pabillsman,

I see what you mean. I guess I must have misunderstood. Being a teenager, I haven't experienced some of the fears you have described. But I remember the lady spilling coffee on herself and suing McD's, I remember the kid dying in the Little League. Also, the new attitude in females that is the ultimate paranoia--you can't compliment anybody anymore without them thinking you're harassing them.

But anyway...

About the classic books--"To Kill A Mockingbird" for example--they use that "N" word because back then, they didn't have the same rights that they do now. But they get offended by the word in a book, but yet they accept calling each other that name 24/7!!

grasstains,

In your opinion, what do the black ants and the red ants represent? I myself have seen some of these little wars, and think that it represents humans today. One race can't accept the other, so they attack and overrun. But about that statement that humanity can't overcome their differences--look at history. The segregations, the civil rights movements...need I go on?

Humans have their problems, and it's clearly visible. But what can teenagers and their parents do to prevent such differences from bringing the world crashing down on itself in the future? We're told that teens are the future. And at this rate, I don't think the future is looking posotive.

To everybody:

What are your opinions? What do you see for the future?

Mr. Dark,

I read about the Mexican farmers in THE SACRAMENTO NEWS AND REVIEW. It's a weekly freebie that investigates topics too racy for the dailies. They bash the left and the rightwing equally or as seen fit, but I think the very nature of the publication(investigative, alternative view) makes it seem more liberal. But, then again during the recall election they ran a pro-Arnold story.

I'll try a search for their website and see if I can find the issue in their archives.

Well, it's not the article I read in SNR, but this might even be better because it sorta confirms the Mexico story by reporting a similar case in Canada.
http://www.biotechimc.org/or/2004/05/2916.shtml

The event in Sacramento was The World Trade Organization Exposition.

soccer:

I think the ant wars merely help to illustate the disrimination which ALL Gods creatures possess.

My suspicion that our differences will continue to seperate us is based on mankind's history. But that doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel or not willing to pass on my aspirations of peace to my children.

Several years ago in a Barbara Walter's interview of the Dhali
Lama(?) when asked about the possibility of world peace and what each person can do, he replied, "World peace starts at the dinner table."

I think he was saying that you can't influence or control what goes on in other people's households, but you can influence or control what goes on in yours.


[This message has been edited by grasstains (edited 10-13-2004).]

grasstains,

The discrimination you mentioned, Is it really in ALL of God's creations?

But about the differences separating us...well, that's something else. You can say that it's in human nature, and it's pretty sad, but I don't think humanity should throw in the towel and give up! I agree with you...humans can't completely affect the world around them, but they sure can fix their own homes!

To everybody:

Does anybody else see this situation in their communities? What kind of discrimination does everybody else see? Racial? Religious? What?

You're a very perceptive individual, soccer. Compliments to your parents.

Here, the discrimination is mostly economic; the "haves" vs. the "have-nots." Cash money, or lack thereof, affects everything from education to health care to whether or not your can exercise your right to free speech to its fullest extent--voices with cash tend to be louder. The poor speak, but are seldom heard. And, unfortunately, the economic chasm widens.

In case this comes off as too pessimistic, a reminder--what's a pessimist? Just an optimist that's been smacked in face with reality a few too many times.

ravenswake,

I know what you're talking about. You always hear the voice of the rich and powerful, but it seems that the poor and even homeless people have no voice. The rich's voice can be heard and echos for miles, but the poor's voice is a faint whisper.

And about the pessimists...sometimes that happens. People get one too many cold doses of reality and they turn into a cold glacier of fear and doubt. They just can't seem to find the good in the world. But there are a blessed few out there who have the gift of eternal optimism. But like I said, they are a precious few.

And by the way, I'll tell my parents your compliments.

To anybody:

Who knows any hard-core pessimists who were optimistic but reality took its toll on them? Who knows any optimists who were pessimists?

And what are your opinions on the loud rich and the whispering poor?

A pessimist sees the glass half empty,
An optimist sees the glass half full,
An engineer sees the glass twice as big as it needs to be!

A pragmatist would say the glass is always refillable,
A Matrix fan would say there is no glass.


[This message has been edited by Menes (edited 10-20-2004).]

At the risk of wandering too far off the Bradbury reservation. . .

Ravenswake,

I can�t accept your premise of the haves vs. the have-nots as being a form of economic discrimination. This presumes that wealth is an arbitrary trait, such as race or gender, and the individual has no control over the amount of wealthy they can attain. On the contrary, the individual has much he can do to acquire wealth. He may not be able to attain the towering heights of some but if an individual finds they�re poor, there�s no reason to stay that way. Yes, wealth provides you better access to health-care and speech but neither of these things is denied to the poor simply because they are poor. There are ample programs the poor may avail themselves to take care of most of their health needs and access to speech is as close as a local library�s access to the Internet.

Soccer,

True, it seems the rich have more outlets available to them for the expression of their speech but that doesn�t mean the poor couldn�t have access to these outlets as well. (See my point above about acquiring wealth.) Additionally, any poor person with a compelling enough idea will eventually get access to the expression of that idea if he works at it. The marketplace of ideas will soon take over. Finally, while everyone has the right to free speech, no one has the guarantee of access to express that speech. I don�t see that as a tragic thing.

Best,

Pete

People call me a diehard pessimist....I say I'm a realist! But, then, there are things for which people think I'm TOO optimistic about. I just go by the motto "Hope for the best and expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed!"

I like, "Expect the best, PLAN for the worst."

Hope is almost an admission of fear, it has a helpless quality about it. We hope for one thing when we fear the opposite thing.

I think that hope is what gets you through and past fear.

How about an optimistic pessimist? Or a pessimistic optimist, I think that is what I am.

To quote from The Shawshank Redemption and, thus, Stephen King (ugh) who, I think actually got it from somewhere else: "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things."

Best,

Pete

[This message has been edited by pterran (edited 10-20-2004).]

I have been in situations where, in addition to faith, all I had was hope. Hope has gotten me through some tough times, but each time I'm in one of those situations I resent it and feel I've failed in some way or I didn't do something right. Thus the helpless quality I mentioned earlier. Hope ,to me, is like one step short from admitting defeat. It's a place I don't like.

A good hard working employee can 'expect' a raise, while a slacker can only 'hope' for one.