It's All a Matter of Perspective

A Baby mosquito comes back
after it's first flight:

Mom Mosquito: How did it feel?

Baby Mosquito: It was ... great! 
Everyone was clapping for me!

A Different Perspective on Education

Inside the World’s 

Most Surprising School System 

If we can draw one lesson from the film, it is that America has the right DNA for a phenomenal education system, we just haven’t tapped into it yet. 

- E.D.Kain, American Times.

PERSPECTIVES

Many people believe that right here, right now is all there is, and that they have to be and do their best in this world, and not wait for later.  If you believe this way, then it is not an option to lay waste this world and its peoples; war, poverty and social issues, climate change and husbandry of resources, are all issues of immediate concern, not ones to debate ad nauseum.

“[A]s we sat in those holes, praying that God would save us, I thought about the fact that the other side was doing the same thing. And then I wondered if God is just playing some kind of game with us. Pretty much I decided at that point there was no God,” [Milton] Christian said. “For the rest of my life, I’ve tried to do the right thing. I raised a beautiful bunch of kids — and they truly are my greatest accomplishment. So I’m not worried about what’s next. If there is a God, I think he’ll know that I just did the best I could. That’s all a man can do." - UnionLeaderdotcom

This quote puts me in mind of Mark Twain's posthumasly published "THE WAR PRAYER." I posted it in video form last October, HERE. Although out of print, many used copies are for sale by Amazon's third party vendors. I also found the text on a website here. It is worth a thoughtful read ESPECIALLY if you are certain of your beliefs. Wasn't that always Twain's gift, to make us think about our beliefs?

PERSPECTIVES II

From a LiveJournal entry 8/21/09:

There had been an attempted rape and the park managers' response was to put up notices warning women not to walk by themselves in the park.

Signs hung  around London's Mudchute Park read:

"Regrettably, due to a number of recent attacks it is no longer advisable for women to walk alone through the Valley. The police have been informed and the parks management is aware of the situation. We strongly advise single women to avoid using the park to approach Mudchute station and instead use other entrances such as via the Crossharbour DLR station behind ASDA."

I just love the response:

Since I object to being told where I can and cannot go, and being implicitly blamed for being attacked if I don't follow someone else's rules, my housemate and I made some alternative signs reminding people through parody that if women in the park were being attacked, probably by a man or men, then the blame lay with the (probably male) attacker rather than their victims.They went something like this:

"Regrettably, due to a number of recent incidents, it is necessary to remind men walking alone through the park not to rob, rape, threaten or assault anyone. Thank you in advance for behaving like decent human beings. Signed, single women who refuse to live in fear."

PERSPECTIVES

I Hear America Singing        
by Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
     singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or
     at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of
     the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows,
     robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

I, Too, Sing America        
by Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.