things i see as wrong http://thingsiseeaswrong.posterous.com a societal blog examining political and social issues posterous.com Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:59:00 -0700 'Heckuva Job Brownie' weighs in on Sandy http://thingsiseeaswrong.posterous.com/heckuva-job-brownie-weighs-in http://thingsiseeaswrong.posterous.com/heckuva-job-brownie-weighs-in

Hurricane Sandy and Post-Tropical Storm Sandy a.k.a. Superstorm Sandy hit the eastern seaboard of North America on a scale not seen in a long time. Normal protocol on this reporter's site is to point out places and people that are simply wrong or doing wrong. In this specific case, this article wants to mention the unbelievably solid response of President Barack Obama and the actions of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The Democratic President and the Republican Governor have put aside the always immature and disingenuous game of partisan politicing and simply responded to the needs of the people. This is a refreshing engagement of governance. It is unfortunately rare but refreshing especially to those in need who were affected by the storm. The people are the reason governments are here. They are representatives of the people there to collectively serve the citizenry's need. Excellent work to President Obama and Governor Christie.

There are some people who manage to rise to positions of power but have absolutely no concept of roles and responsibilities that accompanying being in governmental role. Case in point former FEMA Director Michael Brown. There is very little research necessary for me to provide to shed light on Mr. Brown's response during Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. Ultimately he failed to provide even an appropriate response to the needs of the people. History has shown his response was not adequate. Mr. Brown knows this and carries the weight of that burden. However, Mr. Brown is again adding to the weight of his burden by criticizing President Obama's response to Hurricane / Post-Tropical Storm Sandy. Mr. Brown stated that the President responded 'too quickly'.

Regardless of roles and responsibilities of federal versus state versus municipal governments, anyone in any position of power must always be prepared to do as much as they can as quickly as possible to ensure citizens are aided. Governments still need to communicate intentions, plans, and actions before and during any crisis; however, the response of Mr. Brown shows he simply still does not get the concepts necessary for responsible governmental employees. I am compassionate to mistakes made. Where I am unable to be compassionate is towards those who do not learn from mistakes. Mr. Brown is not learning from the mistakes he made. Criticizing the President's response is wrong because in this example the President acted swiftly and confidently and the citizens are happy with the response given by all levels.

There are two key elements of knowledge that we can take from former FEMA Director Micael Brown's entering of the news here. One is that a person should always be prepared to own the mistakes they made in order to learn from them. If you don't learn from your experiences and mistakes than you are missing a key character trait that makes us better human beings. And two is that the key to getting things done as a governmental organization or employee is that you need to put away partisan politics and work with those given the responsibility to act. Elected Government members are there to represent the citizens first and the party after that. Actions should be based upon the needs of the society and its citizens and nothing more.

Reference Article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/fema-director-brownie-weighs-disaste...

 

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Fri, 12 Oct 2012 08:29:00 -0700 The Death of Amanda Todd http://thingsiseeaswrong.posterous.com/the-death-of-amanda-todd http://thingsiseeaswrong.posterous.com/the-death-of-amanda-todd

I was shocked to learn the details of a death of Amanda Todd this morning. Amanda is a 15 year old girl in the Vancouver area of the province of British Columbia, Canada. She took her own life after being bullied online.

First, to her family I pass on my deep and sincere condolences.

Second, I wish I had seen her video before she made her decision.

Finally, if you are bullied and depressed please reach out to someone. I'm a last resort but I will ALWAYS be there to listen and help anyone in a situation as this.

 

I've lost some friends to suicide and I've also been fortunate enough to help some friends out of the decision to take their own life. I didn't have any magic powers I simply listened. I will listen to anyone who needs a friend because it's so very wrong to feel alone in this world. Please reach out to someone. I wish I could have been there for Amanda.

#RIPAmanda

 

How come only after her death did this become major news? Is it the fault of the media? Is it the fault of society because there's simply too many depressed children out there to post every story of hurt and pain? I don't know the answer. I can only ask questions to find where the problem lies. Did the school do everything they could to help? The quote was 'we have the appropriate help in place.' What does that mean? Did anyone give her a hug? Having programs 'in place' or guiding a child to see someone isn't the same as offering your full support. People have amazing abilities and there is always something more you can do. Always.

