Life and Death

In the end we’re all the same.

-- Ben Kweller, rock musician

Well, I guess this depends on your views about the afterlife if indeed there is one. Heaven, Nirvana, worm food, somebody's gonna be right and if the truth is that there is nothing then nobody is going to know. Weird, eh?

While equality in death is debatable, it shouldn't be that way in life. We're all people, and it doesn't make sense that we've divided the world into "Us" and "Them" (Pink Floyd, anyone?). We all have the same basic drives. We want food, shelter, clothing, companionship, and freedom. It all comes down to these things, no matter who you are.


We don't need to wait until we die to be the same. Even with the wide array of personalities out there, at the heart of it, we're all the same now.

"In three decades of polling, I’ve found that while individuals make mistakes in judgment, America as a whole rarely does. A collective wisdom emerges from a poll or vote that is far greater than the sum of its parts."

-- John Zogby Pollster, president and CEO of Zogby International.

This guy is kidding, right?

Well, I suppose one one level it's true. "America" doesn't make mistakes. It's a country, a benign entity incapable of conscious thought. And when someone says something such as, "America doesn't make mistakes" I'd assume one was referring to those at the head of the American government, representing the American populace. And yes, America has made some pretty damn stupid mistakes in judgement. Just mention Iraq and weapons of mass destruction in the same sentence and see who doesn't snicker.

Dinner is Served!

"With all the food leaving our kitchens each night, I’m still astonished that this country has a hunger problem. There are hungry people in every community who cannot afford food. While I can’t help every family, I can start by helping one."
-- Tom Douglas Chef and author.

I try not to carry cash with me when I go downtown. Too many people ask me to give it to them, and then the next person comes along and I have to say, "Sorry, I gave all my money to that guy." That, and I do not feel comfortable supporting someone's drug habit. Now I know not all street people are on drugs, but many are. This is a different issue. Instead, I carry my debit card. Provided my account balance is somewhere in the realm of ten bucks, I have no problem buying someone some dinner.

But that's not enough. You can teach a man to fish to feed himself, but who owns the pond? Poverty goes deeper than a single meal can solve.

I don't propose that I have the answers. I have no idea how we're supposed to fix the hunger problem. And I know that I cannot fix it with one Big Mac.

But hey, it's a start!

Have you noticed that dogs are the new kids? You take a walk with your kid and your dog, but nobody says, “What a cute kid!” Instead they say, “What a cute dog! What’s his name? Is he a rescue?” Maybe if I put a collar and leash on my kid someone will notice her.
-- Judy Gruen Humorist and author of The Women’s Daily Irony Supplement.

Perhaps in this age of pedophiles running rampant, not mentioning the cuteness of someone's child is more of a personal safety mechanism than sheer rudeness. Of course the likes of Paris Hilton have made "small yappy-type" dogs that fit in handbags all the rage. Also, nobody cares if you name your dog something ridiculous like Apple or Moon Unit.

Twinkle, Twinkle Under a Bushel

"All the darkness of the world cannot extinguish the light of a small candle."
-- Reza Deghati Photographer, humanitarian and National Geographic Fellow.

Poetic, isn't it? If anything, darkness encourages the light. We don't usually use candles in rooms with electric lights switched on. They're reserved for quieter, darker, more intimate moments. Nobody goes on a candle-lit lunch date.

I can't help but hum to myself that old Sunday school song, "This Little Light of Mine". That's the spirit Deghati touches on. Nothing can stop the light that shines out of you, whatever that light may be. A light will shine in the darkness, if it's not hidden under a bushel. Well, even then light's probably going to sneak out through the cracks, but the general idea is that light shines strongest unimpeded by things that would block it. It does little good if it's too dim to allow one to see anything.

And for today's depressing thought:

While darkness cannot defeat light, space and time can. Sure we see stars burning billions of miles (or kilometres - whatever!) away, but these are massive orbs of flaming gas - not your commonplace dollar store votives. Even then, there is so much that we cannot see; the vastness of our universe is simply too great.

Good Morning, Jerk-Face!

"When I wake up in the morning, I want to know that my family, friends, and fans know what I believe in and what I'm all about. That's what should be important."
- Robert Randolph, musician

When I wake up, all I want is a cup of coffee (facetious tone!). But in all reality, I rather agree with Mr. Randolph. It's very difficult to get through the day if you are aware that people have the "wrong" idea about you. When your self-image doesn't match the image that others have of you it can be quite hurtful, whether people think less of you or expect more than you are capable of.

I do not think I am a horible person. When someone tells me that I am a horrible person, half of the time I become consumed with trying to convince this person that I am indeed a decent human being. Actually, I think I try to convince myself. For the most part, it doesn't matter what other people think of me.

As for family, my mother once called me the white sheep. I loved her for that. They knew the person that I wanted to be, and my parents encouraged it. My sister, being the polar opposite of everything I am, mocked me relentlessly. I was uncool, fat, and stupid in her eyes. After a while, I discovered that I didn't want her to think I was cool if being cool required stealing, doing drugs, and partying. Not that I didn't go through a phase where I did these things, I just hated myself for doing them.

Throughout highschool I never got along with the popular kids. I don't suppose my disdain for them helped too much, but it was a vicious hate-hate cycle. They never liked me, so I never liked them, and because I didn't like them they didn't like me. I never wanted them to. I had my friends who were accustomed to my particular quirks and flaws, and they liked me because, if not in spite, of these things.

I don't have any fans. If I did, I would want them to know what I believe too. I would want them to see me in the fullest way possible. Like my friends, I would want them to see the not so great things about me and the things that I think make me a fabulous example of a decent human being.

You can't really say you know someone unless you've seen both sides.

My Generation

Tonight is brought to you by a tall half peppermint half raspberry mocha, and an apparent fixation on all things 60s.

"We are the first generation in history that can end extreme poverty. That's our good fortune, our challenge and our responsibility"
- Jeffrey Sachs, Author

Y'know, it's probably true. We probably can end poverty in our lifetime. We probably could have done it twenty years ago, too. But we didn't. And as cynical as I may sound, I honestly don't believe that we will do it in the next twenty years. As a society, we haven't even figured out how to treat each other equally. We haven't cured AIDS, cancer, or the common cold.

What really bothers me is that we could do these things. It isn't a matter of lack of materials. I'm sure enough food is thrown out of North American homes each day to keep someone else fed. It sickens me how much food I let go to waste because I cannot be bothered to cook it before its expiration date. We've all been told to eat everything on our plates because somewhere in Africa there is a little boy or girl who didn't get dinner that night. Yet I'm sure we all realized that no-one was about to ship our dinner across the oceans to give it to the aforementioned starving child.

I recall reading a comic about Superman giving food to a remote country. And he had to do it the next day. Then the other hungry people decided they needed help too. One day, Superman didn't come.

I used to volunteer with this organization in Whalley. We gave out hot meals and clothes to whoever showed up, and some nights it got pretty busy. Soon, we started to recognize the regulars. Sure, there we were helping, but why did they keep coming back? Weren't we making their lives better so that they didn't need to be dependent on out handouts? Give a man a fish...

I believe in trying to make the world a better place. I just don't believe that we can ever solve everything. Despite the world's efforts, there will always be someone who doesn't have a home to go to. There will always be someone who didn't get dinner. But maybe tomorrow there will be one less. And maybe twenty years from now we'll be a lot closer to the perfect world than we are at this very moment.

Maybe.