Social Consciousness

My seemingly random personal thoughts and opinions on a range of weighty subjects from cosmetics to environmentalism. Stuff I've been storing up, reflections on things people say and some general musings. Enjoy.

I left the Democratic Party years ago, in disgust over the Florida Election debacle. Now I'm Green. In truth, I'm disillusioned with politics altogether. Politicians will tell you what you want to hear in order to get elected and then, even with the best of intentions, they'll get caught up in, well, politics. Everything is political these days, in every job imaginable, so of course it's worse in D.C. (so I finally stopped being angry at stupid decisions made at work). You make so many compromises that soon you are light years away from your original mission statement and you've let your constituents down. I just can't follow it anymore. I want to like Obama, but guess what? He's yet another politician who sounds good but will he deliver? Don't get me wrong, I sure hope he does and I will support him all the way. But I can't help but wonder - what kind of person gets into politics in the first place and how does one maintain integrity on the way up? I do love the one man who never compromised - Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader. Even though he was vilified over those very same Florida Elections, the man worked tirelessly his whole life to make Americans safe. We owe him the seat belt for one thing, among hundreds of other necessities. You can't argue that he doesn't care. Or that he isn't always articulate and prepared. But I guess we aren't ready for him to lead us because we are still governed by fear. Shame. I guess we'll see what happens next.

After September 11, the world was with us. We were loved and supported and everyone wanted to come to our rescue. It was the single most unifying event I've ever experienced. But in one short year, it was turned completely around, and now we are one of the most hated countries in the world and rather than being celebrated, we are reviled and we've now even lost our Human Rights standing with the United Nations.

My father joined the Peace Corps back in the 60's, when it was all new and shiny and idealistic, when JFK told everyone we could make a difference. It certainly did for my Dad. First of all, he met my Mother in South America and started a loving family, for which I am forever grateful. He still does social work and now that I've grown out of the self-absorbed growing stage, I want to follow in his footsteps. But is the Peace Corps still relevant today? Well, I like to think so yes, and now more than ever. Its members have been accused of condescending to the indigenous people of the nations they try to help, but really, as they will tell you on their website, you get as much, if not more out of being a volunteer, than you can imagine. It would be nice to be internationally appreciated once more. We need to reach out people. Now.

So what are you (am I) waiting for?

I admit that right before this season's Olympics started, I was inclined to boycott them, because of China's treatment of Tibet and oh, for all of those complicated and tedious economic reasons (you know what I mean - if not, look on wikipedia, I would just explain it all wrong), not to mention the lead poisoning, and oh, their sponsoring of dictatorships (hmm, wonder if any other super powers do that?)

Anyway, almost no one I know is watching them. But given that I work in theater, most of my friends are too busy or not sports-savvy enough to care. The rest of the nation and the world is indeed watching them, as is my sports-obsessed brother. I did TIVO the Opening Ceremonies and when I finally got around to watching them I found them to be truly spectacular. And it didn't end there. I got sucked into to watching Michael Phelps single-handedly turn these events into one of the most exciting spectator sports I've seen. The touchingly emotional drama with his mother was great television, as were the gymnastics events (both men and women) and then for me personally, there were some great moments in the women's marathon, having run one myself for the first time. And to think I never paid attention before, shame on me! And all these "older" women showing the world they are still to be reckoned with is enough to bring a tear to my middle-aged eye (Dara Torres, anyone?).

So I take it all back. I'm glad I'm watching and supporting my fellow Americans. They're doing great. We may not have as many gold medals (yet), but we have heart, so take that China!

p.s. Actually, since I'm a sucker for human interest stories, it is also really nice to see life in China, another aspect of the world I'd never paid attention to before. Hopefully this means their "One World, One Dream" actually means just that. Peace.

E.L.F.Cosmetics seems to be generating a lot of controversy. On the one hand, the appeal of $1 cosmetics is certainly hard to resist. And as an additional bonus, the company claims they never test on animals so their products are cruelty free. On the other hand, because of low overhead costs, etc. the company runs pretty bare bones so that means they can't invest in proper customer service. Therefore, when you order, you may not get everything you asked for as many products become mysteriously "out of stock". So people complain. And some people have great experiences. Hard to tell. And one other thing, their products are made in China. So you've got to weigh the options, worrying about getting what you pay for against the obvious savings. In my simple experience, the mineral foundation powder I bought is nice and works well. I've heard a lot of bitching about lip gloss, but haven't tried that yet. If you want to save money, then take the gamble that you will be able to get everything you order (although they do offer to credit you for whatever is not available). In my case, I think it's worth it. But try it for yourself.

Kate West Reviews

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