Society
One of life’s little amusements is how much stink was made about the twit, where was it….Hong Kong? Who was found guilty of graffiti and sentenced to be caned. The whole country was outraged about how barbaric a punishment it was. First of all, immediate consequences for an action. You have to assume that the punishment ends quickly and life goes on. Second, it seems to work pretty well. Third and biggest, we are one of the few major countries that still puts its citizens to death. I’m not sure if I agree or disagree with this but it is another example of not being able to see from another point of view. I certainly understand why this is considered barbaric by other countries.
The U.S. has always been unique in the world. Where most other countries are made from a very limited amount of ethnic diversity, the U.S. really is a melting pot. Not always stirred too well but still a summation of many sets of beliefs, morals, ethics and ethnics. Our politics as a democracy was started at great risk. Nothing like it had been tried and was the outcome of theoretical writings by philosophers. I still don’t know if it the best answer but it has worked fairly well. The overenthusiastic application of capitalism is probably our biggest problem. 200 years ago, I think there was probably more opportunity for someone to have an acceptable standard of living through hard work than today. I think that it would be interesting to talk with the founding fathers and see if they are pleased with where we ended up.
I think that basically I am a socialist. I think everyone has an obligation to contribute to at whatever level they can and everyone should have the basics: enough food, a place to live, education and health care. If you want people to be better parents, parenting education must be taught. As a society, we need to give more than lip service to the mental, emotional, educational and physical health of our children. If kids grow up knowing that they are the part of society we don’t want to talk about, what should be expected from them as adults?
Humane
I've always said when it comes to end of life, we treat our pets more humanely than people. I've held many of our animals during the 'last ride' to the vet and while the shot was administered. They left hearing they were good dogs.
Jobs and Minimum Wage
I have said it before - the real problem is that the U.S. has lost too many well paying blue collar manufacturing jobs that used to be the mainstay of the middle class. Minimum wage jobs used to be 'starter jobs' while you were supported by your family.
Threatened
The local State Police barracks had a very simple definition for when a person was been threatened. I had problems with a driveway paver. They told me it was a civil problem, not their issue. I told them I felt threatened by him. They sent over two cars to 'facilitate the discussion'. It was based on how I felt in the situation.
Society Overprotectiveness
Sometimes I hate the over-protectiveness of our society. I talked with one of the people running the soldering class at the maker faire. He was very upset because one of the kids burned themselves on a soldering iron. Yes, that hurts and might even leave a scar. If you put your fingers within an inch of something hot enough to melt metal, occasionally a life lesson is learned. Eye protection, warnings, mentoring without hovering and something will be learned.
Telemarketers and My Little Revenges
I tried reversing it on them. "OMG, I have a problem? If I give you my credit card number can you fix it? How about my bank routing number?" There was nothing in his script on how to handle this and he ended up giving me a lecture on how I should not be so willing to give out those important numbers. He forgot he was trying to get them in the first place. Lesson for him. Don't call people who are more evil than you and try to do evil things. It won't end well.
The U.S. has always been unique in the world. Where most other countries are made from a very limited amount of ethnic diversity, the U.S. really is a melting pot. Not always stirred too well but still a summation of many sets of beliefs, morals, ethics and ethnics. Our politics as a democracy was started at great risk. Nothing like it had been tried and was the outcome of theoretical writings by philosophers. I still don’t know if it the best answer but it has worked fairly well. The overenthusiastic application of capitalism is probably our biggest problem. 200 years ago, I think there was probably more opportunity for someone to have an acceptable standard of living through hard work than today. I think that it would be interesting to talk with the founding fathers and see if they are pleased with where we ended up.
I think that basically I am a socialist. I think everyone has an obligation to contribute to at whatever level they can and everyone should have the basics: enough food, a place to live, education and health care. If you want people to be better parents, parenting education must be taught. As a society, we need to give more than lip service to the mental, emotional, educational and physical health of our children. If kids grow up knowing that they are the part of society we don’t want to talk about, what should be expected from them as adults?
Humane
I've always said when it comes to end of life, we treat our pets more humanely than people. I've held many of our animals during the 'last ride' to the vet and while the shot was administered. They left hearing they were good dogs.
Jobs and Minimum Wage
I have said it before - the real problem is that the U.S. has lost too many well paying blue collar manufacturing jobs that used to be the mainstay of the middle class. Minimum wage jobs used to be 'starter jobs' while you were supported by your family.
Threatened
The local State Police barracks had a very simple definition for when a person was been threatened. I had problems with a driveway paver. They told me it was a civil problem, not their issue. I told them I felt threatened by him. They sent over two cars to 'facilitate the discussion'. It was based on how I felt in the situation.
Society Overprotectiveness
Sometimes I hate the over-protectiveness of our society. I talked with one of the people running the soldering class at the maker faire. He was very upset because one of the kids burned themselves on a soldering iron. Yes, that hurts and might even leave a scar. If you put your fingers within an inch of something hot enough to melt metal, occasionally a life lesson is learned. Eye protection, warnings, mentoring without hovering and something will be learned.
Telemarketers and My Little Revenges
I tried reversing it on them. "OMG, I have a problem? If I give you my credit card number can you fix it? How about my bank routing number?" There was nothing in his script on how to handle this and he ended up giving me a lecture on how I should not be so willing to give out those important numbers. He forgot he was trying to get them in the first place. Lesson for him. Don't call people who are more evil than you and try to do evil things. It won't end well.