To those directly responsible for her pain, have you recognized the issue at all in yourself? To the parents of those involved, have you reconciled your part in your children's behaviour as well? How could people even begin to justify the torment they brought upon a young girl? It is unjustifable. Period.

 

I am so amazed that this was the result.

 

People are genuinely good and compassionate. But many things can lead them astray including the persuasion of other people to do wrong. And sometimes we get led down a certain path that we can't find our way back from. Our strength as people lies in our ability to learn and grow and recognize those paths we are on. Amanda had made some mistakes and she had attempted to correct them. She posted that she admitted her mistake. She made steps to learn and grow as a person. But certain people felt that wasn't enough from her. It is and should be enough. People couldn't let that go and these people on their own bad path themselves couldn't recognize growth and the ability to learn and work past their own tendancy to torment someone in pain. In my perspective she was the better person than those who continued the relentless attack.

Whenever anyone asks for help, stop what you're doing. Offer what you can. Her help is more important that your commute to work, your papers that need to be graded, your phone call that you're on. Take the time to help someone in need.

Bullying is a term that has lost its meaning a bit with all the talk around it so I don't know how to address the term properly here in this blog. I'm reluctant to use the term at all. Regardless of what you feel someone has done to you your response should never be to escalate or consider an equally bad response. If someone does something you feel is bad and then you respond with something bad then you lose the ability to consider their action 'bad.' This is a huge problem and something I feel is wrong.

Escalation happens because you feel justified in acting bad because that person did something you deemed wrong. If you do wrong, then someone else has justification to be bad to you. It's an evil spiral that is created that someone needs to break out of. If you judge someone's action as wrong and respond badly towards them, it is never justifable and if you justify it as so then you are bullying and there is no excuse. You have to find some common ground.

I see the entire situation as so completely wrong that we lost an angel. Was she perfect? No. Was she good? I believe she was. She had recognized her mistakes and admitted and owned the mistakes she made. We all make mistakes. Recognizing them and correcting them is how we show our character and strength as a person. Everyone can be a strong person and of good moral character. It's the choices we make and owning the mistakes we make that make us human.

 

If you are bullied or feel alone in a situation similar to Amanda, reach out to someone. Even if it's me, reach out and find someone. Do not go through this alone. If someone comes to you for help, please do everything you can. I have spent nights huddling outside in the cold for 8 hours in below freezing temperatures just to listen because I was asked if I could. There was nothing else in the world that was more important in that moment. And I have a life-long friend to call when I need now because he is still here.

I never knew Amanda nor never saw her video before this morning, but I wish she was still here. She deserves to be here.

 

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Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:04:00 -0700 Welcome to Things I See As Wrong http://thingsiseeaswrong.posterous.com/welcome-to-things-i-see-as-wrong http://thingsiseeaswrong.posterous.com/welcome-to-things-i-see-as-wrong

I wnated to keep things light for the first entry into this random idea blog. I felt there was no real place I could compile all of my thoughts and begin to expand and refine my writing. I've been away from it for awhile and wanted to start fresh. Personally, as a University educated person in North America I am finally at a point in my life where I was old enough to see the results of some of the political and social experiments disguised as policies but I was young enough to realize there was still some hope to change our direction.

These thoughts are not new. I've had these thoughts for a long time. I was only driven enough to document them once I saw the results and I often times found myself saying, "I mentioned X years ago that the result would be that!." It happened too many times. I would speak in my University classes where I finished my degree in Politics, I would speak in my social groups, I would speak in the limited political circles I was invited to, I would speak whenever the subject came up. There was always someone in those circles to tell me I wasn't old or experienced enough to know that would be the result. I became frustrated.

I am the son of a politician as well. I've traveled in the circles as a child and heard the speeches. I've studied Politics. I've studied Political Science. I've studied Philosophy. Where my mind seemed to take me was into a realm of Political Philosophy. I didn't appreciate Politics as a Science but I sure loved and appreciated the Philosophy of Politics. I studied Aristotle, Socrates, Kant, Heidegger, Ellul, and read literature and listened to the lyrics of our modern day poets we call musicians. I know where my knowledge lies and I know what my instincts taught me as I traveled the world and opened my eyes to new challenges. I survived them all and let the world show me her truths.

I never stop learning. I want to learn more. I can only learn by now sharing. And this is the idea behind my blog. I want to express my instincts and my knowledge. I want others to learn. I want others to share. And most importantly, I want to learn and grow my knowledge.

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