39 years… and a week-end later

Well, it took 39 years for the Boston Bruins to win another Stanley Cup. But Boy, was it ever worth it for all their fans…. It was sure worth waiting for in my case.

I was in Boston this week-end, keeping a promise I had made to myself a long, long time ago that I would go down to Boston to see the Bruins’ parade if and when they won it. If I’d have known it would mean so much in my life (meaning at this point in my life), I would probably have done like Jesus and asked my Father to make me skip that whole part of my life if he could. But I guess, in the big picture (and on Father’s Day week-end), this was all meant to be.

I am 42 years old so you can imagine that I wasn’t “really” there for the last Cup they won. But I sure did go through a lot of emotions in the last 35 years. Highs and lows most years but none like this year. Always hoping that THIS was the year and seeing it come kind of close a few times.

However, this year, I knew. I even had them wining in my pool from the beginning of the series (which I never did before… well, for many years anyway). How did I know? You can tell a lot about sports players by watching them. And anyone who would have watched Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand this year would have seen that fire in their eyes which reflected in their play. The same fire Tom Brady has in his eyes most of the time, the one that says: “Losing is not acceptable”. And they have shown that losing was not acceptable more than once as they had to come back from behind to win a few series (in fact, all but one).

But this is what it is all about with Self-Made-Men. Playing is not good enough. We play to win. Or else, why would we play? Of course it doesn’t mean we will win at all time. But when we’re in the zone… Better watch out!

So why did I wait for them through 39 years? After all, the love of my life did ask me before this year’s final: Isn’t it time to stop rooting for these losers? Well, I’ll tell you: Machiavelli said that you should always stick with your allies till the end and, that’s just what I did! And I can’t tell you the emotions I felt when I saw all the Bruins players going down the Boston streets and passing right in front of my hotel. I know I had to fight to keep a few tears in. It’s been years sticking together through tough losses and bad years. But in the end it was all worth it. Just made it that much more important.

It also went to prove another very important point: You don’t have to be the best at what you do but you have to believe in your dream and work hard for it. At some point, it will always pay off. Belief is 50% of what it takes to make it. What’s the rest? Love. Love of what you do and the ones around you… just love!

Being different

I’ve walked through so many streets… London, Paris, New-York, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Porto and Bruxelles to name just a few. Some places loved me (Greece and Spain are good examples) and others just despised me (Croatia is definitely on top in that category) but I’ve never left anyone cold I think, anywhere.

However, Boston did catch me by surprise this week-end.

There isn’t a place I was walking by with my European friend where we weren’t looked upon and talked about.

From the Irish business women who couldn’t get over my Italian man’s purse and long hair (in a good way) to the punks on the street of Boston who called us Eurotrash (which I must say is definitely a compliment for me; being a North-American) no one was unaware.

As I am about to go through another important change state of my life, this reminded me that as long as I kept being myself, I couldn’t go wrong. And although Lady Gaga’s message has been there for a while and a few are not even hearing it anymore, it remains true: Be yourself and don’t worry about what others think – You can’t go wrong.

And after this week-end I’ll add this very important message to all of you out there who feel a little bit lost or unsure of your future:

1- Define your immediate goals and rank them in importance
2- Make sure you see the near and medium-length future and that you cover all aspects of your life
3- Bathe yourself in total convictions of what you want to do and of who you are
4- Finally: Act upon it – NOW

Life is short. Don’t postpone it. Believe in yourself and go for it. But most of all: Life is a state of mind. Once you believe you can do everything… you will!

As I have led you to understand earlier, it is time for very important changes in my life - Unwanted changes for that matter. But I have taken care of the four points above and I am ready to go.

I will shortly leave North America for Europe by myself to go and conquer it. Spain is ready for me, I know. I can bring so much to them and they can do the same for me. They are ready for me as I am ready for them. I already know there is a passionate flamenco dancer waiting for me out there. She doesn’t know it yet and neither do I know her. But our passion shall create something more beautiful than a sunset and more dramatic… than a Bruins Stanly Cup in a 7th game in their opposition’s ground.

