Colors of the World (repost)

When you look at it in a mean way, how mean it is! When you look at it selfishly, how selfish it is! But when you look at it in a broad, generous, friendly spirit, what wonderful people you find in it.~ Horace Rutledge

I always find it interesting that my husband and I can meet the same people and have an entirely different impression of them. Similarly, our views of current events are also very conflicting at times.

My husband sees the world as a hostile environment, where ruthless people are consistently arranging their days around taking advantage of others. He is a news addict, and will – after a day of stress and countless exchanges – use his entire evening to hear more and more distressing segments, nodding his head when someone makes a statement of impending doom.

I am the opposite side of the coin. I peruse the paper every morning but focus mostly on the positive news. I don’t believe we live in a perfect world, but I don’t believe our world is all that bad either. We have conflicts, hardship and everyday obstacles, but so has had every generation before us.

I don’t believe people are any worse today than they were yesterday; we are simply more aware of events and heinous acts because of the advent of widespread media. I don’t think there are more child molesters loose on the streets; the only difference between yesterday and today is that in the old days we didn’t know of a child who had been kidnapped three states away, and victims were more reticent to come forth and point a finger at their abusers; dirty laundry was, more or less, washed at home.

It is human nature to be fearful and doubtful. It is also another human flaw to be easily influenced by negative suggestions. Since childhood we are conditioned to be afraid and careful. Germs will hurt us; friends have a double agenda; strangers will kill us; very few caregivers ever explain to children that stress and fear make us sick worse than germs, most friends don’t have hidden plans, and the majority of strangers will only kill us with a smile. Personally, I refuse to live in a world where I have to feel fearful and defensive at all times. I do believe in destiny, and I think that if something is meant to happen to me, it will happen regardless of how paranoid or relaxed I am.

Everything in our world is dual; we can choose to look at one face of it or the other. Electricity can warm us and provide light, but can also be used to electrocute; water is healing and soothing but can also be employed to drown someone; fire is warm and inviting but can also char everything on its path; air can be uplifting and wind relaxing, yet it can carry a blaze across forested areas.

There are always two ways to look at the same thing; it is up to us to decide which color of lens we choose to wear when we take a look around.

Pointing Fingers: Is John Edwards' affair truly important?

On August 8th 2008 at least fifteen people died in a fatal bus crash, as they were traveling from Houston to Missouri. http://www.newsobserver.com/nation_world/story/1170448.html
On the same day, Russia launched an aerial assault and sent troops into Georgia http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/47016.html, and new evidence surfaced about some of our Washington vineyards being turned into pot farms http://www.newsobserver.com/2188/story/1170628.html.
Yet, on August 8th, the eyes of our Nation - and those of the rest of the world - were focused on John Edwards’ marital indiscretion. As I surfed through the channels I couldn’t help shaking my head. In the aftermath of more important events, every primetime news channel was feasting on the dirty details of John Edwards’ affair, hoping to dig deeper than the competition.
Personally, I think that as long as he was honest with his wife about the tryst with Rielle Hunter, he owes nobody else any kind of explanation. I think that if he is still married to the same woman after thirty years, and together they have survived raising four children and endured the death of one, few people are in the position of judging the integrity and strength of their marriage and family. Since he wasn’t in office during the affair, there was no reason for him to announce such a painful situation to the rest of the world, and his public silence only protected his wife and family from the indignity they are suffering right now. What happened between John Edwards and his wife should remain between them, and dealt with within the boundaries of their individual acceptance. As for the rest of the world, I think we have more pressing issues to be concerned about.
Why are we so ready to jump into other people’s private affairs and elevate them in the list of our Nation’s priorities? Truth is everyone likes to point fingers. More than anything, undermining someone in the spotlight makes us feel better about ourselves and our own shortcomings. We have become so shallow and filled with self-righteousness that we salivate at the mere opportunity of proving someone else’s lack of integrity; we saturate media and other networking channels with empty news, rather than using these same channels to raise awareness on what is truly important. Thousands of children can die or become orphans in Indonesia, but we are more interested in the birthday celebration of Tom Cruise’s two-year-old daughter.
If we truly hope to change our country and redeem ourselves as a people, it is time we rethink the way we prioritize. I hope Britney Spears will find her light and Angelina Jolie’s twins will continue to prosper; and to those who feel that they have never made any mistakes, I would like to invite them to run for office.
I also would like to remind them that when we point one finger, three of them are still pointed back toward ourselves. Ahem...that is something to think about.