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Michael Ramzy

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A Fragile World Without Peace (Part One)

Posted Saturday, November 07, 2009 (14 hours 22 minutes ago.) Viewed 22 times.

There is an old saying that countries don't really have friends or allies, they have 'mutual interests'. This is supposed to be a way of saying countries such as the United States and, say, Canada, would never go to war. The mutual interest here is a shared, unguarded border and a similar way of life.

There are many countries today which are at war, of course, or in some kind of (either internal or external) 'action', and there are also many countries which are in a non-war. This is not the same as peace, which is something that, like honesty in government or truth in advertising, is rare at best.

Countries which could truly be considered at non-war are that way because they have decided (or had it decided for them) to be at war is too expensive, both financially and in human cost. They are not at peace necessarily, they just believe not being at war is the smart play. For the time being.

To better understand how fragile our world truly is today, lets think of the main reasons countries go to war:

Natural Resources: Obviously, if Country A is bereft of oil (or has some but wants much more) and Country B has a plentiful amount, Country A will sooner or later invade Country B. Iraq did this to Kuwait, of course, which is the most recent example.

Ego: Country A is ruled by a Supreme Leader (either religiously or politically movitated) who decides, on his own hook, to manufacture some injustice and blames Country B. Hitler did this to Poland to start World War 2 in 1939. Alexander did this to the Persians and Darius II. Both Hitler and Alexander met their ends solely because ego prevented them from seeing beyond their immediate conquest.

Pre-Emption: This one is linked directly to the Natural Resources example listed above, yet could also be used as a 'deterrent'. I put deterrent in quotation marks since the pre-emption negates any 'what-if' argument. Kind of like if I burn my neighbor's house down because I think he might launch a missle at the Texas state capitol: I'll never really know, will I?

Japan used this against us to throw us into World War 2, basically to keep us out of the Pacific. They wanted us out of the Pacific so they could exploit the resources of the South Pacific unimpeded. The United States, in a way, did this with Iraq (the second time). The Government believed Mr. Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was convinced he would use them eventually on someone. The evidence was circumstantial at best, yet because of Mr. Hussein's track record in the region and the ego of the United States Government (I still believe Mr. Bush was an unwitting participant, but that's just me), we went to war. And, of course, we are still there.

There are some other reasons, of course: Revenge (the original reason for going to Afghanistan, of course) tops the list, but for the most part most wars can be broken down with the above three reasons.

Next, we'll look at Non-War, and how there really is very little peace in this wonderful and terribly fragile world.

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You're Still Practicing Law? Aren't You Good Yet?

Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 (4 days 10 hours ago.) Viewed 1,748 times.

Another great day in America and as I was shopping the other day at the supermarket and saw all of those tabloids at the checkout counter, I came to a realization. It hit me suddenly and squarely in the middle of my middling brain, which means I filed it away for future use.

Which actually means I forgot about it until today.

So. We Americans love our gossip and we love our language, and my realization is that we can be fooled quite often and we truly love it. By fooled I don't mean as in politics, where it seems we still can't understand why we vote for the same people. Fooled as in the words we use. Perhaps we don't know any better (we do, of course, but let's pretend I have a point here), or perhaps certain phrases are told so often we believe them to be true and correct.

Here are some examples:

1) "I could care less." What you are actually saying is that you really could care less, but don't. For example, if someone tells me Brad and Angelina are breaking up and I say "I could care less", that really makes no sense. I should say, "I couldn't care less than I do", which tells the informative person with the news of Brad and Angelina that there is no way I could care any less.

2) I met a lawyer awhile ago (I know, kind of like saying 'I saw a UFO awhile ago') and I asked him what he did for a living. He said he was a lawyer, and I asked him what kind. He informed me this: "I practice corporate law." Of course, without missing a beat, I offered this: "You still practice? Aren't you good yet?" Imagine if you are a truck driver and someone asks what you do. "I practice driving" is not something you want to hear from someone you share the road with.

3) "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". This is a very old saying, from biblical times, yet for the life of me I can't imagine anyone using this saying in the past few hundred years. Of course, I know it's a way of saying be grateful for what you have and don't dwell on what you don't have, but that would spoil my argument.

Anyway, imagine if you will you are driving along with a passenger and the light up ahead turns yellow. Being a careful driver, you slow down and stop as the light turns red (I have to imagine this actually happening since here in Austin drivers are required to carry three items at all times: license, proof of insurance, and a blindfold). Your passenger tells you stopping for the light will make you late, and you respond with this witticism: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Your passenger, having heard that saying before, nods and agrees. Both of you, in this instance, used a phrase without understanding the meaning but just because it seemed like something to say at the time. And both of you nod with the knowledge you have no idea what either of you is talking about.

4) "The latest polls show . . ." This one has been around since the American Revolution, and we Americans buy into this saying hook, line and sinker (another old saying!). I can quote a poll and list it here on Searchwarp saying 4 out of 5 dentists recommend a particular brand of gum, and people will believe it. Why? Dentists are believable. The same goes with politics. I could say 70% of Americans believe Congress is useless, and people will believe it. But, what does that mean of the other 30% and what they believe? That Congress is doing a great job? No. That Congress is running roughshod (another saying!) over the rights of Americans? No. The polls don't say, and so we the people come to the conclusion that 30% thinks Congress is okay. Not so great, you say, and you may be right. But remember this: If you can hit a Major League fastball 30% of the time, you are guaranteed entry into the Hall of Fame.

So. We use the sayings we grew up with, we repeat sayings we think are right and true and meaningful, and yet we have to remember to be careful: someone, somewhere, might catch on that we really don't know what we think we know. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday . . .

