LIVING WITH VIOLENCE

“America is, by far, the most violent country in the world when measured

against comparable, industrialized nations. Violence is deeply rooted in our

society and has become woven into the fabric of the American lifestyle.

A culture of violence has emerged that invades our lives at every level,

from our most intimate relationships at home, to our schools and

work environments."

This statement contained in an Annual Report by one of California’s Attorneys General, accurately crystallizes the true status of violence in America. Compared with the other advanced countries, America has the highest rate of prison incarcerations, with more than 2 million prisoners at any time, a number that equates to more than quarter of the world’s prison population. It has consistently reported the highest homicide rates in the industrialized world and even more frightening, more people possess some form of weapon for self-protection than all the rest of the world’s population.

The increasing aura of violence in our society and our awareness of violence around us has changed the way we live in our cities. In more and more areas of our cities, because of the increase in gang formation and drug violence, drive-by shootings, daylight muggings and indiscriminate attacks we are beginning to feel like prisoners in our homes and neighborhoods, afraid to venture out alone. It should be no surprise that some of the fastest growing industries in this country are private security and weapons.

Although we publicly lament the existence of violence in our cities, in our society and in our schools, we also are guilty of sending mixed messages to our children. By encouraging wanton violence on our TV screens and in our cinemas, by highlighting and encouraging violence in sport and entertainment, on the playing field and in the video games, by making and endorsing heroes of crooks and criminals, we succeed in indoctrinating our children that violence in society is acceptable, and worse, by our silence, encourage them to think that violence is a reasonable alternative.

Even our media, by their eagerness and insistence in reporting all the gory details of violent incidents contribute to the glorification of violence as a means of achieving solution. By their endless reporting of incidents, repeated over and over, they succeed in persuading people that such behavior is normal and acceptable, making the next action easier to contemplate. Very rarely is an effort made to register the public abhorrence of the behavior and the genuine resentment of the perpetrators. Society, while recognizing that the perpetrator needs help, must not lose sight of it’s responsibility to punish the action, protect the victims and above all, to take the necessary steps to correct the underlying causes.

Tragically we, as individuals and as a society, have yet to learn the lessons from the actions around us. We continue to witness horrific examples of grossly abnormal behavior among our young people such as the Columbine school massacre, the vicious and brutal attack on the homeless and the gang-like act of publicly setting a boy on fire. Though occurring in different areas and under different circumstances, these and the thousands of others taking place daily, appear to have one constant denominator, the progressive disintegration of society’s standards and responsibilities.

But violence is not a disease that can be passed on from person to person and cannot be treated by simply administering a local remedy. Violence is a reflection of the society and represents the worse aspect of the prevailing attitudes within the society. As I see it, even in the midst of so much advancement in the quality and opportunity in our lives, our society has become too indifferent, too immune to its responsibility towards maintaining the quality and consistency needed to ensure the right standards.

We cannot expect our children to do otherwise when we ourselves abandon our own principles, by continuing to glorify violence, by ignoring the needs of our children, by abandoning our family responsibilities as we spend more time away from the home. When we add to this the scourge of easy accessibility of drugs, reduced controls in the schools, increasing domestic violence and marital breakdowns, and so many other social problems, one should not be surprised of the present epidemic of violence.

And yet the answers to preventing this escalation of violence can be simple and effective if we take the time to recognize the causes and make the effort to correct them. As a society, we need to reconsider how we glorify violence in all it’s forms, most especially in the fields of entertainment, sports and video games. Equally we must take time to provide quality time to our children, to encourage them away from the present exposure to the many negative contacts and to provide positive opportunities for growth. To achieve this we need to change drastically from the present direction, something we loathe to do. We have yet to learn the real truth of the statement made by the noted American author, Mary McCarthy:
“In violence we forget who we are”


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LEARNING FROM LIVING

LEARNING FROM LIVING

I would rather think of life as a good book.
The further you get into it,
The more it begins to come together and make sense.

