Getting all political on your ass...

September 11th is day we all remember. We all mourn the loss of our innocence. It's the day we woke up and knew with out a doubt that this world is not the world that we thought we were living in. We imagined ourselves in a safe world free from harm, free from hate. Up to this point we were a generation undefined by war. We were defined by our lack of anything. Now we have this…This gaping whole in the skyline of our lives defining us. We are a peaceful people run by warmongering fools. We bring destruction upon ourselves without remorse, then we blame someone else for our downfall. As a nation, we need to stand up, take responsibility, and grow up. We have no one to blame but ourselves. We put these warmongers into power; we allowed them to use scare tactics to send us into a war that has been costly and uncalled for. We allowed them to give us the words to hate another culture, another group of people who now live in fear that we will obliterate them without a second thought. The land of the free has now become the land of the unforgiving…the land of the hateful, selfish, hypocrite. We preach equality for all, yet we scoff at the thought of two men marrying. We preach freedom of religion, yet condemn an entire group of people for not believing in the Christian God. We claim to be “watch dogs,” when in reality we are the bullies. Aren’t we taught to love? Aren’t we taught acceptance? Aren’t we taught to be fair and not to fight? Or are these rules that only children must follow? We need to take responsibility for our actions. And I intend to. I try to live my life by many different principles. I try to achieve Zen. I try to follow the golden rule. I try to follow the basic rules of life taught to me as a child. I know that I am not perfect and that I will fail at times, but I will be damned if I don’t try harder next time. If we all took responsibility for ourselves, loved our neighbors, respected the rights of those around us, and taught peace and understanding then maybe this world would have a chance. Otherwise all I see is utter self-destruction, brought on by a self-righteous bully.

The Butterfly

(Single spot light up on a woman dressed in business attire.

She is wearing heels, slacks, a button down shirt, and a

jacket. Her hair is up. She looks "professional")

WOMAN

Five percent of Fortune 500 Companies are run by women...Five...Five percent. What does this tell me? That I can be anything that I want to be? No, it says that to be considered smart and sucessful I have to dress like a man, act like a man, try to be a man. I try not to lose myself in my need for success...my need to be in that five percent, but I'm not sure people are ready for a woman. A real, honest-to-goodness woman. So what happens? (She starts to take down her hair. As the monologue continues she undresses down to her bra.) I pin my hair up and wear suits. I talk about statistics and sports. I become an emotionless robot who only cares about work. I come in early and stay late. I make myself uninteresting. But, hey, at least I'm thought of as smart and successful, right? Why can't I be smart, successful, beautiful, and interesting? I guess I am asking to have my cake and eat it, too.