Sleep Mode and Biological Disaster

     Every now and then, I think the world goes into sleep mode. In 1976 a relatively minor outbreak of a new disease called Ebola terrified the world and for a time became the top news story. The mortality rate of the disease and the ease, with which it could spread, was simply beyond the scope of anything since the Dark Age’s plagues. That outbreak was contained relatively quickly because of the remoteness of the victims and a worldwide focus on the potential of calamitous consequences. 

      Recently, another outbreak has occurred in sub-Saharan Africa with little worldwide attention and two significant differences from the first incident. The first is that to date eight cases have been identified in areas outside the outbreak (including Europe); the second is that the outbreak has already spread to the capital city of Conakry in Guinea. It is hard to imagine a better breeding ground for biological disaster than a third world city where death from Ebola is more likely to be attributed to demons and witchcraft than the reality of hand to hand transfer of a deadly disease. 

     The US news media is only just now paying attention, but on the whole, the world has remained in sleep mode with attention focused on global political concerns and other issues apparently more interesting or pressing than a potential Holocaust emanating from Western Africa.

Thoughts on Habitat for Humanity and Humanity in General

      I’ve been working on a project for Habitat for Humanity. The mission has been to survey homebuyers that have gone through the Habitat program and have moved into their new home. Doing this has taken me into neighborhoods that even the cops don’t like to visit. What a revelation. I like to think I don’t stereotype people, but if I did, this experience would have fixed that. I thought I had a grasp of what “poor” meant; I discovered I had no idea. I thought I had been through some tough times but my worst days don’t compare to the reality that others have faced. I thought the only dreams in these neighborhoods were nightmares but some of these people have lived a nightmare and can still dream.
      On city blocks where half the homes are burned out, boarded up or simply need to be demolished, there are islands. Now without question, the Habitat homes are truly gemstones in a neighborhood of barely livable homes and vast piles of debris that seem destined to decompose where they lay. But there are other islands, not necessarily the castles among the ruins that the Habitat homes are, but homes that are cared for and exhibit pride, albeit within the limits of their impoverished occupants. Amongst the tattered neighborhoods you see homes with neatly trimmed yards, fresh paint applied to weathered wood, restored porches and the occasional flower or vegetable garden.
     In front of these homes you see fathers teaching their kids to ride bikes, and neighbor working with neighbor to fix a fence or an ancient lawnmower. You see families enjoying doing what families do. I could paint you a picture of some of the darker attributes of these neighborhoods, but like me, you are already acquainted with those (you watch TV). I couldn’t help but note that when the media covers these areas they never seem to see the islands; perhaps because the islands are lost in a tsunami of the dilapidated and neglected. I have met some pretty amazing and truthfully, inspiring people on this project. All of them know what they had and what they now have. All of them contributed hours of work toward their new home and appreciate the opportunity to make mortgage payment toward their own home. All of them understand they are not just islands but are in some way a start for others. It is interesting to look around the Habitat homes. In many cases their neighbors’ homes reflect attempts to improve their appearance. Maybe the islands are infectious.
     In some neighborhoods a few run down homes can become a catalyst for the collapse of the entire neighborhood. However, if the neighborhood has already hit the bottom, it appears the opposite might be true. When islands of quality homes and pride of ownership appear in a neighborhood, it just might be that the neighbor’s dreams are rekindled, and a step by step process of revitalization begins.      On what will likely be my final visit to the West Dallas neighborhood, I had the opportunity to visit with two families with a commonality that I had not anticipated. I mentioned before, some people dream nightmares and others live them. The last two families I interviewed were clearly living a wonderful dream. But both had struggled to attain that dream by fighting to free themselves from a life in refugee camps. One family spent years in a refugee camp in Thailand and the other in a camp in Batswana having fled the terror of the tribal wars in Uganda. Driving home from those interviews, I could not help but wonder if their dreams in that refugee camp had been more about survival than some day owning a real home in the US. If you want to understand how wonderful the American Dream is, don’t ask some talking head on TV to tell you, simply visit an island.

Expectations are wounds waiting to happen. Aspirations are dreams under construction.-GWS

The Finger

Just wondering.....
If you were hanging from a "cliff" by one hand, would you loosen your grip to point a finger at your opponent? Our elected officials are losing their grip. Let them know that partisan finger pointing instead of constructive leadership will certainly send us over the edge.
Just my thoughts, feel free to take your shots.