The above quotation by the famous American Conservative Rabbi, Harold S. Kushner, always impressed me as a powerful comment on the real meaning of life and learning, worthy of inclusion in any educational program.
Learning is generally defined as a “process of acquiring knowledge or skill through study, experience or teaching”. But to me, true learning is much more complex than this. It can only be considered meaningful when it is accompanied with changes in the basic understanding and behavioral potential of the individual. It is not merely the acquisition of information but rather the assimilation of such information and its incorporation into the individual’s being.
........In truth, we are what we learn.
Of all the great teachers we encounter along the way, the experience of Living is by far the greatest and most effective of all, a fact recognized by most of the great thinkers and philosophers throughout the ages. The great ancient Roman philosophers Pliny and Tacitus insisted that Experience is the most efficient teacher, and Julius Caesar publicly acknowledged that Experience is the teacher of all things.
The history of the modern world is replete with examples of people who have become very successful in every conceivable aspect of life without completion of the appropriate “formal education”. This should not be surprising since in most instances their success is based on their innate ability to maximize their life experience. The following are some of the thousands of examples of people whose contributions have changed the course of history:
Abraham Lincoln, considered one of the greatest U.S. Presidents, finished 1 year of schooling, then continued by self-teaching to become a lawyer.
Andrew Jackson, successful as a soldier, lawyer, judge and U.S. president, was essentially home-schooled without formal education.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the greatest sons of America, a founding father of the nation, inventor, scientist, author and entrepreneur, was primarily home-schooled.
Christopher Columbus, the great explorer who discovered the Americas was essentially self-taught, learning all the intricacies of sailing from experience.
Frank Lloyd Wright, possibly the most famous architect of the twentieth century, never continued beyond primary school.
Henry Ford, the father of the assembly line for car-making never completed high school.
Winston Churchill, considered one of the greatest British statesmen, historian and artist, failed high school and never attended college. He was credited with saving Britain during WWII.

……The list is as endless as it is international.
Over the last generation, in our lifetime, most of the very successful inventors, entrepreneurs and game changers have been high school and/or college dropouts who chose to abandon the formal programs of learning to go their own way. These include:
Bill Gates and Paul Allen(microsoft), Michael Dell (computers), Larry

Ellison(oracle), Steve Jobs(apple), Larry Page and Sergio Brin(google), Mark

Zuckerberg(facebook),
Because of their efforts, they have succeeded in changing the world in unimaginable ways over a period less twenty five years. In all these cases, these exceptional people chose to forego the conventional road to enrichment, and trusting their instincts, go forward learning as they moved on.
The real truth is that we are all endowed with the ability to learn from experience, if we only allow ourselves the flexibility to do so. Instead we tend to spend our lives locked into certain boundaries of our own doing which we zealously guard under the pretext of “the right way”, afraid or unwilling to venture forward and risk failure. As a result we are left out on the periphery while we admire and sometimes envy them and their achievements.

Perhaps we should all take heed of the observation of the great British scientist, author and futurist, Sir Arthur Charles Clarke who advised:

The only way of finding the limits of the possible,
is by going beyond them into the impossible.

