The Slippery Slope of Dietary Equality by Caleb Warren

The United States of America is a melting pot country. We’ve always been a nation made up of a myriad of different racial and social groups. There has been dark periods in our history, to be sure, but in recent years the country has become more generally inclusive of all types of alternative lifestyles, but at what cost? Shouldn’t we, as Americans, be protecting the moral code upon which our country was built? Is there a point at which our good-intentioned commitment to equality and open-mindedness actually leads down a road that will make us as bankrupt morally as we are financially?

Vampires, y’all. They walk among us, and sure, I’m all for people having the right to do whatever they want to do, but sucking the blood of good, hard-working Americans is where I draw the line. It’s typical these days to turn on the television and see any number of celebrities preaching at us about “embracing” this oppressed group of monsters, but I can’t help but wonder where we go after we give the vampires equal rights. What’s next for this country?

All killers may not be vampires, but I remain convinced that all vampires are killers. They survive on the sustenance of our blood, hello. How do you think they get it? They live a corrupt, unnatural lifestyle and they hurt other people to do it. If they would just live normally like the rest of us, we wouldn’t have a problem. Be whatever you want to be in your own house, but if you really want to be accepted by society, maybe you should just act like the rest of us. Stop being a vampire, and we can all be happy.

It’s not that I’m a bigoted person, it’s just that being vampiric goes against all the laws of nature and man. Why would you want to be that way? Just eat normal food. Now sure, we all hear stories from lamestream media about how some vampires are good people who get their blood from hospitals, and not by killing people, but do any of us actually buy that nonsense? I hope not. These people need to be driven out. It’s unnatural, is all I’m saying. Just look at the story of the Creation, God gave Adam life, not death. Death came as a result of the Fall, but now we’re supposed to welcome these dead people with open arms simply because they have a condition that keeps them preserved and sentient? No thank you, I’m an American. If you want to be included in spite of your demonic life choices, maybe try Canada.

If we grant rights to vampires, even just to the ones who don’t hurt other people (as if those exist), we run the risk of sending the wrong message. What are we saying to the other, arguably worse types of demons out there? That’s it’s okay if you’re a werewolf? That no matter how zombified you are, it’s cool as long as you’re a nice person? I’m not okay with this lapse in judgment, and neither should you be. This is important. Stop this wretched “dietary equality” business. (If you ask me, we already too equal with people’s chosen diets, letting vegetarians eat out in the open and whatnot, but that’s for another time.)

Vampires, you will never be welcome in this country as long as you keep insisting on having a digestive system that only responds to blood. (Honestly, only blood, really? Who’s closed-minded now?) Keep your alternative tendencies to yourself, and stop asking the rest of the world to be okay with the way you eat. I’m not a bigot, but you should really just leave or go somewhere else where they’re okay with degrading social values.

The Twilight Saga: Noon (Book 5) Review by Mikayla Halsell

As most of you probably know, Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight Saga was one of the most popular reads of 2012. Each book had everyone (or every girl between the ages of 12 and 15) sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to see who Bella Swan would chose: Jacob, the outdoorsy-type with flawless, tan skin, an almost-too-perfect-to-be-realistic physic, and most importantly, a ware-wolf, or Edward, a porcelain-skinned vampire, who’s beauty, charm, misogyny, and mind are irresistible to other girls. In the fourth book, Bella chooses to become a vampire herself and to marry the man of her dreams. As a vampire, she would be able to spend an eternity with her “other half” now that both she and Edward are immortal.

                Of course, all of that is old news. What you may not know is that Stephanie Meyers just recently came out with her fifth book, Noon. The book doesn’t pick up where the fourth ended, but instead jumps ahead 300 years after their marriage and that little controversy among vampires and ware-wolves that was settled in the last chapter. It turns out Bella and Edward aren’t having that “happily ever after” they had planned on having. Sure, the first couple of hundred years were great, but after their 213^th anniversary, things started going downhill for this vampire couple.

In the beginning of the book, Meyers alludes to an event that happened not long after the birth of Edward and Bella’s daughter, Renesmee. She doesn’t go into much detail about it, but apparently, as a young adult, Renesmee decided that she didn’t want to marry Jacob even though he imprinted on her and she spends most of her time traveling the world, while she is followed by her helplessly in love ex-boyfriend, Jacob. So with Jacob out of the picture, Bella and Edward can just focus on their relationship without interruptions or problems. Or at least that’s what they expected. Little did they know how wrong they were.