You don’t think that’s possible?

Watch me…

Goodbye My Love…

So what’s « lying » inside you?

Truth is not necessarily the best tool in the world and don’t let anyone say otherwise.

The fact is, if you ever tried it, lying can be a healthy tool to keep everyone happy around you. And, after all, isn’t it the end goal of life: Being Happy.

And what is the truth anyway? What you believe happened? Your take on it? The facts? What the hell are the facts? Have you been to a court near you lately? Check it out; if you find the facts (or the truth) there, PLEASE get back to me ASAP.

No, the search for the truth is really not a wise way to go.

In fact, if we really want to look for “realities”, why don’t we start looking at what we really are? Little brains (that don’t even use their full potential) that covered themselves with a great armor so it could rule the very, very, very, microscopic kingdom which is our earth in the universe.

Did you even know that there are star nurseries in our universe? Stars that actually contain complete solar systems like ours? We are nothing but babies of babies that could very well be babies themselves of something else. We represent nothing in the universe if but a temporary evolution of Mother Earth. Yet, we are arrogant enough to build stories where God(s) would have built all this just for us! How pathetic…

But furthermore, you want The Truth. You expect The Truth because you deserve The Truth! Hell, like Jack said in A Few Good Men: “The truth? You can’t handle the truth!” And how right is it? How well are you taking the information coming out of WikiLeaks? Think this is scandalous? Why? It is the truth after all! It is the way things work (and have always been working) in the world. Think you can make the hard decisions? Think you should make the hard decisions? Sorry but I highly doubt it.

People are flawed by their value system. They don’t see the higher purpose of things; they only see their moral implications. Who cares about moral implications? These are things we have developed through time. But the fact is, the higher cause is much more important than the moral implications. And in our day-to-day lives, the higher cause is just being happy. Because life is short but if you remain unhappy, even that can be too long!

Again, let’s keep in mind that reality is only what you are aware of. If you lived in a false world (like a fish tank for example where people would observe you) and would never know it, you would not imagine your world to be a fish tank but just your normal living quarters. Therefore, your reality is that your world is a regular world – not a fish tank.

That also affects our freedom of choice. After all, do we really make any decision or is our system already build-up in a given way that it will take decisions by itself in certain ways? Yes, it is a question I still ask myself, even after writing The Book! Maybe we are much alike a computer system and what we put in comes out in a given analytical way. We just can’t change it. After that, it is all about which information is inside us; isn’t it?

Let’s get back to what’s “lying” inside you then with the little bit of information that we placed above. The information you have ingested since your birth might just be what is “lying” inside you. What I mean by that is that it is what deforms the facts through your vision because you never analyze elements in a passive way. You analyze them through the glasses of what you know; what you have learned up to that point in your life. Doesn’t that, in itself, make it a lie?

What if you started by defining what you need/want in order to be happy? Start by defining your truth and by trying to live around people agreeing with them or that can give you what you need/want in order to be happy? Wouldn’t that be healthier than searching for a global Truth?

Why don’t you stop wondering why people around you do what they do and just accept that they do. I remember that I heard in a song long ago something like: “Maybe you should learn from a prostitute how to accept a gift”. And why not? Who cares about the whys? Just take it and be happy! Maybe it will make our streets more agreeable!

Why don’t you just live today instead of trying to please others or conform? Try it! What do you have to lose? Make your life what you want it to be – not what others told you it should be. And if you’re wrong, who cares? At least you’ll have done it.

Not looking good!

I must say, there are just too many different subjects to talk about these days. Makes it hard to pick just one! Starting with the French losing their mind over adding two more years of work to their lifetime… When you think about it, chances are we’ll live much more than just two additional years from what a couple of Generation ahead of us had hopes to live. So why is it that they want to stop working so early?

