Welcome to the tail-end of 2006. This year, our government has decided to ban stem cell research, encourage capital punishment, and continue our presence in Iraq, despite the fact that they have NOTHING to do with the war on terrorism. Now, it all depends on your viewpoint, but are we drowning in hypocrisy, or is it just me?

Bush has decided that stem cell research is now officially not nice. However, does he not claim to be “pro-life”? No, of course, an embryo, devoid of life and doomed to be disposed of, is much more important than life that already HAS potential.

Of course, for those of us that have lost a loved one, or have been at danger for being lost ourselves, you must know, as I do, how it feels. Now perhaps it was just my desperation to save my oldest sister, or, it could have been pure panic. But, I would have done anything to help her, and all the others like her. I know its wrong to hold on to this grudge, but I will never forgive President Bush. One day, he will suffer as we all have, then perhaps he will understand.

Now, lets move on. An eye for an eye leads to a blind world. Someone name a time that Gandhi has ever been wrong. The other day on the subway, I watched as an angry, impatient mother slapped her child in the face and roared “STOP HITTING!” If it had not been for the blatant abuse of her child, I would have laughed. What, tell me, is the use of hitting a child to teach them that hitting is wrong? The same goes for capital punishment.

We kill, call it humane euthanasia, in fact, call it whatever you want. But I call it martyrdom. We murder these men and women, and what for? Yes, no one is denying that they have done wrong, but we are killing to teach others not to kill. As a “holy country” is it not our duty to lead by example? I wont mold you to accept my opinion, you answer for yourself.

One must be informed in order to be opinionated. But if you think that Peter Jennings and Matt Lauer are telling you the truth, then you have another thing coming. The media, or the fourth branch of the government, filters everything. You may not see it, but they are the ones determining just how informed you are allowed to be. Sound familiar? Communism can be like that. Communists regulate who gets what for how much. And the media regulates how much you know and how much you don’t.

For all citizens that care to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, it is out there, only pages away. Mankind has been striving for information since the dawn of time, now we openly allow the media to restrict us from our rights. How much longer will we listen to (and believe) their lies? Finding the facts may be harder than turning on the TV, but how much are you willing to pay for the truth?