What do they want from us, anyway? Without consumers to lead the charge, an economic recovery will be hard to achieve. And yet everyone agrees that we need to start saving more. So should I buy that coffee maker to stimulate the economy? Or should I save the money in order to “grow” the economy and provide for my own old age? I can’t do both. - New York Times
Is it possible to spend more in order to save more?
On November 4th, voters elected Barack Obama to be the next president. On the same day, California voters approved Proposition 8, a measure banning same-sex marriage. In President-elect’s Barack Obama’s Victory Speech, he said:
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states. “We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
Some of the same individuals that voted for Barack Obama voted to ban same-sex marriage. While “race” is becoming less of issue in the U.S., the struggle for gay rights continues.
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. - Anatole France
Photo by Joe Crimmings Photography
Senator Barack Obama is the first African-American to be nominated by a major American political party for president. Some people will exclusively vote for Obama because he is black while others will look right and vote for McCain because he is not.
Baracka Obama’s mother is from Kansas. Barack Obama’s father is from Kenya. Will some people vote for Obama because he is black and white? If you ask me, race doesn’t matter.
Photo by jmtimages
People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote—a very different thing. - Walter H. Judd
Photo by Barack Obama
Whatever happens, change is good. Not that any kind of change is all for the better, but the fact that we do not live in a static world is what’s good about it. There’s always room for improvement; always room to be better. There’s always chance to do things right if at first you don’t succeed. - Performancing
In the shadows of this picture on a park bench, “Caus” in the statement “Jews Caus War” is spelled wrong. Wars are declared and wars are fought, but not collectively caused by 18 million people who live on many lands not deemed as holy as those found in the Fertile Crescent.
As a Jew living in the U.S., I cannot speak for the various sects of Jews in Israel, but I am deeply bothered by the walls, fences, and barriers that I read and hear so much about. Can you imagine a slogan such as, “Building Barriers to Bring Peace?” I have spoken with Palestinians and Israelis alike, but I have yet to visit the Holy Land—home to Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
Some argue that a two state solution is ideal; others advocate for one. What about no state and something entirely different? It is common knowledge that the international system of states is relatively new, a result of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Today, Palestinians seek a state to call their own; Israel was formalized in 1948.
Palestinians and Israelis are creative and innovative people, sharing a lot in common. The boundary lines that separate Israel and Palestine are socially constructed; they exist because most citizens of the world believe in the nation-state, which replaced multi-ethnic empires. But change is constant, and imagining a world with boundaries beyond the nation state is a possibility.
I’ve found mine. Have you found yours?
If you want to be good at something, you have to to be obsessive. You have to do the thing all the time, and when you’re not doing it, you have to be thinking about doing it. Why do you think business people who make millions are so good at it? They’re always doing business. Even when they’re not working, they’re thinking about better ways to do business. Same with the greatest writers and painters. They obsess all the time. Ruby, if you want to be good at writing, you need to be obsessive about it. - Zen Habits
The intellectual who speaks on behalf of
other runs the risk of perpetuating the
domination that prevents these others
from speaking for themselves.
-Chris Falzon
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