Wake Up Call

     Will somebody please tell Speaker Boehner that Republicans lost the general election? In his address on the election and the looming fiscal cliff, he began with the obligatory congratulations and promises of cooperation, compromise and unity, but near the end of the speech, his dialog became infused with "will not" "does not", "cannot", "isn't" and his tried and true "under the right circumstances". 

     As Republicans (yes I remain a Republican) we must recognize that the philosophy of obstructionism, exclusion and drawing lines in the sand is what is driving moderate Republicans into the demographic of ticket splitters and far too often out of party politics altogether. We can surrender the Republican Party to the Tea Party extremist or return to a moderate party of fiscal conservatism, military conservatism, social balance and inclusion, and above all a platform that recognizes the values of a majority. 

     The talking heads speak to the next four years as defining President Obama’s legacy. I would submit, that the next four years will define the legacy and potentially the demise of the Republican Party if serious introspection doesn’t take place at the top. Remember, we are supposed to be the “United” States of America.

     Please wake up Mr. Boehner, or your legacy will be that of the man who drove this country over two cliffs; the fiscal cliff and tragically the party cliff.  Obstinence, which you insisted on for the last four years, will not serve the nation nor the party in the coming four years.

Where is the Red White and Blue

    
Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe has announced she is leaving the Senate, explaining her departure as having been brought on by a political environment in which as a country we have come to view ourselves in terms of red or blue states instead of a Red, White and Blue nation.
How very sad. How very true.

Between the hardline left and the Tea Party right, our leaders have lost their sense of nation. Is it any wonder that our status in the world is crumbling? Our leaders (in both parties) couldn't agree to turn on the heat if they were standing in a blizzard. We have few congressmen and women who are capable of addressing issues with the interest of the nation at heart; and now those few moderates in both parties are abandoning ship rather than play a role in the continued decline of our nation.

Lincoln's government of the people, by the people, for people has become a government of the manipulated, by the obstructionist, for the elite. The concept of middle ground has been lost and we have been left with a polarity in our government that reaches from Washington to Small Town USA. In the seventies it was a popular theme on TV talk shows to discuss sound bite politics. They pontificated (and were indeed accurate) about how the political activity of the day was often distilled into a small bite of dialog that usually engendered some highly emotional response.  Today our leaders are leading by “issue bites” with fixation on one issue or another preventing progress on any issue.

We have become a nation that is so divided on singular issues that we refuse to consider any option unless it includes a complete embrace of our own narrow beliefs.  So, we end up with health and welfare legislation that is totally stonewalled because of a single element.   We watch as gas prices go through the roof while our leaders debate pipelines that could alleviate the situation.  Our leaders want a black or white solution in a country that is too complex to be monochromatic.  The time has come.  Not for revolution but rather for resolution.  Resolve to tell your leaders to take off the blinders and get back to work as a nation.

We must send a message to Washington that our leaders must work together or find other work.
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A Message to Republicans

I have made it a point to remain apolitical in my postings here and elsewhere, but I grow weary of our Leadership measuring their success by how well they do at thwarting the opposition's agenda rather than executing their own. The resulting stagnation is unhealthy to the nation and an inexcusable example of childish partisan politics.
I address the following to Republicans and Specifically the Republican Leadership.
Your task in the coming months, is not to avoid health care reform, but rather to construct responsible health care reform. Business as usual, has already brought this country to the edge of economic chaos. Embracing the status quo in Healthcare is to pursue chaos of a different kind. Republicans are at a crossroads. One path leads to perceived obstructionism, the other leads to the responsible execution of needed reform. A single election in Massachusetts does not allow Republicans to ignore the reality of the last general election. An emotional electorate can be swayed by irresponsible actions but can also be mobilized by partisan in-action.
At a recent certification class for emergency first aid and CPR, my instructor stated emphatically and repeatedly, that if you are to save a life, "you must do something". As elected representatives, and in the interest of our mutual future, “you must do something”.
The patient is in trouble, the symptoms are clear, and you possess the knowledge and ability to save.
History will not recall my name or my desires, but by your election, you are destined to leave a legacy. Will your legacy be one of in-action in the face of a clear emergency or one reflecting "determined action and contribution?"

Forget Politics and Remember Us