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LIFE'S ATTITUDES

LIFE’S ATTITUDES

In the field of human endeavor, Attitude is everything. In any situation many outcomes are possible, but the final result, positive or negative, is much less dependant upon ability than it is on attitude. This is probably the most powerful of the multiple components of human behavior.
Attitude can be defined as a complex psycho-physical state involving the total emotional make-up of the individual, including feelings, beliefs, values and disposition, resulting, if it is not consciously modified, in a predictable response. Simply put, attitude is a function of interpretation rather than reality. Henry David Thoreau, the great 19th century American philosopher, very precisely and accurately described this state of affairs as follows:
“It’s not what you look at, that matters,
……It’s what you see.”
In my practice, by way of demonstration to my patients, I often used this simple sketch to illustrate the impact of attitude on subsequent behavior;
You are standing outside your home and you notice in the distance that a person was approaching you with his hands raised and holding an object. If you thought the object was a knife, you would quickly turn and run away, but if you thought he was bringing you a gift, you will turn and run towards him. His action has not changed, but your attitude would determine your subsequent behavior. If in fact he was bringing you a gift, he would appreciate your coming forward, and be disappointed if you ran away. As you no doubt would expect, his subsequent expectation and therefore his attitude toward you will be affected by your action.
It is not difficult to understand that unless we are very careful in correctly interpreting attitudes of others toward us, we are likely to make the situation worse by our resulting response. So much of our pain and suffering can be avoided, or at least modified, if we take time to understand the impact of attitude on our lives and the need to adapt to the changes as they appear.
Equally, in a global context, success or failure, trust or distrust, joy or anger, belief or disbelief, love or hate, even peace or war, all have their foundation on people’s attitude and their willingness to recognize and adapt to changes. Every day we witness examples of how “attitude” is manipulated by people to achieve their own, personal aims. From the businessman, who uses subtle advertisements to get you to use his products, or the politician, who, by a mixture of fear, lies, threats and promises is able to harness your support and commitment to achieve his agenda, or the religious leader, who by deliberately misrepresenting other’s views is able to persuade members to reject them. These are but a few examples of many that operate in our day-to-day living that form the very foundation of existence.
The unfortunate tragedy of this situation is that despite the fact that we are all aware of the impact of attitude on our life, we seem to have difficulty in recognizing and changing our attitudes. As a result we continue to repeat our mistakes over and over. We appear to be conditioned to hold on to existing attitude even though they are clearly causing us unnecessary inconvenience, rather than make the effort to adapt. This behavior is not significantly different from the addictive model where the individual continues the pathological behavior despite efforts to correct. Like the addict, they would rather risk pain and suffering with their current attitude than make the effort to seek an alternative, more appropriate solution. In the end everyone, both individually and globally, will continue to suffer because of prejudice, fear, uncertainty and manipulation and continue to view everyone else with distrust and suspicion.
But change is possible if we could learn to adopt positive attitudes and to work to neutralize negative attitudes. Over and over we have witnessed, both at the individual as well as the group level, that growth and development take place after positive attitudes have taken hold. We have all seen seemingly entrenched hostilities and distrust replaced by respect and sharing, and life-long enemies become friends. However, this will not occur by just talking about what has to be done, but rather by a slow and deliberate process of desensitization so that people become less resistant to receiving correct information and rejecting negative ones. Under these circumstances people are more likely to be more receptive and less inclined to distrust or fear change, and as a result, more willing to undergo modification in attitude.
Above all, what we need to do is to redouble our efforts both as individuals and globally,
to do everything in our power to encourage positive attitudes and reject negative attitudes, to be more receptive to positive efforts from others and to always examine our behavior to ensure that we bring the right attitude to our life and our interactions. By doing this consistently and deliberately, we might begin to grow positively and perhaps we could take to heart the profound observation of the very talented American ice-skater Scott Hamilton:

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”

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Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly, and
Leave the rest to God.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass,

It's about learning to dance in the rain.
……… Author Unknown

Excellence is not a skill. It is an Attitude.
……..Ralph Marston

The greatest discovery of my generation is that;
a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.
.......William James

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
…….Winston Churchill

A positive Attitude causes a chain reaction
of positive thoughts, events and outcomes.
It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.
........Wade Boggs

There are no menial jobs, only menial Attitudes.
……William J. Bennett

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances,
but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
………Hugh Downs

People are not disturbed by things,
but by the attitude they take of them.
……Epictetus

Our Attitude toward life, determines Life’s attitude towards us.
….John N. Mitchell

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you;
As by the Attitude you bring to life.
……Khalil Gibran

Attitude: It is our best friend or our worst enemy.
…… John C. Maxwell

Weakness of Attitude becomes weakness of character.
…..Albert Einstein.

