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For the most part, things have been going well lately. At least from a mental perspective. I find myself a little more focused on school than I have been in the past, and am looking forward to piecing together a future. Beth and I have been having a lot of fun together, and fun is the nature of the beast. We have a circle of friends that go well together, save for the typical dramas, etc. I love her, and I think we both appreciate each other a little more than before. I believe that our friends have a lot to do with that. It's the positive things like this that give us a real sense of identity and happiness. I think that people have to go out of their way to focus on the happier things in life, because it's very easy to get caught up in all the mess. It might do people some good to concentrate on the choices and freedoms that they have and how they can use these freedoms every day. Looking around, it seems like all we have is corruption where there should be honor; greed where there should be charity; and dismay where there should be hope. We see selfishness and apathy in the face of dangers like poverty and war. Mainly, we hear a lot of lies from a lot of people. But what can we do ourselves to rise above all of this clutter? It takes a really commendable person to sift through the sands and find the hidden gems that make our lives work. I want to have my own video game store, but I want to do it big and in a way that people really take notice. I want to have a video game arena where people come in and play against each other in a competition. I want to have fun doing work, rather than dreading it. How can we work toward achieving these goals? I think we have to maximize our chances for success by accentuating the positives. Think of all the capabilities that we have as humans, and how each one of our lives really influences the lives of so many others in some way. It seems like every action has a ripple effect that moves through our community. I have seen a lot of destruction to that end in my own community. This area has been economically depressed for so long, and really depends on one employer to keep what money is left in motion. General Motors. And let's not get this wrong, General Motors serves this community extremely well. But the fact of the matter is you never want to put all of your eggs in one basket. Really, the effects of losing GM in this valley would be no less than catastrophic. Not only would you lose all of the employees' disposable income, but you would also lose the entire tax base. Businesses who earn a lot of money through GM would not be profitable, nor would businesses who depend on these businesses. This is probably why the idea of smaller business has become such an integral part in shaping America's future. You don't really want to have a single center of income circulating in one area. You want to have as many less concentrated centers as possible. If one business fails, that should not immediately translate into another three businesses failing. Instead, the emergence of more business should come into play. There is really something to be said about locally owned business. You want your butchers to be from your area, and you want your bakers and candlestick makers to be neighbors you might have a drink with. That promotes a certain pride and spirit that people need to have. We need to be proud of things as a people, I think. We want to take pride in our schools, pride in our country, and more importantly pride in ourselves. Today, it seems like we have less to be proud of than I can imagine. We're turning to less competent and less honorable sources to give our pride. Patriotism is one example. In the real sense, a patriot does not believe that it is a civic duty to agree with the country. A real patriot believes that it is a civic duty to make sure the country does not stop working. We can do so many different things. We can bake apple pies prepared to our liking. We can invent so many new and useful technologies. This is an immense amount of potential, and that's what people should be proud of. Look at downtown Youngstown, even downtown Girard... and think of how all the empty buildings could really be great things if someone puts their ideas to use. If one day, a storm of willing people decided to establish a single plaza on a single strip. Soon, the whole street will grow... and then blocks... then the whole city. It's the real magic of what people can do when they work together. It's just what the doctor ordered. P.S. Sold one of my Corrections books on Ebay and made $20 :-). Post a comment in response: |
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