Community

I was pleased to see this article about a charity that builds accessible houses for disabled veterans.  This is a wonderful way of thanking people for service to their country, when it has cost them so much.  It also helps them live productive and independent lives instead of becoming a burden on society. Community support can make such a big difference!

… in which America is trying to catch up to Bhutan.  Good luck with that.

Today is International Women’s Day.  If you are a human being, then you arrived on this Earth through a woman’s body.  Therefore, it is important to respect women and their roles in society, providing them with the full complement of human rights.  You can read more about this holiday on the Bloggers Unite event page.

International Women

The following article discusses a report that collates data gathered from indigenous people, in which they talk about the effects of climate change, oppression, and other threats to their survival.  Although it is not the first time that indigenous people have written about themselves, it may be the most comprehensive gathering they have done of their own statistical data.  I hope this information will help them gain more rights and respect, but given the historical record, I’m not very optimistic.  But who knows?  Maybe this time it will shame the fatted politicians of various nations into behaving like decent human beings.

I was impressed by this new interview which discusses “Youth in a Suspect Society.”  It poses the idea that the social contract is breaking down as society treats young people worse and prepares them less to take charge of the future, which adults create but youth inherit.  We can change that, if we choose to do so.  This piece also highlights how technology can dominate our lives, which can cause problems.

I object to one premise, however, that we have no control over the amount of technology in our lives.  We DO have control: it’s called an off switch.  Use it. I also highly recommend considering what impact a device will have before adopting it in your household.  That’s an Amish rule, and I’ve found it very useful, although I draw my line in a different place than they draw theirs.

A society that distrusts and mistreats its youth is destroying its future.  This is a clear problem with clear practical consequences.  But let’s set aside the moral observation that it’s wrong to crush young people, and go for plain personal reasons why this is bad.  If you mistreat people, they tend to hate you.  Unless you die early, someday you will be old and weak, and the young people of today will be the adults of tomorrow — and you will be in their power.  If they hate you, then your “golden years” are liable to be a misery. So treat young people gently, with respect, that they may learn this is the proper way to behave and will treat you that way when you no longer have the power to force them to do your will.

Here is a roundup of the holiday posts about mainstream holidays in 2009.

This article makes an excellent point about education.  You get out of it what you put into it — where “you” equals “society.”  A nation full of poorly educated people does not fare well in competition with other nations having well educated people.  One would think that so-called “patriotic” Americans would want to stuff this country with as many smart, educated citizens as possible.  But instead, schools are falling farther and farther behind as money is sucked into other uses such as wars and megacorp bailouts.  The stupid, it is a rising tidal wave.

The following article takes a detailed look at what is wrong with the economy, the society, politics, and America as a whole.  All these things interconnect.  In order to solve the problems we face, we need to understand that.