Song of himself

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.

This is the first stanza of Song of Myself, the first poem of "Leaves of Grass", the collection of poems by Walt Withman.
This American author is my favourite one . He was not only a poet, and that is not a minor detail, since he worked as a journalist and fiction writer for many years before he became one the most famous poets of American literature.
Walt Withman was born in 1819 thirty years after George Washington became the first president of the United States. In a way, Walt’s character was influenced by American spirit of freedom patriotism and opportunities. This certainly contributed to what later came to be his masterpiece.
As mentioned before, Walt Withman started his career as a poet late in his life while most of the romantic poets he looked up to such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats and Byron had done their most important works by their thirties.
The following verses considered, as many others, autobiographical expose this fact.
“I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death”.

We are all addict!

It seems that people living in this century can´t get away without an addiction, and that is because these addictions are commonly accepted practices which have gone to extremes.
According to Neus Colomer, professor at University of Barcelona, 21st century addictions are to be found everywhere. And the laymen are the ones to suffer from them. You may be asking yourself: what are 21st century addictions?
Paying too much attention to your appearance, over cleaning your house, feeling wrath, buying compulsively, among others are hints of abnormal behaviour.
Psychologist Colomer outlines the fact that these addictions may be unnoticed, which doesn´t mean they are not harmful for those who suffer from them. We tend to regard alcohol, drugs and gambling as the most pernicious conduct, although this is undeniable the new addictions may pose an emotional, interpersonal and economical danger.
Though common nowadays, workaholics are considered addicts. They not only work a lot but also create bonds with people at work, and their lives and family life depend on that job. These people are incapable of communicating, thinking or living outside of this vicious circle that their career has turned into. Imagine some of the consequences of this “addiction”: no family or friends, divorce, health problems just to name a few.
Another peculiar addiction is that related to the cleaning of your house. Psychologist Colomer believes that people who suffer from this addiction think others judge them both personally and professionally according to the place they live or work in. This addiction is particularly related to that of having always the best appearance. Most people nowadays buy clothes compulsively and not only this, they even resort to plastic surgery in order to have the perfect figure, or face.
Most worrying of all is the addiction to wrath. Probably due to a communication problem, wrath is extremely common. People react violently with almost no reason. How many times have you sworn in a supermarket queue? Or reacted badly to a criticism?
We are getting less and less polite and we are also being slowly and unconsciously dragged to some of these new “addictions”. So watch out you might soon became and addict!

I now pronounce you

In the past months, the same issue has prevailed on the first pages of the newspapers and in the news: The gay marriage law. And after such a long debate, after trying to figure out this new reality in our country I still find it difficult to answer myself the question : Is this right? 54


The struggle for the legalization of homosexual marriage is a very resent one , however it has reached parliment and raised a controversy as regards the rights and obligations gay couples are now granted , on top of the list being the right to adopt a child. People against the new law have exposed their arguments basing themselves in religious beliefs, values and morals.
They would claim that children have the right to mother and a father, probably without thinking about the countless number of children who grow up in "non traditional" households.
Another arguments was the influence homosexual parents may have on their children´s sexuality. I can´t help wondering : Why are there so many gay people who were brought up by heterosexual couples?175
Among these trains of thought appeared the most despicable hypothesis. A bizarre idea that gay couples might adopt a child in order to subject him or her to sexual abuse.
The truth is that this law has come to contemplate behaviours that have been taking place since decades ago. And, though accused of hypocritical, a part of sopciety is still reluctant to accept this fact. 240

On the other hand, no matter how open minded we might be, for some of us same-sex marriage is still shocking. Its not because we do not respect their rights, is that having been raised in "traditional " families, our schema is not ready to put up with such a new reality. Luckily for us, the new generations will surely accept this sitation as commonplace. Society needs time to analize the real step we have just made as a nation.319
The world press published this 14th july : "Gay marriage law : Argentina is the First Latin American Country to Approve Same-sex Marriage".
On the world´s eyes, we seem a nation which is paving the way to a most just and egalitarian society. In my persoanl view , we still have a long way to go. Health and education systems need to be improved. People in the government have to look after EVERY CITIZEN´S RIGHTS. 391

In conclusion, I´d like to quote senator Norma Morandini:

""What defines us is our humanity, and what runs against humanity is intolerance"

I do believe in tolerance and respect as the basis of our society.

Actions speak louder than words

Proper social behaviour is ideally learned at home, at early stages in one´s life and these rules are to be followed and respected throuout it. Unfortunately, sociologists and psychologists in our country are more and more insistent on the lack of values experimented by modern societies.

But when have we become so disrespectful?

It seems that we have completely lost the respect for both common property and other´s rights.
People puffing away in train or bus stations have become commonplace situations and whenever a brave defender of civil law dares speak to them, they recieve scornful and even violent responses. Eventually, these people get away with their wilful behaviour.

Our parks and streets are scattered with litter and although the government may provide some cleaning service, we do not contribute with it. People still drop their waste, chewing gum, cigarette butts , probably thinking " I will not make any difference".

Clearly, here is where the big problem lies. No matter if you are a child, a teenager or an adult; reminders are always necessary. Society is asking for a change. Rules need to be obeyed and authority respected. Social and moral values are in crisis. Society has moved from too strickt to too light rules. We need to strike a balance between our rights and other´s. Moreover, we also have realize that our responsibility and respect may move mountains and make other people change as well.

Return to Paradise

I do not consider myself a critic. I read because I like to. I wanted to share a piece of my mind about a short story. "Return to paradise" by Eliza Riley.

Looking forward to get inspired I decided to read another short story,which by the way I tend to like. I thought of romance, and this is what I got.
A nicely described picture of a beach, a woman in a dress, wind blowing, blue sea and a man staring at her. A marriage, a nasty episode, an attempt of divorce and as usual reconciliation.
Do all women enjoy this? Drama ,drama ,drama.
This story is so corny and revealing. No mistery, do not even dare ask for an unexpected end.