Its an amazing yet an un-documented fact.Three canned beers,cheap ramen and excessive Midnight oil on the I POD really gets the mind in gear.For better of worse.
For those of you who don't know what an I POD is.Basically its a pocket size rectangle with an LCD screen.Its about the size of cassette tape,not a walkman.Mine is a 30G hard drive.In other words I can store over 10,000 songs from CDs,Kazaa,and other sources on the internet.Just scroll the album you want,song or genre....Walla there's your song.
So......here I was catching my train home.Midnight Oil loud and hard blasting my ears,now 31 years old.While listening to 'Power and the Passion' I got all inspired on sending an email expressing what I thought about the world and the general state of things.
Here I am,now a little more sober but still a little tipsy,in front of the computer.
I'm going to give you some of my random thoughts.I welcome any of you to contribute in a positive or negative fashion.I welcome criticism and support.No matter how much you agree or disagree with me
Ok tonight I will talk about AMERICA
I'm grateful for this country.Germany and Japan during World War 2 were destined to change the course of history.America with two strong arms crushed both of them.Helping Britain,a brave country with enough guts to hold out against the Nazi's and Australia,a young country under the threat of Japanese occupation.
With the hearts and minds of the free world we fought bravely and forced back the forces of tyranny,fascism and repression.Without America's industrial might such a future you and I take for granted would be lost in the soulless minds of an alternate world dominated by two evil empires.Not governed by its people but by the an elite content only with the need for greed,control and repression.
I'm happy with the American government going into Iraq and hopefully North Korea in the near future to rid the world of any kind of repressive government.
What we need right now is unity and economic stability to secularise and democratise our whole planet so we can progress to the next level.
The next level has many interpretations.For me it simply means moving out into the solar system and then eventually the galaxy.Humankind's destiny is to expand and spread into the unknown.
What happened to America.Was is Regan?????
I'm happy for America to go around the world ridding countries of scumbag governments.However its a little too inconsistent for me and i'm sure its the same for a good slice of the rest of the world as well.The governments of the western world lead by Bush condemn Iraq,Iran and North Korea.I don't see them going into Burma,Africa in general,Israel etc......
I hate double standards.Its a facit of human nature that will never change.
What really scares me about America is how its government and a percentage of its population(I have to be careful here.I don't now how many)believe their society is best and their values are not negotiable,even when they impose themselves on another country.
Take a good look at this country.
No universal health care
Higher education for people who can afford it or want to pay huge debts
Huge inequalities between the rich and poor
Most of the big cities have whole areas where nobody can go without fearing for their life
An unlivable minium wage
I could go on and on.If this kind of crap existed in Australia the people and the government(maybe the Howard government) would never accept it.Same in Europe,New Zealand,Japan,Canada or any other modern wealthy country.
What America needs is a balance.A balance between the virtues of Capitalism and good old sharing and instutionionlised equality.Nothing works when its too far to any extreme.
I hear the most stupid excuses when I ask some Americans why their country has so many problems,inequality,crime,poverty,no health care etc.......
Here are just some of them.These are real and I will quote them.I wont mention any names.
"Poverty is sexy.Those European countries just have too many taxes"
"America is what you make it.We believe in the individual"
"We are free.Who needs governments"
"We are the greatest.The world is just jealous"
"The poor are poor because they don't know how to invest"
"The hospitals like any business have to make a profit".......That was the most worrying comment Ive ever heard from a fellow human being.$$$$$$$$$ not people
"Its the law of the Jungle"...............Another worry.I thought we evolved from the Jungle 10,000 years ago when we discovered agriculture.
"What America needs is family values"
I think America before it goes out into the world to teach other governments how to run their countries should look very closely at its own.America does need family values.Like any big state these values have to start with the government.The very institution who is ment to set example and standards for the rest of the nation to follow.Could you imagine if you lived in a family that wouldn't give the younger child medicine simply because that child wouldn't be able to pay or contribute any tangible benefit back into the family.Or if the father of the family kicked the son out into the street because he wasn't able to afford the education to find a job good enough to support his own child,an extra burden on the family.
The majority of us have had the fortunate luck of growing up in a family that didn't have to endure these kind of selfish,probably fictitious(they are kind of extreme)experiences.The point,as you all get by now,is that everything we do in this world from raising a family,running a company and governing a country should be done with the express intention of achieving a balance.
CAPITALISM WORKS FINE IF ITS CONTROLLED AND NOT LET LOOSE TO BENEFIT THE FEW.HEALTHCARE,WELFARE AND FREE EDUCATION ARE A HUMAN RIGHT AND ARE A MEASURE OF HOW CIVILISED WE ARE
Ok.That's my opinion for the night.
That's what three beers,cheap ramen and Mightnight oil can do to a teacher living in Japan
NICK
Its your ABC.Only 8 cents a day.That's not taking into account inflation.The slogan was conceived in 1986
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