A place to share ideas about publishing and marketing books Home  Gallery  Calendar  FAQ  Register  Log in  Featured Member  Newsletter       Published Authors Forum :: Society :: Current Events  It CAN be worse ...     Goto page : 1, 2   Author Message Forest Elf Four Star Member Joined : 09 May 2008 Posts : 207 Location : Happily wandering about Subject: It CAN be worse ...   Wed May 14, 2008 4:09 pm My goodness! I was a bit nervous because during the last few weeks Northern Nevada has been having a number of small earthquakes. My home, my sister & her family, our son and his family all live Reno. Experts were saying we were due for a 'big one'. Then I see the news the other day about the huge earthquake in China. If it isn't bad enough for those poor people, now I read that their dam is cracked as well. It is very sad over there. _________________ ~ JoElle Live like you mean it! "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no" - Tolkein www.joellemartin.com www.earthhoroscopes.com   Pam Four Star Member Age : 42 Joined : 02 Feb 2008 Posts : 946 Location : Nova Scotia, Canada Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Thu May 15, 2008 1:07 am It is very sad JoElle; anytime there is a disaster it is a reminder that most of us live very fortunate lives. Makes the small and insignificant things in my life seem...very small and insignificant. _________________ Pam Robertson I've done some updating www.mvpi.org and www.maggiebendar.com   zadaconnaway Five Star Member Age : 60 Joined : 16 Jan 2008 Posts : 1054 Location : Washington, USA Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Thu May 15, 2008 1:29 am It kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it? They have discovered that many of the buildings in Seattle would not withstand a 'big one'. Out here, we are relatively safe. There have been a few quakes, but nothing major. Things shook a little, but nothing fell down. They said this morning that the death toll in China was nearing 20,000. It may have exceeded that by now, and I guess there may be more coming for them! _________________ Zada Connaway Mother's Journals: parts 1, 2 and 3 ISBN # 1-4241-6969-0 http://www.zadaconnaway.com/   P. Gordon Kennedy Four Star Member Age : 19 Joined : 13 Jan 2008 Posts : 281 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Thu May 15, 2008 5:15 am It is always good to remember how good we have it compaired to the rest of the world. We see dasasters happening across the globe, in China and Berma (I hope I spelled it right). As we watch these happenings in places far away, we should always remember that such dasasters can happen to us too. We should be thankful they have not. We should be thankful for all we have and be grateful for the good life we enjoy. Most people here in the US may not realize it, but the avarage American income is many, many times the world avarage. Things could be worse; things could be better, but we should always strive to make them better, not just for ourselves, but for the world at large.   Pam Four Star Member Age : 42 Joined : 02 Feb 2008 Posts : 946 Location : Nova Scotia, Canada Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Thu May 15, 2008 4:37 pm I don't know if any of you guys think about law of attraction types of issues, but I do and related to the law of attraction as well as the disaster in Burma was something a little bit weird that happened. I have been doing some family tree research for my mom, usually from my laptop in the evening while ignoring the television and sometime after walking the hairy dog. Anyway, we knew that my great-grandfather had died as a British prisoner of war held by the Japanese in WW2, but since my grandmother never liked the guy, that was all we knew. Turns out that as a POW he was working on the railroad (think Bridge Over the River Kwai) in Burma when he was killed by the Japanese. I found out the same night we were watching the devasation in Burma unfold. If you ever watched Twilight Zone, you may know the music that popped in to my head at the same time... _________________ Pam Robertson I've done some updating www.mvpi.org and www.maggiebendar.com   Forest Elf Four Star Member Joined : 09 May 2008 Posts : 207 Location : Happily wandering about Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Sun May 18, 2008 3:40 pm P. Gordon Kennedy wrote: ....We should be thankful for all we have and be grateful for the good life we enjoy. Most people here in the US may not realize it, but the avarage American income is many, many times the world avarage. ... That is so true. I am so thankful to have had the privilege of living in another country for some time and to had visited a little of the world. MOST of the world is very, very different from how things are in the U.S. In Mexico it is common for girls as young as 11 to work as live in maids (although the 'average' age to start working as a maid is about 15). They have to, it is survival. They get room, board, and a itty bitty, well below what we call minimum wage, paycheck. Little boys as young as seven or eight work at construction sites and as landscapers. Whole families live in cardboard and stick shacks on empty lots next to middle class and upper class residential areas. We never threw food away. Several times a week we would get a knock at our door and it would usually be a pair of kids, usually