introduce alternative social beverages - things that you can drink whilst talking to people and having a good time. I guess we already have soft drinks, and for an even healthier alternative I suggest soya milk or fruit juice. They already exist - we just need to put them in the category of 'cool social beverages' in the cultural imagination.

Why I am Opposed to Fundamentalism

2009-08-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

From the Inclusive Spirituality Column

Religion has been used for divisive purposes. Like it or not, that is fact. But this need not be the case. It is often said that those who read religious texts with an understanding of what they really mean end up as better people whose faith make them treat everybody around them with loving compassion. On the other hand, those who read religious texts without thinking and take the literal meaning of everything end up creating the divisiveness. And I think this is not a wrong thing to say too.

Think about this. Religious texts often carry the stories and myths of many centuries ago. The best way to illustrate things to people is by telling it via stories they can understand. Therefore, most texts written in a particular era designed for readers of a particular era will have in them the context of that particular era. Therefore, most texts that originate from many centuries ago are full of racism, sexism, homophobia, even disability discrimination and exclusion of people from other religious backgrounds, sects and castes. The fact that this context exists does not mean that it is the lesson that scripture readers should take.

The ongoing division has hurt many people. Most think of things like losses to the gay rights movement when they talk about the adverse effects of so-called fundamentalism. However, I am worried about fundamentalism for another, much more important reason (even when compared to the welfare of gay families): that of exclusion and condemnation of people of other races and religious backgrounds. It is this that leads to interfaith violence (an oxymoron in itself, I believe), and it is this that leads to people shutting their ears from great teachers from other cultures and traditions.

It is for this reason mainly, rather than contemporary fights like gay rights and the like, that I am opposed to religious fundamentalism of any kind. I may be an advocate of gay rights, but my opposition to fundamentalism does not have much to do with that, in fact, it predates my joining of that fight.

That Should Not Be the Exception

2009-06-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

From TaraElla's Family Values Column

Viewing the world with my belief that people should be abstinent until they are ready to start a family (a variation on abstinence until marriage that is more inclusive towards marriage boycotters, libertarian-minded people who don't want the government to get involved in their relationship, and gay and lesbian people who cannot marry legally in some places, but maintaining the requirement of permanent commitment and monogamy), somehow I think that it is sad that virginity for people over 20 who still haven't started a family is seen as the exception rather than the rule.

Let me also use this post to clarify something else: My inability to agree with the polyamoury and prosmiscuity lifestyles seem to have got me labelled narrow-minded and conservative. I just want to say that I don't think it's my place to discriminate against people who live that way, I was just pointing out that it is a lifestyle choice, and one that I can't agree with. Even so, I will fight to protect these people from discrimination, as I believe that anti-discrimination is a blanket cause that should cover everyone.

Adam's Great Message

2009-06-04T04:25:00.001-07:00

From TaraElla's Inclusiveness Column

This is what American Idol's Adam Lambert had to say about his image on the show:

"It's a really, really cool thing to be able to show people that you can be yourself, and you should be proud of yourself, and you should own who you are and what you're about, and never make apologies for it. It feels really amazing to be able to try and pass that on to kids and young adults who don't have a role model like that," he says. "It feels great because I never had a role model like that."

"Conforming is not cool. Embracing who you are and what makes you different is actually what's really cool. The kids that are different and out there and expressive and are bold with those choices, those are the people that grow up to be people we all want to hang out with, that become celebrities or become really successful in what they do because they believe in who they are."

I think that he is a positive role model just for this. Kids need to be taught that it is okay to be different. That is why, despite the fact that I don't particularly like his style of music, I made him one of my favourites of the season (along with Iraheta and Gokey, who I like much more musically).

As for his sexuality, he told us to keep speculating. Well, I really can't say for sure, but my guess is that he is straight.

Here's a Real Piece of the Looney World

2009-06-04T04:24:00.001-07:00

From Exposing the Looney World

We liberals who fight tooth and nail for things like the legalisation of same-sex marriage are often called the Looney World by the far right. However, just to show how we are very different from the Looney World, here's a piece of genuine Looney World I want to share with everybody. There is a website called the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT) out there and, for those of you who don't know, I would really say that it makes as little sense as the racist and homophobic crap that the far right produces. They basically want everyone not to have kids, so that the human race can become extinct and the environment restored to a more primitive state. Sort of like fundamentalist environmentalism gone mad. Here are a few examples of genuine looney left gems I got from the site that I want to share with you:

They ask the visitor this question: "In light of the 40,000 children dying of malnutrition each day, and considering the number of species going extinct as a result of our excessive reproduction, do you think it would be a good idea to create another of yourself?" And if you answer yes, just like 99% of human beings worldwide would undoubtedly do, they would say that you have insufficient intelligence to perform basic logic. What?

Moving onto the substance, it says that if we 'want to give our parents grandchildren', then we are 'still seeking parental approval'. And if I 'want someone to care for me in my old age' (like I know my mom certainly does), then I have an exploitative personality. I guess loving your parents count for nothing for these people. If I had a kid who turned out to be that way, I would surely be really upset. If I believe that being a mother is a woman's highest calling, then I am beguiled into believing compliance as noble free choice. Compliance to who? Myself?

If I think that 'pregnancy and childbirth are life experiences', then I am supposed to be living life choices that are limited by social indoctrination. I really don't believe that the world was made in 7 literal days, but even that is more logical than the idea of childbirth being a man-made indoctrination.

