Meandering Thoughts

For a peaceful, nonviolent world
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  • Dominic Schmid

A Storm Trooper With a Conscious Jan 2, 2016

One of the most important themes in the new Stars Movie is the idea of following your conscious and not orders given by superiors.  We see this with the actions of a single storm trooper.  This storm trooper first disobeys an order to fire on civilians during a raid.  Later, he helps to free a prisoner that was captured in the raid and leaves his base.  After pretending to have always been a Resistance Fighter, "Fin" ultimately comes clean about who really is and denounces the first order. Yet what happens when this is done in real life, when a...

By Dominic Schmid Vote3 0

“Put Down The Knife, Step Away From the Baby” Dec 31, 2015

When discussing the issue of genital mutilation, most people assume that you are discussing female genital mutilation.  Images of men holding down a girl and carving up her genitals instantly pops into mind.  It's considered a barbaric practice and rightly so by many people, with massive amounts of resources being used to combat the practice.  If however, you mention the practice of male genital mutilation, you will often get either a puzzled look, or be told "you're sexist."  If we all have equal rights, then surely the practice of removing any part, of anyone's genitals should be viewed as both...

By Dominic Schmid Vote3 3

You Cannot Legislate Morality Dec 21, 2015

Legislating morality, is a belief held by many people.  Some of the most prominent are gun control advocates and pro-lifers.  There are even some that fall into both camps such as Democrats for Life.  While both groups have valid reasons for wanting to end types of violence, their tactics are quite off. Let's start with the gun control advocates.  Not too long ago, I considered myself to be a gun control advocate.  I thought people kill people, often times with guns, and we should have lot's of regulation and "gun-free zones" to limit the amount of gun violence.  I thought...

By Dominic Schmid Vote2 2

Creeping Towards War Dec 7, 2015

It is often said that history frequently rhymes and often repeats.  More than fifty years ago, the United States Imperial Armed Forces began a "mission creep" in southeast Asia.  What began as military aid turned into advisers.  The advisers turned into commandos, and the commandos eventually into more than half a million troops.  What followed was one of the longest, costliest, and bloodiest war in American history.  Nearly 60,000 Americans lost their lives in an unwinnable quagmire.  For the people in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, it was a literal hell on earth.  Millions lost their lives.  B-52s spearheaded a carpet...

By Dominic Schmid Vote3 1

#WhyIAmAntiWar Nov 17, 2015

With the recent terror attacks in Paris, France, many are once again beating the drums of war.  For the umpteenth time, I've heard "we should just turn the Middle East into a parking lot."  Somehow, somewhere, the idea that murder is wrong no matter who does it still fails to materialize in far too many people.  Yet with all the calls for revenge, AntiWar.com stepped in and asked people #WhyIAmAntiWar. I am anti-war because war is simply mass murder sanctioned by The State.  The vast majority of its victims are innocent bystanders just trying to survive each day. I am...

By Dominic Schmid Vote3 1

Things My Economics Professor Says: “Uber Steals” Oct 16, 2015

There are times when I'm sitting in my "macroeconomics" class and wonder if the professor thought to turn on their brain before opening their mouth.  A favorite is ranting against Uber. According to him, Uber "steals from taxi drivers" because they "don't play by the same rules."  Now the last time I checked, Uber didn't have a policy of stealing from taxi drivers.  What Uber does do is reduce congestion, help the environment, and provide rides for people, who for whatever reason can't drive.  That's called providing a legitimate service to people, not stealing.  In fact, for all intents and...

By Dominic Schmid Vote38 18

Poverty is Subjective Aug 16, 2015

I find the word "poverty" to be thrown around a lot by people who claim to know what they're talking about, but really don't.  Take Bernie Sanders for example.  Sanders is currently running a populist campaign for president, where one of his main planks is the issue of poverty.  Now every solution he proposes to "fix" poverty ultimately leads to more poverty, but that isn't my main grievance.  The term poverty is subjective, not objective. It is often assumed by those calling themselves "Progressive," that if someone lacks a lot of money, their lives are completely miserable, and if they...

By Dominic Schmid Vote1 0

Pro-Life Without the State Aug 9, 2015

There are few things I find more perplexing than the "Pro-Life Movement."  The ultimate goal of the movement is to end the practice of abortion, yet many of them firmly believe that the state is required to end abortion.  Now I agree with their end goal of ending abortion, it's just that I find their tactics to be misguided. The state by its very nature is fundamentally not pro life.  For even the most trivial of "offenses," the state can and will provide death as a punishment.  For example, say you are driving over the speed limit and are pulled...

By Dominic Schmid Vote2 0

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