Whatever the reason, it certainly makes me wander about two things: Is there so many French that dislike their job? And if so, how can they keep doing it (even if just still to 60) simply for the money? That is sadly pathetic, no?

And then we are facing a mid-term election in the USA with candidates who are literally out of their minds! From Sarah Palin who suddenly thinks she is the Hand of God (well, maybe she always did) when it comes to the Republican party, saying that:

‘’ If it (the Republican Party) doesn’t embrace the Tea Party Message, the Republican Party is through!’’

to candidate Christine O’Donnell not knowing that the first amendment of the US Constitution is! When Coons (her opponent) told her the text of the constitution prohibited government from establishing any religion, O'Donnell replied in apparent bewilderment:

"You're telling me that's in the first amendment?"

Do we need to go on? Cause we can look at Ms. Tea Party Nevada speaking to a group of Hispanic students if you want. Here’s what she had to say:

“I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me,”

adding:

“I don’t know that.”

Thank you Ms. Angle for this wonderful moment of wisdom! You gave us all a good laugh.

But yet the members of the Tea Party still stand a good chance of getting elected!

So what do these two elements illustrate about our society?

Well, for one, it shows that we are so fed up of our governments that we are ready to take ridiculous actions just to remind them that we are the ones who are supposed to be in control of them; not the reverse. And that in itself is a very good thing. We need to remind the governments that they are there to represent their population and to keep them in check in their actions.

But do we really have what it takes today as ‘’we the people’’ to tell the government how to run their business? When we are willing to elect incompetent people, people that do not have the necessary level of knowledge to do their job, are we not sending them a message that says: ‘’You are right: You should keep telling us what to do because we don’t have a clue of what it should be.’’

And what about when we prefer, in a time of economical crisis, to paralyse our country with strikes that shuts it down completely? When we tell our government: ‘’You know what, we don’t want to work to make it better. In fact, we’d like you to use a magic wand so we can continue to live in La La Land! Otherwise, we’ll destroy everything, just like little kids who didn’t get their desserts’’. Does that really sound like we are ready to take the power of decision back into our hands?

That is certainly not what I was imagining when I wrote ‘’Complete Freedom of Choice – The Self-Made-Man Generation’’. And I know that the SMM of France are looking at their country’s situation nodding their head in pity and shame. As for some of the SMM in the US, I am starting to think that they are lacking knowledge. And I am not so sure that, if they ever take on the power in their countries, they wouldn’t just destroy it and bring it back to the Stone era.

Though there are very different reasons why these two great countries are rapidly slipping, there are also similarities. One of them is the fact that we have forgotten to look-up to those who have answers and we have also forgotten who these people are. In this era of daily new superstars, we often look for answers in the wrong places. And the star factor is another thing that unites France and the United States.

Both leaders made it to power, using star techniques. They sold themselves, like you sell a movie. President Obama was never scared of using catchy phrases to sell his storyline: ‘’Change: Yes we can!’’. Maybe it should have been a little more like: ‘’Are you ready for change? Cause here is what it implies: …’’. Maybe that would have changed a few voters’ opinion before they elected him.

In the case of President Sarkozy, he wasn’t afraid to recast his ex-girlfriend for a while (which she already was at the time, living in the US with her new lover) in the role of the leading Lady just to attract more voters. And he also talked about change. However, I am not sure he even knew what those changes would be. He just changes things as the winds fly by in the Élysée.

So, in the end, what do we do? We have ‘’we the people’’ completely out of touch with how our government function and who do not want to learn but just reap the benefit from their actions and on the other side we have people who want to govern the same way actors want to become superstar (often lacking the knowledge necessary to serve their country right).

First we start by re-educating the people because today’s students will be tomorrow’s government members.

