Cultural Politics - Multicultural Issues - Political Commentary - Rudy Ruiz - RedBrownAndBlue.com

Greed Divides, but Will it Conquer?

Written by Rudy Ruiz | January 11th, 2010 | Comments (0)

Greed is good,” Gordon Gekko giddily extolled in the movie “Wall Street,” capturing the hubris of the 80’s and earning Michael Douglas the coveted Academy.

Forget which political party is winning these days. Partisanship may well be a distraction for what’s really going on beneath the table, where the consistent victor is “greed.”

“Greed is good,” Gordon Gekko giddily extolled in the movie “Wall Street,” capturing the hubris of the 80’s and earning Michael Douglas the coveted Academy Award.

But as greed threatens to consume American ideals, we must ask ourselves: Can “good” stage a comeback to beat greed? Where’s Charlie Sheen when you need him? Can we turn back the clock and give him an award too?

Speaking of the past, the Founding Fathers incorporated a healthy measure of realism in their designs for our system of governance, cognizant that if our politics could align the good of the country with the self-interests of individuals a true win-win would be generated.

To that point, James Madison wrote in 1788: “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?”

(more…)

For the People: They’re Coming For You.

Written by Jake Negovan | January 10th, 2010 | Comments (0)

zombiesinarea490

You’re alone. It’s late and it’s dark and the streetlights are not quite doing their job. Something, you’re not sure what, doesn’t feel right. Looking back over your shoulder, you see the shift of shadows and the movement of the bushes that might just be the breeze. But, it might not.

The best thing to do is get somewhere safe, quickly. You turn the collar up on your coat and push your hands deep into your pockets and walk as fast as you can without appearing scared. You are scared. There is no denying that. But the last thing you want is to show it. You don’t understand how the city streets could look so empty and you wonder just how late it really is. Did time get away from you? You pull your cell phone from your pocket and your trembling hands fumble it to the ground, where your fast-moving feet deliver a swift kick that sends it spinning under a dumpster. You look back. Now you see them.

They’re coming for you.

(more…)

Why the boycott in National Marriage Boycott?

Written by Michael Maine | January 8th, 2010 | Comments (1)

National Marriage Boycott

I just signed the “National Marriage Boycott” pledge. A group of students at Stanford University began this movement with the simple idea that until everybody has the right to marry whomever they chose, the students will choose to not get married. I too, feel that equal rights should be just that – equal rights. At the National Marriage Boycott website, you can offer your support by signing the petition, creating a profile, and ordering their “equality ring”. I spoke with the president of the organization and she told me one of the biggest obstacles they are running into is getting people to sign the petition not because people don’t want equality for the LGBT community and everyone, but because the petition has the term “boycott” in the title. She asked me what significance I thought the word boycott might have in people’s unwillingness to sign the pledge. Her question really made me stop and think about the word boycott and people’s association with it. Many people have issue with the marriage boycott because they have issues with same-sex marriage, whether they be personal or religious. Others are on the fence on whether they want to support, resist, or take no part in change. But what is it about boycott stopping those who otherwise would be supporters of the cause?

(more…)

Ponder This: Survival of the Fittest….Or Prettiest.

Written by Callisto Griffith | January 7th, 2010 | Comments (4)

fashion

I work at a Hispanic advertising agency that primarily focuses attention on multicultural, socio-economic issues that prevail in today’s society and that avidly works to support those individuals and unities bringing about positive cause and action within those impactful issues. From this, I get a first-hand look at the hot button issues that individuals are so passionate about voicing.

One dominant issue, for example, is racism – racism, prejudice, inferiority, all the same, but equally hurtful. So, I began to ponder about the roots of this particular injustice and the reasons for a person to cast inferiority, or superiority, against certain individuals. Racism, sexism and classism are products (I believe) that stem from people who support, and have supported for centuries, an ‘ideal’ image within society.

(more…)

Where do I fit in?

Written by Angelica Lopez | January 5th, 2010 | Comments (7)

three girls

Angelica Christina Lopez, when skimming through a list of names, one would think, WOW, now that’s a typical tongue-rolling Mexican name. But once that name is placed with the individual another thought comes into play, a more confused, “is she mixed or not” thought races one’s mind. My name is Angelica Christina Lopez, I consider myself a Mexican American, but when asked “what part of Mexico are you from”, I hesitate. Both grandmothers and one grandfather were born in a small Texas town called Uvalde; I pronounce it “YouValdee”, not “OOvalde”. Granted it could be considered a border town, but that’s beside the point. My parents were born and raised there as well. Growing up I had this long Latino name that seemed to be the only thing I could pronounce in the language I was supposed to be speaking. For the sake of better job opportunities, my parents moved to Houston where the culture shock hit them and my home began.

(more…)