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Forget The Hungry: Feed The Corruption

Posted Thursday, October 22, 2009 (16 days 20 hours ago.) Viewed 115 times.

Another beautiful day in America and yet around the world in Africa things are not as they could be. Or perhaps they are exactly as they are supposed to be.

Earlier today, Ethiopia asked for over 150 thousand tons of emergency food to help feed 6 million people in urgent need of help. This kind of appeal comes around almost yearly, yet this size of request is the largest since the eighties.

The reason for the request this time is the on-going drought that is ravaging seven nations in eastern Africa. And this time, of course, the food will go directly to those who need it most: the indigent and the starving.

Well, not really. Not at all, actually.

Remember Live Aid in the 1980's? Over $2 Billion (that's right, with a B) was raised from the concerts alone, and another $25 Billion (again with a B) was raised by other countries to help curb the famines at the time. The result was less than 10% of that money actually went to food and helping those in need. Thus, every year the appeals go out, and every year we (or the rest of the world) dip into our pockets and send hope overseas. And every year, more and more hundreds of thousands die because they don't get the help they need.

One problem with Africa is partly location in that all of us wonder this: why live in a desert where it is almost impossible to grow food? The main problem, though, seems to be corruption. Of all of the countries in that great continent, there are only fifteen which could be called democracies, and of those only six are truly self-sufficient. The others, which ironically is where famine and genocide and war are a way of life, are dictatorships or 'councils' in which power over the populace is the de-facto form of government. And when you control a population's food supply, you have absolute control.

So the next time a celebrity or politician or commercial on television asks you to help, do so by asking your celebrity or politician to ensure the food or money actually gets to where it's supposed to get. Without that, we are all just giving our money to those who are actively involved in the starvation of millions for their own profit. And one more thing: those celebrities or politicians who do all of this work for the poor need to understand the problem will not go away until the corruption is defeated. Perhaps these celebrities and politicians can use their immense talents and sway to focus on that rather than continue to feed the corruption by turning a blind eye to reality. Doing something because it feels or looks good is one thing; feeding corruption is something else altogether.

As with our schools here in America, we should not give up hope. We should focus on the main problem of corruption and let our politicians and those in charge of these aid agencies know we will not continually give and give and give without realizing (or caring, perhaps) our time and money will not possibly help until the corruption is stopped.

Africa is a land where things are not as they could be. Perhaps, though, it is a land where things are as they are supposed to be.

Let's hope it will become a land where things are as they can be.

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I Am On Earth

Posted Thursday, October 08, 2009 (30 days 10 hours ago.) Viewed 1,148 times.

Another beautiful day in America and I find myself at work listening to a woman explain why one of the trees in our parking lot is dying.

"It needs water. Lots more water," she says to me, pointing to the tree from inside the store.

"It gets lots of water," I return. "There are two sprinklers dedicated to that particular tree."

"Well, it needs more."

"We're kind of in a water restriction here, ma'am," I tell her. "I can't just hose 'er down whenever the mood strikes me."

She turns to me and gives me the once-over, pretty much the same look I get from hundreds of customers at the pharmacy on a daily basis. "No one likes a smart-alec."

"Of course not," I reply. "I was just making a point."

"You should be watering that poor thing," she says, turning back to the tree. "It looks dead."

"It is alive, though," I say. "It's a pretty big tree, it'll be all right." It is actually a giant tree, a great oak that sits smack dab in the middle of the parking lot. We built the store around it.

"Big things die, too," she says.

"I know," I agree. "The Dodo bird was huge, but died. Too big to fly, I guess."

She gives me another look.

"Ma'am," I continue, moving away from her. "If there's nothing else?"

I really did have other things to do than discuss this tree with this woman. She seemed nice enough, but . . . geez, come on. How many customers would complain about a tree in the parking lot?

"Actually, there is something else."

"Yes?"

"When are you going to do away with your sign?" She looked at me as though I just didn't get it. In fact, I didn't get it, didn't have a clue.

"Sign?"

"Yes!" she hissed. "That big thing on the side of the building. Uses too much electricity."

"Right," I said, moving another step away. "Well, I don't think we can do anything about that, ma'am. I mean, how would people know who we are?"

"Too much electricity," she repeated.

"We only turn it on at night," I offered helpfully. "So we're really not -"

"The planet's dying, and it's because of people like you." She looked right at me as if when I wasn't at work I was burning holes in the ozone, melting glaciers and killing polar bears.

"People like me?" I asked sheepishly. "Really, ma'am, I don't think -"

"No, you don't think. You don't even care."

"Actually, I do care, ma'am. I just don't understand how I can help you today."

"Turn off your electricity."

"The sign is off, ma'am."

"No, I mean for the whole store." She was serious, too.

"Um . . . I can't do that."

"You can't? Or you won't?" She gave me another look. "Don't you know about global warming?"

"Sure," I said. "Warming, Cooling, Rotating . . . I've heard of all of them."

Another look.

"Seriously, ma'am, there is nothing I can do to help you with this." She looked at me for a moment, shook her head, then walked out of the store. As she was leaving I heard this:

"Some people . . ."

I watched her walk to her car (yes, she had a car - a beat-up old Toyota), get in, then drive across the street to the supermarket. I can only imagine her conversation with the manager there. Actually, I don't have to imagine it: I just had it.

Watching her drive across the street, I thought how glad I am to be in America. How glad I am to be here on planet Earth. My only wish is that some of the customers I come in contact with also resided here.

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