We also start separating public life and private life so that good people can come back to governing. Too often journalists are more interested in politicians’ private lives than their policies. Because of that, a lot of good people stay away from politics so that they don’t have to justify their private lives. Can we just agree that private lives are always a mess? Look at your own if you need any confirmation…

This world is not doing well and it is not because of the economy. We lack logic and common sense; two elements that would help us get back on our feet at this time. Not looking good for the near future…

What’s next for K

I always thought that I’d write a novel or something. The fact that I wrote ‘’Complete Freedom of Choice – The Self-Made-Man Generation’’ instead is still somewhat of a shocker to me. But furthermore, after giving it a lot of thoughts, I have decided that my next book would stay in the same line as the first one. In fact, I am letting you know that I have embarked on the writing of a book which will offer the possibility of a new way of life for all of us.

I will try to revisit who we are by looking into the environment we live in. From the political institutions that govern us to how we live on a day-to-day basis (work, school, entertainment, relationships, family), I will try to redefine these things so that we can live in a better world. One where our freedom of choice will permit us to evolve more in a way that is closest to what we really are inside instead of following rules that take us away from our natural state.

It has been many years since I have been asking myself one question: ‘’Why do we follow rules blindly?’’ In most countries, the Constitution is ancient! Still, we think that it defines us AS WE SHOULD BE. Let's face it, it is not because the Constitution says one thing that in fact it is the way we should live. Constitutions include a lot of things that don’t make sense but people hold on to it like it was Truth.

To evolve is one of the main qualities that humans (and the rest of nature and its species) possess. And to do so, I think it is high time we start re-asking ourselves all the basic questions which we just take for granted. I am convinced that if Americans were asked to explain the political system they live in, the way the judicial system works and if they were asked if it all made sense to them, they would not be able to explain the first two and they would respond yes to the last. Yes, because to say no you’d have to know the real answers to the first two points! Well, that just won’t do anymore.

In my first book, I say that any intelligent adult will not try to defy the system he lives in. There is no point to it. Adults have to find ways to take advantage of the system as much as they can. For themselves or the ones they love. Life is short and the goal is not to waste it in foolish revolt. However, adolescents and elderly can (and should) put their two cents in (The first because they are not yet jaded; the other because they know - or should anyway - a few things that could help make it easier for the younger ones).

Therefore, I will write this book aiming for the young and the wise. Let’s see if they can convince the ones running wild (adults)!

It is funny to me to me that we do not go beyond what is asked of us to understand the whys. Hey, it is not like we are too busy or too satisfied to do anything about it. There aren’t many people out there that can say they have a nice, comfortable and easy life. And some of the people that say they do don’t even know what it is to have a nice, comfortable and easy life. They just say it because they are optimist and/or need it to get by on the next day.

I do not want to touch upon particular subject here as I think you will need to read it as a whole to really understand it. I guess it will be like Thomas Hobbes's ‘’Leviathan’’. I did say like but I do not pretend that it will be as important. Yet, I do hope so because I, myself, have other things to do than write for the pleasure of it! It will depict a utopian way of living. After that, it will be up to all of us to cash in on it if we want to!

But keep that in mind: This book will say things as they are. Again, I will not be complacent about what I have to say. If you want saccharine, check someone else’s book. But then, if you read me, you know it is not like me to not say what I mean…

It will not be a technical book like if you were reading a book of law. I could not stand writing that… Everyone will be able to read it without falling asleep. In fact, it will be high on emotions again.

That’s it for now! But I’ll keep you clued in on the development of the book as it goes along. I am aiming for an early 2012 unveiling. So it gives you a good reason to stick around till then!

Who has the right to tell you how you should live your life? No one.

I have been so busy with everything that is going on in the political scene that I have forgotten to talk about some of the essential things relating to the SMM Generation.

Some things have happened in my life lately that are leading me today to write about a subject which is very important to me but also to all SMM and very hard to be comprehended by others. That is because culture plays such a strong role in our lives that we tend to think that life should be lived in a ‘’given way’’ when, in fact, it simply should be whatever it is!

The question that should clarify this for anyone is: ‘’who has the right to tell me how I should live my life?’’ The answer is: No one has a right tell you how to live your life since, after all, this is all you have – your life. And that applies to the people you love or have loved, your family, your teachers, the government… as well as to everyone else.

