The week before Thanksgiving I flew to Florida to visit my cousin, who I haven't seen in 3 years and to eat a little Thanksgiving goodness. We went to the beach, so we could soak up some warm Florida sunshine and so I could squish sand between my toes and laugh about how good it felt to be back in the States after being away for over 6 months. I then proceeded to make the rounds through the pan-handle of Florida, south Alabama and Birmingham before flying back to my home away from home in Dresden, Germany. I worked very hard at trying to convince a few friends that there is a lot to see in Dresden and that they should make the hop across the pond as soon as possible. Hopefully, all of that smooth talking that I did will pay off in the near future.
In short, the flight was long, the food on the plane was as bad as it's ever been and people were generally cranky and in a hurry, but the feeling of being enveloped in warm hugs from family and friends was absolutely priceless. For all of those who haven't been home yet, I hope you have the opportunity to go home for the holidays and enjoy the company of your loved ones and friends.
May you have an uneventful trip and a very warm welcome home. Merry Christmas season to you all!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The American Way
I have been reading a lot about the financial crisis and how we can solve the problems. There is more than one obvious problem in the United States at the moment, so I will start with our law makers. The system in the United States was set up to ensure that the best outcome possible could be reached through a system of checks and balances. The theory is a great one, one that I am even proud of. However, the people who created the system couldn't have taken into consideration all of the distortions that the future would bring to it. One of the major ones being campaign contributions. Every major company in the United States donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to the party which they think will make doing business easier, whether it be through lower taxes, or more favorable emissions restrictions or easier employment laws and regulations. This, over the past 50 to 60 years has caused a huge problem. If companies, and in this case banks as well, can influence politicians to do as they say then the resulting laws passed are only favorable to industry. What then happens is, of course, that the companies can choose how our country is run and the politicians who are getting rich from their campaign contributions are all too happy to allow it.
The second problem is culture. We in America think we are the best. Our parents tell us that we are, our television programs tell us this, and the news media constantly tells us how bad all of the other countries in the world have it. The problem is that we're not the best anymore. Once we were, but not now. Our schools are suffering, our prisons are expanding and people are in so much debt that they can't pay it back. Ever. I believe there is more than one cause. The biggest being that we don't like waiting for anything. We want a new house, we go buy it without saving first. We want a new car, we borrow the money and go buy it, too, whether we can actually afford it or not. What's worse is that the banks are all too willing to give us the money to do these things at a interest rate that we think we can handle. We aren't thinking about the future when we do these things. Instant gratification is not always a good thing.
So, now the major question on all of our minds is, how can we fix it? How can we look at the situation and think critically about a solution that works, not just in the short term, but also in the long term? I truly believe that the problem can be solved, but we as a nation have to look inwards and find the problems at home and work to improve them. We don't do this well, but if we want to survive and thrive in the future we have to do it.
Investments in our education system need to be made so that our children have a chance to compete in a world economy in the future. We have to invest in our infrastructure, building bridges and roads that connect people and goods. We have to stop pointing fingers at all of the other nations in the world and telling them what they are doing wrong and point them at ourselves and ask the difficult question of "What can I do to make America a safer and more competitive nation?" The question is not an easy one, but if we stop throwing stones at other nations and think critically, I am confident that we can solve the problems that face our country today and in the future.
The second problem is culture. We in America think we are the best. Our parents tell us that we are, our television programs tell us this, and the news media constantly tells us how bad all of the other countries in the world have it. The problem is that we're not the best anymore. Once we were, but not now. Our schools are suffering, our prisons are expanding and people are in so much debt that they can't pay it back. Ever. I believe there is more than one cause. The biggest being that we don't like waiting for anything. We want a new house, we go buy it without saving first. We want a new car, we borrow the money and go buy it, too, whether we can actually afford it or not. What's worse is that the banks are all too willing to give us the money to do these things at a interest rate that we think we can handle. We aren't thinking about the future when we do these things. Instant gratification is not always a good thing.
So, now the major question on all of our minds is, how can we fix it? How can we look at the situation and think critically about a solution that works, not just in the short term, but also in the long term? I truly believe that the problem can be solved, but we as a nation have to look inwards and find the problems at home and work to improve them. We don't do this well, but if we want to survive and thrive in the future we have to do it.
Investments in our education system need to be made so that our children have a chance to compete in a world economy in the future. We have to invest in our infrastructure, building bridges and roads that connect people and goods. We have to stop pointing fingers at all of the other nations in the world and telling them what they are doing wrong and point them at ourselves and ask the difficult question of "What can I do to make America a safer and more competitive nation?" The question is not an easy one, but if we stop throwing stones at other nations and think critically, I am confident that we can solve the problems that face our country today and in the future.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Wall
On this day in 1961 construction on the Berlin Wall began. This was the news being broadcast here in Germany today. What they finally said in a documentary was that long before the Berlin Wall was built, i.e. 1952 the border existed and that people weren't allowed to leave. The stories are heart-breaking. Families were divided, children separated from their school friends, all because they lived on the wrong side of town. It's difficult for me to imagine the fear that had to exist in this time. Friends whom you weren't sure that you could trust, wanting freedom that would only come decades later, all of these things combined were the evils of the Communist Party. I am glad that now the wall has fallen and people no longer have to question whether someone will tell the government if they disagree with a policy.
Long live freedom and the right to choose your own path in life....and the friends with whom you share it.
Long live freedom and the right to choose your own path in life....and the friends with whom you share it.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Hello Again!
After being locked out of my account since October I am happy to be able to write a few lines of gratitude to the Google team for helping a very forgetful me find my password and login. Oh, sometimes it's the simple things in life that make me smile.
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