I discovered I always have choices:
Sometimes it may only be a choice of Attitude.
……Author Unknown

If you don’t like something, change it.
If you can’t change, then change your attitude.
……Maya Angelou

The Problem is not usually the problem;
The problem is your Attitude about the problem.
……Author Unknown

Your Attitude is more important that your Aptitude.
…… Zig Zigler

A strong positive mental Attitude will create more miracles,
than any Wonder Drug.
……Patricia Neal

The greatest part of happiness depends on our Attitude;
Not on our Circumstances.
….Martha Washington

ON BEING A MOTHER

Editor's Note:

The following story was forwarded to me by my neice. It has so impressed

me with its relevance and its urgency that I felt compelled to pass it on

to every one about whom I care. The author is unknown, but its content

relates to all of us, and its message is directed to each of us, personally.

After 17 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, 'I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.'
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been alone for 20 years, but the demands of my work and my two boys had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. 'What's wrong, aren't you well?' she asked; My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. 'I thought it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,' I responded, 'Just the two of us.'She thought about it for a moment, and then said, 'I would like that very much.'
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last birthday on November 19th.
She smiled with a face that was as radiant as an angel's. 'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,' she said, as she got into my new white van. 'They can't wait to hear about our date'.
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. 'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,' she said. 'Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,' I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation, nothing extraordinary, but catching up on events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie, but neither of us cared.
As we arrived at her house later, she said, 'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.' I agreed willingly and hoped it would be soon.
'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I got home. 'Very nice, I answered, much more so than I could ever have imagined and I have you to thank for this.'


A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her.

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: 'I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.'
At that moment, I understood the importance of always saying; 'I LOVE YOU' and of giving our loved ones the time that they deserve and they need. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve.
These things must never be put off till 'some other time',
.....for that time may never come.

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Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal

after you've had a baby.
Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother,

'normal' is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct
Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring.

Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager
with a driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a 'good' mother,

your child will 'turn out good'.

Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother
Somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.

Somebody said you can't love the second child

as much as you love the first.
Somebody doesn't have two children.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery.

Somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten,

or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp.

'Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after herchild gets married.
Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law
to the mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home.

Somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her,
so you don't need to tell her.

Somebody isn't a mother.

…..Author Unknown

LIFE AND YOU (I)

Editor's Note:

The following is a random collection on the meaning of life based on

quotations from the greatest authors and philosophers over the ages.

The interpretations are strictly those of the editor, but the message is

universal and worthy of serious consideration.

1.
“If you want to know the past, to know what has caused you;
Look at yourself in the Present, for that is the past's effect.
If you want to know your future, then look at yourself in the Present;
For that is the cause of the future."

The above quotation taken from the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddhist holy book, speaks volumes to anyone in search of self determination. The message is both simple and profound.

You are the collective unconsciousness of all that has gone before you, and within you lies everything that has occurred in the past that has caused you to be who you are. Like the rings in the great oak tree that tells us everything, good and bad, that has occurred over the centuries of its life, so too are you, a true reflection of your past.

Therefore it is vitally important that you spend time to reflect on all that has gone before you and to learn from this who you really are and where you want to be. For without this knowledge, your future will be nothing but a random series of encounters without reason and without direction and your journey through life will be that of the lowly ant;

You arrive, you live and you die and you leave a void

to be filled by the next ant.

Instead, your life will have true meaning only if you understand whom you really are, what your role is meant to be and above all, you follow the path laid out for you, to reach the glory that you are destined to be.

2.
"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project,

all your thoughts break their bonds:

our mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction,

and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world.

Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive,

and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far

than you ever dreamed yourself to be."

These words, contained in a brief introductory statement in the enormously influential Yoga Sutras, acknowledged as the foundational text of Yoga, crystallize the wisdom of one of India's greatest philosophers Patanjali.