Don’t be mistaken: If people you love try to tell you what to do, it is not because they love you; it is to protect themselves – to gain something out of you: a sense of security (though they think it is what love is all about). If your teachers tell you to do things in a certain way, they are not good teachers. A real teacher only provides you with his knowledge so you can make your own decisions once you have acquired it. And when the government tells you how things should be done, well, that one is easy: They are just trying to keep the peace.

If most humans live the same way today, it is because, in the last two thousand years and more, we have been thought to evolve in such a way that a few (the elite) can benefit from others’ willingness to let go of their Freedom of Choice. Of course, it is not that clear to most people; especially to the masses who have been sold on the way of life that the elite wanted them to believe in. To the masses, having such a goal as working as much as they can to buy a house (which most of the time will never really be theirs), and make babies which they will send to school so they can perform even better in the same system that benefits the elite so well, seems just fine with them! In fact, that is the most beautiful thing in the world that can happen to them! It makes them feel normal. They have their wife/husband, their kids, their car and their house, maybe a few friends in the week-end!

Yet this situation is also perfect for ‘’them’’. The more you make babies, the bigger their workforce and the more citizens they can sell their way of life too! So they can have their own, which has nothing to do with what most of individuals will ever experience.

I do not play that game. I will never again play it in fact. I’d rather die than force myself to believe in anything else than what I believe in today which is: Whatever makes me happy is good and if people love me, then they should be happy to know that I am.

I have seen in the last four years the most magnificent places in the world, ate in wonderful restaurants and made the people around me, whoever they were at the time, very happy.

I have let go of those that betrayed me or did not want to have from me what I was willing to give but instead wanted something different which I was not willing to give.

I have made my own decisions, trusting in what I believe to be just and I have not let social conformity dictate my way of life. To believe that someone else knows better than myself what is good for me is simply a ridiculous notion. And that anyone wants to force me to do something that makes no sense to me, just because it is the way it is done in society, is also ridiculous.

And you know what? I have no regrets.

The fact that I wrote a book to let everyone know that they can also have their fair share of life does not mean that I won’t have mine. It only means that I don’t need others to remain slaves so that I can have a life.

Too many people can’t see tomorrow as a fresh new day. Instead, they keep and rely on those around them to feed them (not just with food but also with their thoughts. It’s easier that way). Live on what you earn and believe - not on others’ means and visions.

I am a happy man. So much so that the people passing me by on the street react positively to that feeling of happiness. When I am with the ones I love, people also recognize that love pouring out. But sometimes, it also makes people jealous. They want something from me and they demand it. There is no way I will give it to them then. They try to justify their hatred and their harsh words by hanging on to a ‘’way of life’’ and by stating that, according to that ‘’way of life’’, I do wrong. To these very few I say: ‘’Why don’t you get a life instead of threading on others’! And if you can’t, then just lock yourself away. At least your bad vibes won’t affect anyone else.’’

In the end, if you can’t be happy and if you are always looking for others to be responsible for your life, you are simply not a SMM (So why don’t you just switch the channel?) You are just an individual with no self-confidence who will never amount to anything good until you realize that there is only one master in your life: Yourself.

An open view on the Mosque situation to be built near Ground Zero

It’s funny how people in America refuse to see shades.

The verbal conflict resulting from the plan to build a mosque in the shadows of Ground Zero shows that quite well. If you are against it, you are suffering from islamophobia and you are a bigot and a racist. If you are for it, you are pro-Constitution and pro-freedom of religion.

Well, it is certainly not that clear and opinions from individuals with other options from the ones cited above get lost in this black & white debate. Including mine…

Let’s base this blog on my anti-thesis (it seems only fair) while I counteract with my own position afterwards.

• There is wisdom in the fact that we must remain open to other religions. It is crucial to the definition of the United States and it does go back to the birth of America and its Constitution.

