Globalization, Explained

(This is an e-mail that I received recently and it is a very creative example of how our world has become interconnected. I do not know who the author is, so thanks to Anonymous)

Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?

Answer: Princess Diana's death.

Question: What do you mean?

Answer: An English Princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, riding in a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling), followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles, treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines. This is sent to you by a Canadian, using American Bill Gates' technology, and you're probably reading this on your computer, that uses Taiwanese chips, and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian truck drivers, hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexicans who are in the US illegally because the current president, born in Kenya and educated as a Muslim in Indonesia refuses to enforce US law.  

That, my friends, is Globalization!

The Hubris of Youth

     Here in our tiny hamlet of Pierz, we recently held a short public "Open Forum" for our candidates for city offices. A question was posed to all the candidates and then each had 2 minutes to answer.

Open Forum

     While 3 of our council candidates (2 open seats) are mature, experienced (let's say on the wrong side of 50) adults, one of our candidates is a nice looking young man barely in his 30's who is very motivated, articulate and full of himself. He carries none of the scars of wrong decisions or wrinkles of worry over serious decisions needing to be made. Due to this inexperience he carries in his mind and in his manner the hubris of having not yet been wrong in his short experience with adulthood.

     He showed his lack of seriousness in his first answer, which demonstrated he has very little understanding of how money works (just put it on the credit card) or how city government really works. His attitude showed to the crowd that he was very certain of his opinion, that his opinion was a novel idea and that he was the only one in the room smart enough to have thought of it. The fact that he came off as an non-serious, unaware fool never occurred to him. Yet his proposed approach to the question and the problem outlined in it was simply foolish. He had disqualified himself for serious consideration for the office he was pursuing and he didn't even know it.

     I was not surprised. Now that I am a grizzled veteran of life, having been knocked down, gotten up and been knocked down again, I am well aware of how stupid I am. In this young man, I saw a younger version of myself; haughty, not self-aware, oblivious to how ignorant I really was, firmly convinced that I was the smartest one in the room.

    It is the hubris of one who has yet to live a serious life. This is the condition which affects youth and the sad truth is that the one thing that can cure such a condition is: the loss of youth.

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Why God Wants Us to Have Children

A person comes to this world with one mission from God; to know his love. God loves us and in order for us to come into a complete communion with God, he wants us to love him back. We need, as a person, to understand this love in order to return it to God. Therefore he gives us examples of his love all throughout our lives.

As an infant, we experience the love our mother has for us as we are nurtured and grow into childhood. As we mature, we experience the love of both of our parents and, with the grace of God, the love of our grandparents. A father's love is essential during our maturation to make us feel connected to the great whole of the world and as an example of righteous living. These are examples of God's unconditional love for us.

As an adult, we begin to feel romantic love, a calling to find a partner with who to share our lives. We again experience God's love in this relationship as we work with our partner, in communion with them, to build a relationship which will then allow us to experience the greatest love of  all; the love a parent has for a child.

This last type of love, the love one has for their child, is the ultimate example in our lives of God's love. By becoming a parent, we can fully understand the love that God has for His children. The selfless love that God has for us that drove Him to the cross to save us. He wants us to return that love to Him in a relationship that is at the center of our lives.

This is why God wants us to have children. Children are a blessing brought forth from romantic love (our second greatest love) to give the complete person an example of God's love in their lives.

3 Ways to Monday

     Today is one of those fall days that are more often endured rather than enjoyed. The dreary cloud cover, rain and wind, combined with a Vikings humiliation at the hands of the Lions yesterday, can cause one to be not only sad but damn near suicidal.

     It is easy on a dreary day to hunker down and hide inside to wait for sunshine. However, that may be a short-sighted approach to enjoying the remaining tolerable days left before the hard, cold curtain of winter comes crashing down in this God-forsaken climate. 

     To help you take maximum advantage of the time you have left, here are a couple of ways to find beauty out of the house, even on a dreary day.

     1) Take some portraits. It is a fortunate coincidence that dreary days provide excellent, diffuse light for taking pictures of people, pets and plants. Sunshine can make people squint, cause unfortunate reflections off of plant surfaces and create harsh shadows. Taking pictures in the diffuse light of a cloudy day can allow for soft contrasts which are perfect for capturing close-ups.

    

2) Walk in the rain. Rainfalls in the autumn tend to be more drizzle, mist and fog than downpours. A rainy day in fall is a perfect opportunity to walk through a damp world filled with puddles, dripping foliage and the musky smells of soggy, fallen plants ripe for harvest. Autumn really is the best time of the year to be outside in Minnesota. Don't let a little water stop you from enjoying it.

    

 3) Go have coffee. Cloudy, misty days are a perfect time to go to the local coffee shop and sit at the counter. The weather is a perfect topic for starting conversations with folks who are in the same situation as you, miserable. Start talking about the weather, move on to the lousy Vikings football team and see where the conversation takes you from there. You never know what is going to happen and who knows? Maybe you'll make a new friend today.

One can always find plenty of stuff to bitch about; and during an election season it is easy to get into a lousy, lousy mood. As I get older, I try not to waste time being bummed out and try to enjoy each day however it comes. So, on a dreary October Monday, I try to find anyway I can to make it a day I can remember.