The fundamental aim of Yoga is to assist us to attain a better understanding of ourselves, and to achieve a higher level of awareness and enlightenment. By encountering and transcending all our weaknesses and our inadequacies, we are able to unleash a more confident and comfortable attitude in our lives and exercise better control of our environment.
All of us will have no difficulty in identifying people in our lives whose actions we have admired and respected. We have tended to assign special status to these people and place them in special categories. But the truth is that we all possess the potential to transcend our limitations. We need only to find the key to unlock the energy within us, to control the negative shackles that bind us and to release the power within us.
Yoga, by a system of profound meditation and self evaluation, is designed to release these energies and assist us to arrive at that exalted position of union of the body, the mind and the spirit where our true self emerges.
But the truth is that we do not need to be practitioners of Yoga to achieve our full potential. What we do need however, is a process of systematically identifying, encountering and overcoming each of our negative constraints, neutralizing their impact upon us and thus allowing the free spirit to come alive.
To achieve this, we must begin by adopting a sense of purpose and direction, and to working diligently to achieve this. Whichever you choose however, must be consistent with the basic principles of life and the natural laws of nature of doing no harm to others, recognizing the unity of all living beings and a sense of universal humanity.

This is, and has always been, the underlying principle of all the great religions of the world and one which will carry you to the pinnacle of your potential.




3.
"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.
Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."

Often quoted by His Holiness Dalai Lama, this statement is a powerful indictment of the hypocrisy and prejudice that exists in the world. We are quick to judge others who appear or think or act different than us. We have all grown up with such deep seated prejudices that we instinctly believe that what we do is always correct and therefore anything that is different is likely to be wrong.

No one really takes the time to teach us that in nature there are invariably many solutions to an existing situation, and that they are all correct. This single omission is directly responsible for all the tragedies, all the suffering, all the antagonisms that exist between and among individuals, groups, communities and nations.
It is a lot easier to blame others for our own shortcomings and distinctly more convenient to maintain power and control by projecting the difference in others as a threat to survival.

Throughout the ages in every society and among all peoples of the world, there has occurred such vast and unwarranted suffering in the name of difference than in anything else. We have used the excuse of race, religion, appearance and social status to perpetrate these atrocities and continue to do so presently.
Yet the fundamental truth is that our lives will become so much more fulfilled if we begin to set aside our fears and prejudices and learn to accept all others for who they really are, rather than who we think they might be.

A life dominated by love and understanding, rather than the present distrust and fear should be the unequivocal goal of all who genuinely seek the true nirvana .


4.

"Too many of us are not living our dreams,
because we are living our fears."

This quotation attributed to the American motivational speaker, Les Brown, has always been one of my favorites. During my many years of medical practice I have had innumerable opportunities to refer to it with my patients to illustrate a fundamental truth.

There is no doubt in my mind that at some time or another we have all fallen victim of failing to achieve our dream because of fear and anxiety. As a result we suffer significant loss and regret. In fact it represents the single most important factor which limits human behavior and compromises the choice of action.
We see it in so many situations; when the child holds back from jumping into the pool, or riding the bicycle or approaching the teacher because of the fear of failure. We also see it when we avoid accepting a challenge or stepping forward to assist because we may falter, or when we fail to comment on a situation to avoid embarrassment or to hurt others. The outcome of all of these inevitably leaves a sense of dissatisfaction and regret.
In the wider picture when we deliberately submerge our deepest desires, hopes and dreams of achieving a goal because of a paralysis of fear or inadequacy, we inevitably suffer pangs of regret and negativity that leave scars and compromise further action, affecting even our psyche.
The answer to this state of mind involves first being honest to yourself and recognize your failing, and then converting this insight into positive action by developing a sense of direction and purpose and acting in faith until confidence is restored.

Without this, we will end up like so many people, drifting hopelessly in the seas of despair subjected to the tides and winds around us and seeking help from anyone and everyone.

FAREWELL TO CLAY, Does anyone really care?

“In life he had nothing: no money, no home, no family.

In death he had a full-dress honor guard,

prayers from a holy man and tears from grateful strangers.

Thomas Allen Clay, a Minnesota native, Vietnam veteran

and man of the streets,

was buried in full military tradition Friday at the South Florida National

Cemetery west of Lake Worth, the area's only veterans cemetery.”