• There is also wisdom in trying to reach a hand out to each other (Catholics, Muslims, Jews, etc.) to try to bring peace to the world instead of having these religious wars to go on or even start new ones.

• There is even more wisdom when individuals say we are all equals and should be treated as such in America, so that we can all keep our freedom to be whatever we want to be.

But…

The fact of the matter is, the two first points above show one thing: Because of religions, there are conflicts.

What if instead of trying to make peace between religions we really separated Church and State as Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf suggested in his interview on CNN. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that is really what the Imam believes in (the separation of Church and State). It only fits his goals in this particular case.

Look how effective the separation of Church and State is in Iran (and there is supposed to be one). In fact, try to find a Muslim country where the separation between church and state is really well defined. That won’t be an easy task.

The best solution would be that, suddenly, one morning, all humans would wake-up thinking: “Hey! Why don’t we make this world a Man’s world? After all, if there is a God, we’ll live in his world once we die and we’ll worship him then as it should be! But while we are here, in our world, let’s worship each others.”

Not going to happen. Sadly.

So the only other solution we have is to, indeed, separate Church and State. That should start with the president of the USA refraining himself, at the end of each speech, of saying “God Bless America”. That should continue on to conflict situations such as the building of a mosque near Ground Zero. If we don’t take in account religion (neither Muslim and/or Catholicism) we would rapidly come to a decision stating that, in terms of human sensitivities, building a religious place, in the religion of those who committed a crime in that particular place (in the name of that religion on top of that) makes no sense. (Just like burning Quran makes no sense either by the way. And for some reason, on that point, everyone agrees! Isn’t that strange…)

Now, on the third point, the one about equality between all people, it is hard to have that exist when people are subjected to kneeling down in front of Gods. Yes, there should be an “s” because there are many different ones (as this issue once again shows) and who is to say if there is one that is true and others that are not…

But even if you take that away, we are all not equals. Women still have to fight for equality in many different situations. So do men, especially when it comes to court and kids. Then you also have gays and Hispanics to name a few. We are still fighting for equality.

Muslims do not want equality. They want women to be below men. They want religion to be above Man. They want to divide to conquer. They want to keep people uneducated to keep them silent and obeying. If you don’t think so, I strongly suggest you take a little trip in a Muslim country.

Why is it that America in general, but also its elite, refuses to look at what is happening outside its borders regarding Islamic immigration? You hear a lot about Islam these days in the US but never regarding the proven facts of what has happened to Europe in the last few decades regarding their Islamic immigration.

Why is it that America does not, through its famous reporting of the news, remind people of the conflict between the Occident and the Middle East that has lasted for as long as we can remember? Why is it that every time the subject of the relationship between the two is broached, it is always occidentals that have to put water in their wine? Otherwise, we will be called racists and xenophobes. They can burn our flags as we watch but if we burn Qurans they will retaliate… It is still not a good idea but it proves you how intolerant they are and how completely inert we are.

There are facts behind this situation. And there are truths on both sides of the fence. But somehow, these are being kept away from the mass and the result is a clear divide that should not be so clear.

I keep reminding all Americans that I talk to about this: You currently have 1.6% of your population that is Muslim. What will you do when you get to 9% like in France? You are already going crazy about this! And trust me, they are coming, like everywhere else in the world.

And when I ask people in blogs: “When is the last time you went to Europe to witness first hand what Islamic immigration really entails?” I always get the same answer: there is no answer back…

Sometimes, I wonder if American journalists even know about Islamic immigration in Europe! If they do, they sure don’t talk about it…

A return to basic : Education

There was a song in my adolescence that went:

“…The children are learning, much faster than we, soon they’ll be older but then again, so will we! ...”

The singer was not even ten years older than me (a third of a generation) and I was one of “these kids” he was talking about: The last generation to actually get a good, solid education. After that, it just went downhill and today, the words I thought were so true back then ring so false in my ears, I can’t help but wonder where did we go wrong?

A generation that screamed out: Let us free (or was it only that the economy realized they needed a new sector of the population to sell to?)

