Life

I occasionally sit and wonder if I am on the right path in life and how I came to be the person I am. I imagine that many people struggle with this same question.

Truly, there are more questions than answers but I sometimes feel compelled to dig for some sort of answer.

There are some people who believe that ‘things happen for a reason'. I strongly believe that things do happen for a reason but not because it is some sort pre-conceived destiny. Things happen because of choices we make.

A friend once told me, “You are simply floating through life”. This statement has had a profound affect on my psyche. I can truly admit that in my early twenties, I was floating through life. All my decision during that time in my life were decisions made on a whim. I never took future aspiration or consequences into account. I simply lived day-to-day.

Things have dramatically changed since those days of hasty decision making. I now have a growing family and goals. It is often the case that I ask myself, “What changed me”. Truthfully, I do not know.

What I realized is that in life, there are drivers and passengers.

During a late evening in which I tried to motivate my son to complete his homework, the topic of drivers and passengers surfaced. I tried to explain the importance of school and striving for success in life. In trying to explain this “theory” to my son, I explained that in life there are people that “float through life” as my friend once stated and people that make things happen.

I asked him, “Do you want to live life as a passenger, letting life and others lead you wherever they want or do you want to be a driver”. He looked at me with a smile and said “I want to drive”.

Jumping from the back-seat to the driver seat in life is an important step everyone must take if they hope to live a fulfilling life; a life that is truly gratifying. Unfortunately, most people do not make that jump and live the rest of their life struggling, being unhappy.

I feel that I made the life saving jump several years back. Making this jump took courage and risk. As an example, I shifted from full-time to part-time work in order to go back to school. This was a great risk for my family but it seems to be working out for the better. Simply being able to write this entry is a testament of the intellectual progress I have made in my life.

It is my hope that all the people in my life; especially my kids learn that they are the driving force behind their own lives. They are the ones that need to make things happen. As I tell my kids, you can become anything you want in life!

It is time to move forward!

Governing California

The event I attended was a talk by the 2006-2007 Leader-in-Residence, the Hon. Fred- Keeley. The focus of his talk was a fictional State of the State Address. Mr. Keeley used this fictional address to put forth ideas that he would seek to advance if he was Governor.

He premised his talk on the idea that the Governor and Legislature need to take the current goodwill the constituents have granted them and the need to work collaboratively to get things done. All of Mr. Keeley’s talk focused on state issues but some of the topics did seem to address similar local concerns.

An issue that he touched on which has a tremendous affect on local communities is increasing the average per pupil spending. He proposed raising the amount of per-pupil spending to raise California in the U.S. rankings. His goal is a modest one which would bring California from 45th -25th place in the national rankings. Although this issue is the state’s responsibility, the ramifications of increasing per-pupil spending would surely be felt at the local level. Poor schools would benefit tremendously from such proposals.

Mr. Keeley also referred to “broken” parts of the government. These pieces were:
Term Limits; Re-districting; and Campaign Finance Reforms. Even though these reforms would take place at the state level, all of these reform topics affect local politics. After all, the elected representatives from local districts represent the local governments.

He stated that term limits create representatives that are always running for something. Thus, they never fully lay roots and become dedicated public servants. Instead, they revert back to campaign mode. This lack of permanency prevents the representative from effectively representing the constituents in their district.

Civic participation was also cited as a problem. The present state of citizen involvement is low due to citizen’s pessimistic view of politics. He said that we currently equate citizenship with consumerism. As in state elections, this view holds true in local politics and is evident from the turn-out during the most recent mayoral election. There is a need to get citizens disenthralled and active. Plainly, they need to have a reason to become involved. Thus far, politicians have been unable to attract the reluctant voter.

The most intriguing and insightful comment that I heard from Mr. Keeley was when he described our state’s correctional system. He stated that politicians needed to be brave in opposing their historically supportive base. He was referring to the state politician’s reluctance in dealing with a broken part of our system—the Department of Corrections.

This statement resonated quite profoundly for me because politicians should represent their constituents fully. If there is a part of the government structure that is in disarray, you must be able to take an objective look and make a call as to whether it is working properly. If it is not working properly as in the example Mr. Keeley provide with the Department of Corrections, you must be willing to say so, even if doing so cost you crucial votes.

I enjoyed listening to Mr. Keeley and hope to take his course in the near future. His excitement and dedication for Politics was evident. He seems to truly enjoy his work.

Finals

During the school year, students poor in and out of the King Library, checking out books and of course studying. I have come to the library on many occasions and have always been able to find a seat—today is different.

As I sit here on the 8th floor of the beautiful King Library, I am a bit irritated. As I look out the window staring at the beautiful city lights, I ponder why the library is filled to capacity.

I reach for a conclusion to my question and find that there are a couple of possibilities:

1. Many people from the community happen to be out on this stormy night in the hopes of finding a good book to cuddle up with. (not likely)

2. The people from the community came to the library to find some shelter from the rain. (maybe)

3. Students who have not otherwise studied during the semester are trying to crunch in as much studying as possible in the hopes of securing a decent grade. (most likely)

I vote for the 3rd option!

The rational of coming to the library towards the end of the semester to “finally” hit the books does not make sense to me. Why would you wait to the last minute to cram everything in if you had the whole semester to pick up your class material and review?

And for those readers that are wondering if I am doing the same as the students I am complaining about, I am not. I am at the library because my kids do not allow me to study at home.

Thus, I will carry this frustration as I walk around the various floors of the library seeking a clean well lighted place.

United Nations

It appears that John Bolton, the divisive Bush appointment will be stepping down as the United States Representative to the United Nations. His appointment to a post of such stature has being as controversial as any presidential sex scandal.

He was originally appointed by President Bush during a congressional recess—without debate or consensus.

Mr. Bolton is what some would call a “war hawk” in that he is willing and seems at times anxious to go to war. His most recent stance that made clear his irrefutable disregard for global consensus is that topic of unilaterally attacking Iran.

Mr. Bolton was/is hell-bent on unilaterally attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in the hopes that the attacks would cripple their progress towards becoming another nuclear power. The stench of hypocrisy is unbearable to me.

He in no way represents the opinion of the world community but with the veto power the US has within the UN Security Council, it is certain that global consensus has long been thrown out the window. Lucky, other members of the Security Council are willing to put the brakes on passage of such an irresponsible resolution.

I welcome the Democrats certain rejection of Mr. Bolton nomination. Mr. Bush’s audacity in re-submitting Mr. Bolton as the nominee is unbelievable. He should have more sense. A man that has been quoted as saying the UN is “irrelevant” should not be allowed to lead this country in the world community. He should sit on the sidelines and watch a peace loving American represent the US.