in the belly of the fish

We tend to sacrifice things we like and cancel activities we enjoy in fear of being criticized, or humiliated. We feel penitent both for standing up for the things we believe in and for failing to do so. We mar our own desires and the society routs our goals and dreams. And in our deathbeds, we get overwhelmed with the contrition of everything we were too scared to do and every word we were too scared to say.

Do what you love and live according to your principles. Don't live your life drowning in your regrets. Say 'I love you' to your parents, say 'Thank you' to your teachers, say 'We have so much in common, we should be friends' to the person in front of you in the movie theater line who buys a ticket to the same movie as you. Recommend an independent book, blast your favorite jug band's latest song, mix your coffee with sparkling water. The norm is dull. The exceptions are limitless. Be an exception.

Lots of soda caps,
~Belle

Stupidity will be the end of humankind because idiots have the pride of fools and the intellect of fish. You can reason with an intelligent person, but an idiot will never understand you -- and even if he does, he won't accept the truth because he is vain in his idiocy. A sad example can be seen in Turkey right now.

A couple of environmentalists impetuously come together to protest against the government cutting a trifling number of trees in Gezi Parki, Istanbul.
The main opposition party takes advantage of the harmless protest to spark a bigger event.
Police uses 'unnecessarily' brutal tactics to dismiss the protesters such as tear gas and water canons. They backfire.
Secret groups, undercover organizations, communist clubs and other cliques of people who are against democracy emerge from their hiding spots and integrate themselves into the environmentalists community. During their devious emergence, they whisper into the ears of uninformed citizens, European countries, and tourists, that the current prime minister is a dictator.
In the blink of an eye, the peaceful protests of let's keep the trees turn into violent uprisings of the prime minister should resign.
The public, acting on their primitive instincts of bestiality and savagery, spill onto the streets to join the revolts. At this vital turning point, the public knows nothing, the environmentalists are lost, the government is struggling, and the opposition party is having a party.
The idiots on the streets tweet about unrealistic events and imaginary persons while the foreign media soaks up everything like a sponge. No filter, no affirmation, just pure bias.
Western countries shake their heads and do absolutely nothing to help.
The idiots keep asking Europe for help. Because clearly, European countries are flawless and perfect and completely exemplary for every other country in the world. Why didn't the prime minister think of that?
The protests spread from Istanbul to other major cities such as Ankara, Izmir and Bursa.
The tree-lovers of yesterday cause damage to parks, plazas, public institutions, party quarters, police stations, ambulances, buses, schools, and roads. They set flowers and trees to fire (anyone see anything wrong here?), they take apart sidewalks and barricade streets. The hole left in the national budget is over 10 million dollars in the capital city just in the last day [6/18/2013]. You know we could have invested that money in medical research, we could have invested it in our children, we could have invested it in the welfare of our people and entertainment and more plazas and parks, BUT NO. Idiots will be idiots. The economy is also suffering due to millions of tourists cancelling their visits, leaving the country, or changing their future plans all together.
The image of the developing and strong nation-state of Turkey has been hurt beyond easy restoring. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been working for Turkey for a decade now. He is the perfect leader a country could ever ask for. He is determined, focused, and has realizable goals for Turkey. He has saved the country from the black pit of hopelessness it was previously drowning in. And as soon as he has all this nonsense under control, he will keep moving forward.

People's stupidity both upsets and angers me. I am so insignificant, and have so little impact on the world. How do I change this? How can I become a leading figure in the world? How do I educate the masses as a whole? How can I stop cruelty, violence, discrimination, and inequality? How can I realize these huge goals of mine? How do I cure humanity?

Lots of tears,

~Belle