It would be so easy for the Generation X to say: We demanded our freedom and the respect of our rights and we got it! But that would not be true.

All generations of adolescent scream their need for freedom and recognition. We were not any different. It is our parents that were. It is on them that the fault lies today; the original sin.

In the early 80’s, it seems like most parents, all at the same time, decided that it was also important for children to “have a life”. Children, after all, were humans too! And it is through that very humane intention that we started losing what is the only key to create a functional individual: Discipline.

This proves one of my theories which states that: nothing is either right or wrong. Every decision should be taken or seen in its giving context before we can finally come to a final judgment on it. Naturally, that judgment will always differ from one individual to another but we will also always end-up with a general opinion of its “rightness”. In this situation, a little too much love may be at the base of the problem.

But is it the real issue? I do not think so. Millions (billions) of people don’t suddenly change their culture, all at the same time, for no reason. Everything is cultural. This is no different. The fact is the economy needed to find a new market to sell to and it saw it in adolescents, so it made them the new star of society.

Once again the question was: “How much?” But today it is: “How much was it worth?” No matter the amount of money the industry made since then, I for one don’t think it was worth destroying our next generations as it did. Could we have foreseen it? I have no answer for that. The scope is so large of Xs going to possible variants of other Xs and Ys, if someone would have been able to foresee the whole picture, I think he would have had to have been a great mathematician, philosopher and sociologist, all at the same time. In other words: a genius.

Buddies

This new way of seeing adolescents led to a lot of changes and the end result was less discipline being taught to kids. One of the biggest issues that caused this in school is what I’ll call”: the new Buddy system.

Teachers suddenly became friends with their students. It made them “cool” in their own eyes but also towards students. So suddenly we went from Mrs Whites to Lynn and from Sir to “YO”.

Today, in the State of Florida, they actually had to pass a law preventing teachers to befriend students on Facebook. What does that say about the state of our education system…

In my time, we were afraid of our teachers. They were not there to treat us as friends. They were neutral and their existence to us meant only one thing: Pass or fail. And back then, failing was not an option like it is today. If you failed, you remained in the same grade for the next year. Now, in some education system, they do not fail any kids or at least not before… it is too late! Why? How much, that’s why!

The system is so ineffective and creates such inapt students that it would simply cost too much to have all the students that should double their year do it.

Kids don’t have a single notion of discipline and I will agree that it comes both from home and school. We have made them kings and queens of the world. If they are unhappy about something, they’ll call youth protection. It is much easier to make a phone call than to actually do what is expected of you.

Turn off the TV, the video games and the computers!

The same singer I quoted before also sang:

“…It’s not (that) you don’t want to work; it’s just that you’re lazy…”

and that equally applies to kids today.

Everything is at their fingertips (TV remote, joystick, keyboard)! And what is it that they are learning? All kinds of different types of violence mostly but also that you can firmly stay on your behind all day while being fully entertained. So, the question they are asking is: “Why should I move my butt?”

Reality TV has made kids’ idols out of white trash. It has made it normal for them to think that people can be put down in the worse kind of ways on national TV. It has made them think that they don’t need anything (including education) to become someone. But no one has ever told them that in order to be someone to others, you need to be interesting and to be interesting, you need to have knowledge.

It is certainly not through video games that kids will achieve self-realization and it is not either through texting and messaging. We have made life so easy and comfortable for them that kids think they have it made. Well if you are a parent, you still have power (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise). Turn off all the electronics in your kids’ life and send them out there so that they can discover there actually is a real world, not just a virtual one.

If we can’t provide a good education to our kids today and the generations to come, we can forget about humanity keeping our ideals and values alive, especially freedom of choice because, as our kids grow fat and lazy (the few we make), some religious groups keep theirs under extreme discipline (and they make a lot of babies). If we don’t teach our kids, they won’t be able to stand-up because, in the end, numbers will defeat stupidity and ignorance will reinvade our world.