The above caption introduced an excellent article written by the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reporter Robert Nolin in a recent edition of the newspaper*. A well balanced, sensitive and informative article, it dealt with a topic which, as a society, we have been trying to ignore for a very long time but some how continues to grow with each passing year.

Mr. Nolin, in a precise and accurate assessment, described the situation in the following terms:

“Clay represents a larger problem:

One in four homeless people are veterans,

but given the fluidity of their existence, hard figures are elusive.

Estimates of their numbers nation wide, range from 107,000 to 250,000.

Various groups peg Florida's homeless vets at between 8,600 and 19,000.

Whatever the statistics, they are a presence in Florida,

the state with the third largest number of veterans.”

Other authoritative sources have confirmed these statistics in a number of studies. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that in any given night more than 200,000 Homeless Veterans walk the streets. Even the official Government estimates (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs) place the numbers at 131,000 in any given night and approximately twice that number experience homelessness over the course of a year.

Many causes have been ascribed to this abnormally large percentage of the homeless population. Clearly social isolation, unfortunate economic conditions and inadequate housing opportunities all play a major role in its etiology as well as the gross inability of the V. A. system to respond to the enormous demands. But equally important, is society’s ambivalence to the peculiar needs of these unfortunate people and its desire to ignore them by consigning them, and isolating them to its rubbish heaps that is the homeless population.

Some of the causes among returning veterans that have a high correlation with homelessness are Mental Health problems resulting from Post-traumatic Brain Injuries(TBI) or Stress Disorders (PTSD) causing significant impairment in normal function, difficulty in maintaining stable relationship and increased tendency to unstable behavior. In addition the high rates of Alcohol and Drug abuse, the unrealistic multiple combat deployments and the extended separation from family and employment only served to damage the family commitments and encourage conflict after returning. It is no surprise that more than half the homeless veterans find themselves involved with law enforcement. Many of these being the result of reports originating from members of the public who demand that they be put away “for good”. (In this context I am reminded of Willy the Vagrant about whom I previously referenced in a fictional essay, who was banned by the local police from coming for his morning coffee as the result of the complaint of an insensitive mother because he might “act out” in front her child).

There is no question in my mind that Society’s attitude to its homeless veteran population is correlated to the actual conflict that produced these veterans. The veterans of World War II, a popular war that involved the entire population, were far better assimilated and cared for than those of the very unpopular and to some experts, unjustified Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts.

The majority of the older homeless veterans saw active duty in Vietnam, but unfortunately their ranks are rapidly being filled by new “recruits” from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Even more tragically, these include both male and female soldiers with much more serious disabilities and more serious management problems involving children. When this is added to the very large population of very seriously injured veterans who normally would have died from their wounds but who have survived as a result of miraculous advances in medicine, the final picture is mind boggling.

Although we were assured by current Secretary of Veteran Affairs, General Eric K. Shinseki, that “No one who has served the United States in uniform should ever end up living in the streets”, the fact is the V.A. system is so overburdened and underfunded that, with all the best intentions, it is virtually impossible to achieve much more than provide where possible, a full military burial and a grave site in the local National Cemetery. Until then, it would seem that we are committed at best, to continue to treat our veterans in the manner described by General Shinseki himself:

“When I arrived, the homeless program primarily involved engaging veterans

that sleep on the streets and getting them to shelter.
The deeper I dug into it, I realized that it assured that we’d be dealing

with homeless veterans forever, because the system is reactive.
You wait to see who shows up on the streets, you go out and try to encourage them

to leave the streets and provide them safe shelter and warm meals.”

The real truth is that until genuine and serious efforts are made to address the underlying causes of homelessness among veterans, including the reckless commitment of soldiers to unjustified, unwarranted and extended conflicts, this tragedy will continue to plague America’s societies. And people like Clay will continue to live in artificial oblivion, hidden away from the rest of us and upon dying we try to sublimate our guilt by providing a full military burial with a full dress honor guard.
……AS IF CLAY REALLY CARED!



