Paradoxes and the American Dream

Hi all,

This morning I woke up and the word paradoxes came into my mind. Or seeming paradoxes.

The reason for this is Hurricane Katrina.

It would seem that the good ole' USA can get aid and helicopters to help victims within two days when the Asian tsunami struck, but weeks after Katrina struck New Orleans is still in a mess.

And another paradox is that of the wealthiest country in the world asking everyone else, including some of the worlds poorest countries for aid. Donations have come in from many third world countries including BANGLADESH yes, you saw it right, BANGLADESH!

Now, there has been speculation that the reason aid and relief have come so late, and been so badly organised in New Orleans is because most of the population there is black. I don't happen to think this is the case. I did at first but upon examination I have another explanation, although colour is linked to it. I think the reason aid was not forthcoming at speed is not because the people are black but because they are poor and even this is not the direct link. The direct link is that poor people in the USA are unlikely to vote Republican, (the political party President Bush represents). So therefore there are very few Republican votes to be got out of this New Orleans situation.

Whereas, in helping after the tsunami there were R votes on two counts:-

(1) Americans could feel proud of America in its response and this fed patriotism - a very strong sentiment in the USA.

(2) President Bush could play the worlds statesman and make America, (and the Republicans), look good. Again a play to patriotism.

Now President Bush, under the American political system, cannot stand again because he has already had two terms in office, but he would still want to help bolster his party, and try to make sure that the next President in also a Republican.

This I think is at the heart of this apparent paradox.

And I said there was a link with the question of the people of New Orleans being black. Well that link is that if you are are black in the good ole' USA, where anyone can become President, you are ten times more likely to live in poverty than if you are any other colour.

So much for the American Dream!

Blessed be!

KK

Salute this Hero!

Hi all,

When you go out this evening in London raise your glasses and salute this man.

Mr George Psaradakis was the driver of the number 30 bus that got bombed on 7/7/05 in London. Two months on he is returning back to work ON THE NO. 30 BUS and is continuing business as usual.

What a hero!

And when you raise your glasses remember all the unsung heroes who risk their lives every day so that this country, and this city, can live in, (relative), peace!

Blessed be

KK

Love, Friendship and the London Bombs

Hi all,

I had an incident yesterday that made me think about life and the London bombs.

I have a "friend", well I thought he was a friend, but I think he is more of an acquaintance really after rewiewing how treats me. Well over the week-end he was ill and telephoned me for advice on what product to use to help recover from his cold. This is because I am something of a health buff. I was away for the week-end so he left a message for me.

After a wonderful week-end away I rang him back on Monday morning to recommend some products and explained I had been away for the week-end. We had a ten minute conversation and when I put the phone down I realised that the entire conversation had been about him and his health. Even though I had mentioned that I had been away for the week-end, (not something that I do often), he did not ask about it. In the entire conversation he never asked how I was or bothered to thank me for the information I had given him.

Even if it were not entirely hurtful to have a one-sided conversation, at the very least it was just plain rude. On top of this was that this was the only time that this person has bothered to phone me at home in about three months. When he needed something!

That started me thinking and I thought "What am I getting out of this apart from being hurt by his total indifference to me and my needs" And you know what I couldn't think of much!

The London bombs were a wake-up call for me and as far as I am concerned life is too short to fill it with people who don't give a damn about you. Their interest in you is more about what they can get than what you are.

And I started to evaluate myself. And do you know, I decided that I am a beautiful and intelligent woman and deserve more than to be treated like that.

It is just as easy to abuse someone by taking them for granted as it is to abuse them by being verbally or physically violent.

That said the only person responsible for allowing the situation to continue would be me. And so I decided it would stop.

I have more than an abundance of friends and I do not need passengers.

When this same person saw how many Christmas presents I got for Christmas he even suggested that I should give some of them away to charity. Why should I? Some people have determined that that is what I am worth; why should I throw their gift in their face by giving it away? I wouldn't like that if I gave some-one a gift. Yes recycle it a few years later, but not right away.

Some-one once told me he didn't get invited to many parties. I asked when he last held one? Of course there was no answer, because he didn't hold parties.

For people who complain that they have no friends I have very little sympathy. they haven't learnt the basic rule of life: that in order to receive you first have to give. You can be selective in that giving, but you still have to give.

If you think that you have nothing to give, then go and work as a befriender for a charity. I did this with Age Concern in the UK. I started visiting a housebound old lady. The first time I visited she cried because, apart from the community nurse she had not had a visitor in a year. IN A YEAR.

We all have something to give. OURSELVES.

And be sure of this. If you don't think you are worth anything, then the world will take you at you own evaluation of yourself.

And guess what when I go to see that old lady now, it is not an act a charity. She is now my friend. She shares her history with me and I enjoy the visits. So there is mutual exchange.

I do not expect gratitude from anyone. That is patronising. But I do expect appreciation - in the dictionary sense of the word. "Appreciation - recognition of the value or significance of something!"

If I am regarded as being of so little value that even enquiring as to how I am feeling is off the agenda then what is the point of that "friendship".

If others do not value you, move on to those who do. Your loss will soon be noted!

Blessed be

KK

A New Guy Sneaks on to the Team

Hi all,

Did you see somebody trying to get a look in on the "Don't worry - be happy!" image?

Yes it was who you thought and he has sneaked onto the team. He wanted to get a look in and you cannot keep a good koala down! But we might have known that his getting on the team would lead to THIS!

Blessed be.

KK

Thank God it's Friday!

Hi all,

Just to say thank God it's the end of the week! Friday doesn't usually affect me the way it affects many people because I am self employed and mainly work through the Internet anyway, so I can work when I want, (to some extent - I still have to eat etc!).

However, one factor struck me yesterday about the Internet and our lives in general. As in some ways they become richer, we may also have to take care that they do not become poorer.

I am talking mainly about the Internet and the media, (TV, radio etc). While the Internet and cable and satellite media give us more choice, they may also mean that in the real, physical world we get cut off from our neighbour's and so the community disintegrates around us.

I have just spent the last week working on the Internet and while it was immensely enjoyable and enriching for me, it occurred to me, that apart from seeing specific friends, I had not even gone out of the house to stroll around my local neighbourhood. Which is a normal thing for me to do because I try to walk everywhere I can. I can drive but choose not to.

As well as putting on a few pounds I also realised I felt cut off from my, (physical), neighbours. So I took a stroll around my local outdoor market and was reminded that people exist in the real world still and not just in cyberspace!

I think all our new technology has the potential to bring great benefits to humankind. I also think we must make sure it unites us rather than divides us.

A friend of mine said that the Internet is the new technological manifestation of collective human consciousness. Well it certainly has the potential to be. Let's hope it is, and for the better!

Have a good weekend.

Blessed be

KK

Cheers and Welcome to my New Moderator's Section!

Hi all,

This is just to say hi! to my new moderator who now also has his own private section.

I am not going to give details about him here as this is in the public arena but he knows who he is!

So cheers!

Blessed be

KK