another week

Hello dear readers!

I took a small break from writing this past weekend, and almost got out of tune from writing again!  I swore to myself on New Years Eve 2007 that I would begin writing actively in my own blog, and I did!  But, now my mind almost began slipping away into a sense of comfort and procrastination, which is the enemy of all failed attempts!  Hence, I forced myself to begin writing about this laziness that we all might get from time to time as a means of beginning to write again after the weekend. 

Since there is no dream, or revelation that I have been afflicted with recently, I would like to dedicate this particular post on the presidential elections.  Recently, if you have been following the media at all, you may have noticed that some very bitter and angry remarks have been flying around the political spheres known as the Obama and Clinton campaigns.  My understanding is that Obama's campaign sent out a flyer to Ohio residents stating that if Clinton were to be President, her Universal Healthcare plan would essentially force people into a health care plan regardless of them being able to afford it or not.  Clinton vehemently denied these allegations saying that Obama's camp was misleading voters.  Obama's camp is telling the truth, everyone will be forced into the healthcare plan by taking the money out of the people's paychecks, even if they cannot afford it.  There is one slight detail though left out by the opposing campaign, and that is that it would be done at a subsidized cost for them.  

Clinton's campaign on the other hand though, has spread a photo of Obama wearing typical Somali clothes from when he visited as a U.S. senator.  Some may ask, what is the big deal? The issue at hand is that the Clinton campaign is shamefully playing race, religion, and ethnicity card to persuade voters that Obama is too different.  You see, his clothes are typical Somali Muslim clothes with a turban and all.  And with this picture, they are indirectly attempting to paint Obama as Muslim, an Arab, or worse yet, one of "them".  They are disgustingly attempting to play into undecided voters' xenophobia through these actions.  This to me shows that the Clinton's use the race card to their benefit when it suits them, as well as to discredit an opponent.  

However, there is one issue at large here which I believe both candidates, in fact all candidates have never touched on.  Flat tax rate for everyone!  Call me crazy since my economics skills are not the best, but my theory is that is everyone paid income tax, there would be no deficit.  People making an income of 30,000/year to 100 BB/year would pay a flat rate of say...15%.  I can live with 15%, and apparently so could Warren Buffet as he once stated that since this country has given so much to him, the least he and people of his income bracket could/would do is to pay some of it back.  Does this make me a socialist?  I don't know.  Maybe.  But since I believe in a free market, where inflation's are not tampered with to create false sense of market, and I believe in competing with rivals, that also makes me a capitalist.  If everyone paid 15%, I sincerely believe we would not be crying foul, or not being able to have true Universal Healthcare.  The government would invest the money to make it grow as they have in countries like Chile, and the likes of Buffett, Gates, the Hiltons, and everyone would still have money to spend, but also Universal Healthcare.  

Well, now that I have rambled on about politics, I think it is time for me to bid adieu yet again, and wish everyone of you a great and wonderful night, or day depending on where you are in this world.  

Hakuna Matata, no worries!

life

Hello again.

It seems since I began this blog, all I can do is to sit down, or lay down in bed to write whatever is at that moment traveling through my mind. Before I go on any further, I would like to thank everyone who has posted any comment on here, let alone read anything I have written. To a writer, or really to anyone who puts his soul into something and having it appreciated is truly one of the greatest gifts one can receive.

I have thought very long and hard on the old man who spoke to me in my dream. And even now, I cannot explain what, or who he was. Was he simply a figment of my imagination? If so, how is it that I never met him before? Was he a representation of everything I have been taught by living, by parents, friends, and loved ones? Or was he truly a spirit of an unseen world who came to my aid when I most needed him? I had a conversation about this dream with my brother, and he found it very interesting and drew comparisons to his sifu's (kung fu teacher) philosophy that he adheres to. He is a follower, or believer in Taoism. "Tao is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered." – Wikipedia. He further explained that when in the dream state of mind, one's spirit or soul goes to the dream world, or the spirit world, and it is there that perhaps I met, or was approached by this elderly man. Perhaps that is what happened here. However, I cannot shake off the feeling that the old man had always been behind my right shoulder, always watching over me, always knowing what I was going to do next. I simply did not bother to look at him until last night when everything became clear to me.

My dear sister-in law posted a very beautiful comment on my "dreams" post. "Consider yourself lucky for being able to dream, to remember, to wake up the next day, and to understand. Life has never meant to be fair. Life is to live it, simple as that." Which is why I would like to write about life, and my understanding of it as of this moment.

Many will consider life unfair. For those born into privilege they may consider it fair. For those who have fought for it and reached their desire, they may consider it tough, but fair nevertheless. In my younger years, I truly believed that there did not exist such a thing as unfair. Where I grew up, homeless people did not exist. Everyone had roof over their heads, could attend the best schools, and received world-class health care. Some might say I was blind to the unfairness, to the toughness of life. Then I moved here. I was shocked, and appalled to see homeless people, sick people without care. This is when I realized not everyone is lucky to be born into a family that can provide everything you need, and some are left in the dust. My optimism though kept growing somewhat falsely. I began to believe blindly in that anything was possible. Then I ran into a wall, stalled, stumbled, and almost crashed. When this happened to me, I began to believe life was not fair. It was happening to me, so it must be true. I began to feed my doubts, my fears, and thus my problems grew, and grew, and grew. Until last night.

Thinking back the old man, what he represented, and the few words he uttered, I have come to a new realization. Life is not fair, nor is it unfair. Life just is. It does not move to help one, or to disadvantage another. Life does not work with such a "human" purpose. Life is what it was. Life is what it is today. Life is what it will be tomorrow. The unfair, and fair aspects are human creations. The environments we live in, the choices we make, are all our own doing. If I do not study for a test today, and receive a poor grade tomorrow, that is not life being unfair. That is allowing myself to become "burnt" and the consequences are what I allow myself to label as life being unfair. Any, and every choice one makes has a consequence. It is the law. It cannot be changed, nor altered, or tricked. As I remember his eyes, and his firm words, I have come to realize that as individuals we have to choose wisely when making our choices. When we do wrong, we have a choice to learn from it, and to build on it. As my sister in law said it best, "life has never meant to be fair". And I would like to add on to that, Life just IS.

Be kind, be gentle, show patience, and be prepared to face your consequences. If your actions were good, your consequences will have the same result. Until next time, I bid you adieu, and as always, thank you for being my friends.

yashar