While the World Watched

I just finished reading  While the World Watched by Carolyn Maull McKinstry.  If you haven't read this book you should go buy a copy today.  I can't imagine living through the bombing of my church.  What the KKK did back on September 15, 1963 and throughout the 1950's and 60's was inexcusable.  They sought to frighten a group of people into submission and did not care if other people died in the process.  The thought that anyone, regardless of the color of their skin, should be dominated by another group of people is absurd.  The fact that these people bound together and fought for their rights as American citizens gives proof of their courage.  At the end of the book, Mrs. McKinstry  writes that she is hopeful for the future.  I'm optimistic because I know all of the hatred that still exist in the South.  Slavery was abolished many, many years ago and it seems to me that the South is still more or less segregated.  Why can't we teach our children to judge people on who and what they are and not what color their skin is?  I can only hope that in the next 40 to 50 years that people's attitudes will change and the world will become a better place.

Rest in peace Dr. Martin Luther King

Politics and the U.S.

I just finished reading That used to be us.  It's a book about everything that's wrong with the american system at the moment.  I think it's a great time to read this book, whether you agree with everything that is said in the book or not.  We, as a country, are at a point where a drastic change must occur.  I know that I'm not alone when I say that I'm fed up with all of the "he said, she said" crap that goes on amoung our political leaders.  Why are they so caught up in slinging accusations at one another and not focused on leading our country. 
There are a couple of things in the book that really struck a cord with me.  One is that a large majority of politicians in the U.S. say that global warming doesn't exist.  Really?  That's why the weather isn't changing so drastically, right?  They need a reality check.  But even if they don't believe it exist, that's no excuse to continue to pump oil from a country that would just as soon see us destroyed as become one of our allies.  We need a renewable, clean source of energy to become independent from these countries.  What would our military do without oil?  We would be crippled, what's more is that Iraq, Iran and all of the other Arab nations know this. 
Secondly, whoever thought that all of those baby boomers could retire and we could pay for it while cutting taxes and not go into debt was completely wrong.  We are more in debt now than at any point in our history.  Japan is also faced with the same problem, but they are raising taxes in order to keep from ending up like Greece.  Why can't the U.S. do this?  Sure, I don't want higher taxes either, but if it keeps China from owning every American company, and me from having to learn Chinese, then I will pay them. 
What I would really love to see happen is both parties stop throwing mud at each other and sit down to seriously discuss the issues that face the U.S. right now.  We have to improve the situation, or our children will grow up in a completely different country than the one we grew up in.

Visiting home

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!

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 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.

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.

Clean Water

Please join change.org's Blog Action Day and spread the word and discussion about the need to provide clean water to the over 1 billion people living in the world who don't have access to clean water.  Let's put our minds together and help the dream of providing the world's poorest people with a basic necessity that the majority of us take for granted a reality.  I can't think of a better cause to get involved in at the moment.  think of all of the possibilities that could easily become a reality if disadvantaged people had this basic necessity.  Join me and help support the UN in this cause.