a child of about seven with a young sibling, some looked as young as three, and they were asking for a handout. We'd get a couple of tortillas, warm up the leftover food and make them a a couple of tacos. Middle class Mexican children appreciate school and do their best. Teachers are all given the utmost respect. (I know, I was there) 90% of the class earned excellent grades. The reason? Because a good education is the only way to ensure staying out poverty there. Mexico is the 12th largest economy thanks to NAFTA. It isn't nearly as poor as most of the developing countries in the world, and actually its economy has been improving quite a bit in the last ten years or so. _________________ ~ JoElle Live like you mean it! "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no" - Tolkein www.joellemartin.com www.earthhoroscopes.com   P. Gordon Kennedy Four Star Member Age : 19 Joined : 13 Jan 2008 Posts : 281 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Sun May 18, 2008 6:11 pm I also think America's high standard of living compared to the rest of the world is in a large part responsible for the recent influx of illegal immigrants. People in Mexico and other countries see how good America has it and they want a part of it. Many people probably dream of living our lifestyle, but for many unfortunately, extreme poverty will prevent that from being anything more than a dream. It would be nice if there was an easy way to up the world's standerd of living, but I'm not sure of any way this could be done....at least any easy way.   Forest Elf Four Star Member Joined : 09 May 2008 Posts : 207 Location : Happily wandering about Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Mon May 19, 2008 12:30 am P. Gordon Kennedy wrote: I also think America's high standard of living compared to the rest of the world is in a large part responsible for the recent influx of illegal immigrants. People in Mexico and other countries see how good America has it and they want a part of it. Many people probably dream of living our lifestyle, but for many unfortunately, extreme poverty will prevent that from being anything more than a dream. It would be nice if there was an easy way to up the world's standerd of living, but I'm not sure of any way this could be done....at least any easy way. Then there are those who are not afraid to work hard, learn a new language and way of life, become legal, and achieve that dream through sweat, determination, and by using their brains ..... I read about this guy in Reader's Digest last year: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10013111 http://www.hopkinsneuro.org/pituitary/doc.cfm/expert/Alfredo_Quinones-Hinojosa _________________ ~ JoElle Live like you mean it! "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no" - Tolkein www.joellemartin.com www.earthhoroscopes.com   P. Gordon Kennedy Four Star Member Age : 19 Joined : 13 Jan 2008 Posts : 281 Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Mon May 19, 2008 12:35 am Forest Elf wrote: P. Gordon Kennedy wrote: I also think America's high standard of living compared to the rest of the world is in a large part responsible for the recent influx of illegal immigrants. People in Mexico and other countries see how good America has it and they want a part of it. Many people probably dream of living our lifestyle, but for many unfortunately, extreme poverty will prevent that from being anything more than a dream. It would be nice if there was an easy way to up the world's standerd of living, but I'm not sure of any way this could be done....at least any easy way. Then there are those who are not afraid to work hard, learn a new language and way of life, become legal, and achieve that dream through sweat, determination, and by using their brains ..... I read about this guy in Reader's Digest last year: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10013111 http://www.hopkinsneuro.org/pituitary/doc.cfm/expert/Alfredo_Quinones-Hinojosa Very true, there still are honest people left in this world, though it seems their numbers are in decline.   Sue Sunshine Four Star Member Age : 58 Joined : 16 Jan 2008 Posts : 381 Location : Midwest, USA Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Mon May 19, 2008 1:24 am Pam, your Twilight Zone experience isn't so tied with the Law of Attraction as it is with non-coincidences. *grin* I am a fan of both. The EQ's and weather conditions are part of a much bigger picture, The Great Shift. No I am not a doom and gloom person. I just bring this up for reference. We will be seeing more of the weather eccentricities in the very near future. _________________ http://www.weavingdreamspublishing.com http://suesunshine.blogspot.com/ http://suesunshine.wordpress.com/   Forest Elf Four Star Member Joined : 09 May 2008 Posts : 207 Location : Happily wandering about Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Tue May 20, 2008 6:14 am It seems I also experience such coincidences more often ... or maybe I just notice them more now. And the longer I live the smaller the world seems to get, as well. _________________ ~ JoElle Live like you mean it! "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no" - Tolkein www.joellemartin.com www.earthhoroscopes.com   Abe F. March Four Star Member Age : 69 Joined : 26 Jan 2008 Posts : 571 Location : Germany Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Tue May 20, 2008 9:36 am P. Gordon Kennedy wrote: I also think America's high standard of living compared to the rest of the world is in a large part responsible for the recent influx of illegal immigrants. People in Mexico and other countries see how good America has it and they want a part of it. Many people probably dream of living our lifestyle, but for many unfortunately, extreme poverty will prevent that from being anything more than a dream. It would be nice if there was an easy way to up the world's standerd of living, but I'm not sure of any way this could be done....at least any easy way. When you say, "compared to the rest of the world," that is no longer true. The standard of living around the world has changed in the past 20 years. There are better living standards in some parts of Europe than in America. Anyone living close to another country that has it better, will also want what they have. That is human nature. That is happening in Europe. The Poles flock to Germany and the UK for better jobs and benefits. People of other Eastern block countries are migrating to central Europe for various reasons. Some seek better opportunity while others are looking for better social benefits. Human nature hasn't changed much. While some are willing to work hard and earn their way, others are looking for a handout. In America, the symbol with the Statue of Liberty, the country that opened its arms to the world, has in a major way closed those arms. For whatever reasons, valid or not, it is not so easy to enter America and therefore many come illegally. Building fences has never worked and will not work between the USA and Mexico either. It will become a greater challenge to "beat the system." The only thing it will do is create jobs for border guards and at the same time create greater animosity. _________________ "To Beirut and Back" http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch   Shelagh Admin Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 1307 Location : UK Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Tue May 20, 2008 9:47 am I know, I know. The Romans built Hadrian's Wall to keep out the unruly Scots and now we have a Scottish Prime Minister. Try to keep them out and they end up in politics and take over the place. _________________ Shelagh Watkins http://shelaghwatkins.co.uk/   Forest Elf Four Star Member Joined : 09 May 2008 Posts : 207 Location : Happily wandering about Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Tue May 20, 2008 2:44 pm Actually Abe, compared to the rest of the world, the standard of living in the United States is high. It may not be the highest, but it is high when compared to every country south of it in America. The standard of living in many European countries is also high. But the standard of living in most of the world is lower, if one looks at many African and Asian countries. And that was what P.Gordon was replying to. While conditions in Mexico have slowly but surely improved since NAFTA, it still has a kind of poverty that isn't imaginable to many Americans. And I know this can start a political debate that will send me hiding, but like I posted earlier in this thread, there are those who come to this country illegally, but who do eventually become citizens and become very successful. I have seen it ... and I think the brain surgeon's story is a wonderful one. _________________ ~ JoElle Live like you mean it! "Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no" - Tolkein www.joellemartin.com www.earthhoroscopes.com   Abe F. March Four Star Member Age : 69 Joined : 26 Jan 2008 Posts : 571 Location : Germany Subject: Re: It CAN be worse ...   Tue May 20, 2008 4:53 pm JoElle, you're right of course. There is much poverty in the world. What I'm trying to say, without ruffling too many feathers, is simply that we can no longer make claims/statements as we have done in the past. We are famous for: The biggest, the tallest, the greatest, etc., etc. Much of this has to do with promotion, but a lot of it has to do with patriotism. Everyone wants to think that their country is the best and don't want to see any wrong. Walking around with blinders on makes them feel happy and secure. How the outside world views us is another matter and another subject. We must recognize that we are on the decline as a world power and that there are other places in the world today that have as much or more than we do. It wasn't always that way but it happened. American can always be proud of what it accomplished. There would be a long list of things to mention, however self-indulgence has weakened us. Our values have become materialistic and that too is crumbling. I suppose it gets back to those terrible demon words like, "every" and "all" that should be avoided when making statements about people or things. We might add to that list "the best in the world," "the only country," etc., etc. _________________ "To Beirut and Back" http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch   It CAN be worse ...     Page 1 of 2 Goto page : 1, 2   Permissions of this forum: You cannot reply to topics in this forum Published Authors Forum :: Society :: Current Events Published Authors Forum :: Society :: Current Events Free forum hosting | © phpbb | Free forum support | Statistics | Report an abuse | Create your own blog