One thing that Edward and Bella did not consider when they decided to live together as an immortal, married, vampire couple was just how long eternity is. The fifth book Noon takes the reader on a journey through a day in the life of this unique marriage. Not only are Edward and Bella completely bored with each other, but they are beginning to greatly dislike living with each other. They fight all the time, lie to each other, and sometimes even “vacation” away from each other for days at a time. The life they were dying to have is now a life they are dying to escape from. About half way through the book, Edward and Bella have their 300^th anniversary and celebrate it by making eye-contact and attempting to smile. Not really the love story so many young teenage girls were hoping to hear about.

Aside from the horrible writing, excessive details about things that are irrelevant, a terrible portrayal of morals, bland content, and an astonishing lack of substance, I think this is definitely a must read. Not only will Noon give the teenage-girl audience a little dose of reality, but it will also shatter their dreams of ever having a happy, loving marriage of their own. After all, books 1-4 fed these desperate-for-love girls a false image of the kind of man you actually want to look for to spend the rest of your life with and a false view of a genuine relationship. So by reading Noon, they will realize that that kind of love story will never really happen and is actually extremely unrealistic. Personally, I enjoyed Noon. But if you are one of those naïve teenage girls who absolutely loved the previous books and is expecting more of a love story, I would highly advice reading the fifth book. 

Bella Swan is Mentally Insane

I am part of the unfortunate many that have read all of the Twilight books. Every single one of them is a horrid example of literature at its very worst. I cannot think of something more disgustingly written, nor dare I try. Even though I am repulsed by the fact that I absorbed every last word of the treacherous series, I do not regret it. I am one of the lucky few whose hatred of the series is legitimately justified. No one can accuse me of judging a book by it’s cover, and that’s the way I like it.

Although many things about the book disturbed me, there was one thing in particular that struck me as frightening. Yes, Bella Swan is the anti-feminist. Her desire to be adored is pathetic, and the comatose state she was left in, upon her breakup with Edward, was completely appalling. However, that’s not what concerns me most about Bella.

Bella Swan seems to be mentally insane. Don’t believe me? Here are some quotes from the 6 books that I believe, prove my point quote nicely. (Get it? It’s a... pun... quite nicely... no? Okay.)

“I tried to be diplomatic. But mostly, I just lied a lot.”

“I don’t like to lie. So there better be a good reason why I’m doing it.”

Alright, this one is simple. She’s a pathological liar. He desire to be truthful and friendly is matched only by her lack of ability to do so. This is entirely unhealthy, on its own. Let alone, coupled with all the other things I’m about to show you.

“I couldn’t allow him to that this level of influence over me. It was pathetic. More than pathetic, it was unhealthy.”

We all know Bella has Histrionic Personality Disorder. Her inability to cope without her dear Edward is frightening. But here she is acknowledging how unhealthy it is! This borders on the sociopathic, my friends.

“Non-reality was black, and it didn’t hurt so much. Reality was red, and it felt like I was being sawed in half, hit by a bus, punched by a prize fighter, trampled by bulls, and submerged in acid, all at the same time. Reality was feeling my body twist and flip when I couldn’t possibly move because of the pain. Reality was knowing there was something so much more important than all this torture, and not being able to remember what it was.”

.... I don’t even know what to say about this one... She’s definitely loony.

“I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.”

It is a widely accepted fact across the psychological community that painful things ARE necessary. The repression of hurtful memories leads to unspeakably horrific side effects, including schizophrenia (which might explain the previous quote), bipolar tendencies, and thoughts of suicide. This is not a helpful attitude. It’s not a healthy attitude.

And now, the cream of the crop:

(Bella, upon hearing for the first time that Vampires kill and eat people...)

“(That doesn’t repulse me) It sounds reasonable.)”

“I should be afraid – I knew I could be, but I couldn’t feel the right kind of fear.”

This is so beyond insane and unwise. In fact, this might actually be proof that Bella is a sociopath. Her lack of emotion has come to a point where she isn’t perturbed by or scared of the fact that her friends eat human beings.

I have nothing else to say. Is further proof really necessary?