If I think of having children with my dearest one as a chance to 'create a life which embodies our love for each other', then we are both egotistic, and unimaginative. I should instead rescue animals and restore eco-systems to embody love. As if that is much more imaginative in any way. If I 'want a child with our bloodline' then I am a racist. Even though I support affirmative action, learning foreign languages in school, regular multicultural activities and sacrificing a little freedom of speech in order to prosecute racists properly.

As you can see, Looney Left values like these are incompatible, and every bit as offensive on my dear values as the far right's book of racism, religiousism, homophobia and the like. We are not the Looney left, and we will never take on their values the slightest bit, as they are illiberal, anti-human and incompatible with our values.

p.s. The same website also feature the well-known attack on the idea that 'the world needs more of us or we'll be outnumbered'. They say that if I believe in this idea then I am elitist and xenophobic. And of course most Liberals want to avoid being seen as that - we, after all, pride ourselves on tolerance and accpetance. The perpetuation of this myth in Liberal circles has resulted in low Liberal birth rates, meaning that we are being outbred by Conservatives every year. In short, the looney left has tried to spread a rumour that will result in our gradual demise. Another reason not to support the Looney World, and to stop listening to them forever.

(However I won't just stop listening, I have to write my column on exposing and countering the Looney World myths).

Progressive Modesty Movement: An Intro

2009-05-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

From the Progressive Modesty Movement

The Modesty Movement is a movement that has been growing in the past few years. It is all about young woman who dress nicely without being revealing. It is something that is very meaningful, I think. You know, I don't see the point of showing cleavage or dressing provocatively - you don't get respect, you don't get your message across when you want to communicate, and your body gets judged every time you do it.

However, too many things written about the modesty movement seem to take it from a religiously conservative point of view. I want to highlight that the modesty movement should be a progressive project. What is more progressive than not letting your body get in the way of a meaningful life, for example? And what is more regressive (all the way back to the age of apemen and beyond) than letting yourself get judged by how people like your body?

Unafraid

2009-03-29T05:14:00.002-07:00

From The Self Made Star Mag

A 14 year old gay boy in Arizona has been banned from wearing a wristband that says "rainbows are gay" to school. The principal explained that some teachers found it offensive, but apparently he says it was one of several anti-gay experiences he has had at the school. His mother is taking the case to the ACLU.

It is good that he (and his mother) is speaking up. If you are being treated unfairly you must speak up so that people that are in the same situation need not suffer in silence. While a lone teenage boy may not be able to change the world, a general consensus embracing tolerance and acceptance stemming from cases like these would be helpful for all.

Another LGB individual who is not afraid to speak up is Ellen DeGeneres. She recently interviewed her wife Portia de Rossi on her own show, and frequently mentions their love life on air. Apparently she is not afraid to put her lesbian life out as part of her on-air persona package, even though she has a large audience that may include some homophobes.

People like Ellen are changing minds across the world. When people who are not intially friendly to LGB individuals see people like Ellen, living happy, healthy lives and are likable and popular, their idea of LGB individuals may change. More importantly, young, often afraid LGB individuals get another role model to tell them that they have no need to be afraid of the world or underestimate their own potential.

Postivity in the Crisis

2009-03-29T05:14:00.001-07:00

From TaraElla's Platform

American Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has said that America's current recession will probably end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, and that the US has averted the risk of plunging into depression. Which is good news for many, at least much better than those comparing our current recession with the Great Depression.

And statements like Bernanke's are actually doing much more good for our economy and future than those scaremongerers. Consider this: the fact that recessions occur is often, at least in large part, accounted for by the collapse of consumer confidence. I really do not believe we are in for another Great Depression, but that may just happen if consumer confidence collapses. Therefore, dire predictions can become a self fulfilling prophercy, and so can less dire predictions by rescuing consumer confidence - which is the way to go.

Anyway, here is the bottom line: positivity goes a long way to solving our problems.

Remnant Culture

2009-03-29T05:13:00.000-07:00

From The Bigger Scene

Whilst most adults are rightly accusing Chris Brown for his violence against girlfriend Rhianna recently, it seems many teenage girls are still sticking up for Brown. The fact that many of them were fans before the episode may help explain the phenomenon, but what is worrying is that the dark side of hip-hop may be at work too.

"This is the air that hip-hop breathes; the celebration of a stereotype of an aggressive, physical, often misogynistic masculinity that often justifies resolving conflict through violence." said Tricia Rose, author of The Hip Hop Wars, recently quoted in NYTimes.

It is high time that we start taking on this culture. It is a remnant from times when the sexes were unequal and women were abused, and should not be allowed to continue. Just like the rest of the world has changed, hip-hop should change in this respect too.

Strange People Should Rule Sometimes Too

2009-03-29T05:12:00.000-07:00

From the Self Made Star Mag

Lady Gaga credited Amy Winehouse with the success of people like her recently. "Because of Amy, very strange girls like me go to prom with very good-looking guys," she told PopEater.com recently.

I have to profess I don't particularly like Amy Winehouse, but I still feel that this is a positive development. You see, not everyone fits the mainstream mould, but everyone should be given a chance. And it is not like the mainstream style is always better - what is mainstream changes all the time anyway. Therefore there should be no discrimination of the non-mainstream. And if people like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga have advanced this cause, then they deserved the credit for that.

Are you a non-mainstream styled person too? Maybe you can also help advance this development by being not afraid to be yourself and show your style!