*http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-veteran-funeral-20100924,0,2532974.story

LIVING WITH CHARITY-A Personal View

For as long as man has inhabited the earth Charity has existed. In basic terms it means being loving and caring towards others in need. It exists, to a greater or lesser extent among all peoples and religions, where the provision of alms is embedded in the teachings and practices. It is most extensively developed in the “Abrahamic” religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, where it constitutes a major foundation of belief that its practice “glorifies and pleases God.” The Holy Bible, both the Old and New Testament, and the Talmud contain an abundance of references attesting to the cardinal demand for “Obedience to God and care of the needy.” Islam is equally referenced. In the Koran, charity is referred to as “Zagat” and is considered to be one of the five pillars on which the Muslim faith is based.

In all of us, the concept of charity is deeply engrained as an action that should be admired, respected and emulated and that the charitable practitioner deserves special acknowledgement and recognition for his actions. To some extent, successful people are measured by their attitude in fostering and encouraging charity to others. In the same way, a society that promotes and facilitates charity to the needy, by providing organizations or opportunity to its members to assist in caring and alleviating the needs of the less fortunate is always held in higher regard.

Charity takes many forms and has as many reasons, but in all cases it can only be genuine if the real intention is helping the needy and not for personal aggrandizement. In my experience there is always a very strong underlying emotional component associated with giving that reflects the true personality of the giver and confirms the old adage, “You can always tell a man by how he gives.”

Take for example the case of two of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett , who recently announced their intention to pledge much of their own wealth to charitable causes designed to improve the health and welfare of people worldwide, beginning during their lifetime and continuing on. This decision speaks volumes to the character of these men who, on the one hand, are recognized as strong willed, determined and uncompromising businessmen who will spare nothing to dominate and succeed in the business world, and yet be sensitive enough to recognize the overwhelming good that can be achieved in the welfare of millions of the less fortunate of the world. The difference is even more commendable when this action is compared to those of so many other people who choose to spend their riches on collecting multimillion dollar homes and planes and boats and cars and “wives”, while totally ignoring the rest of the world. The world is full of these people and their names and pictures are prominently displayed in every form of public media and sadly, with public acceptance and adoration.

But men like Gates and Buffett are not unique. They have always been around in every generation as well-meaning philanthropists motivated to give back some of their success by improving the lot of those people in need. The great industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, accepted by many as the first of the great modern philanthropists, in his essay entitled The Gospel of Wealth, recorded his concept “that rich men are trustees of their wealth and should administer it for the good of the public". He spent his life in this pursuit of providing educational opportunities, libraries, schools and universities and in the search for international peace. No surprise that names like Carnegie, Gates and Buffett will live on in the hearts and minds of people the world over, long after the names of so many of their equally successful peers, with their wealth and accompanying “bling”, have been buried into oblivion by“the sands of time.”

The world is full of people who chose to give of themselves and their possessions to help others. They do it voluntarily, often at great personal inconvenience and discomfort, because of a profound desire to give back. I personally hold these people in highest esteem for in my mind they live the true Christian ideals. Consider the very successful Irish entertainer, Bono (Paul Hewson), who has spent his professional life parlaying his fame into a universal campaign to persuade governments worldwide to improve the humanitarian needs of their people. This is but one of the many examples of successful individuals who give their names and their efforts to benefit others. They all deserve our deep-felt gratitude and our respect. Especially when compared with their equally successful “material” peers who prefer to be seen in the latest issues of People Magazine or Vanity Fair, or worse than this, spend their time in a Drunken or Drug induced stupor.

But charity is not solely restricted to successful and well motivated businessmen and is most certainly not reserved to a special group. Every moment of every day in every corner of the world, a charitable event unfurls and someone gives while another benefits. All of these are as important as the organized and supervised programs run by an organization. Real charity begins at home, in our families, in our personal contacts, in our neighborhood and in each life. It is a sacred duty of parents to teach by word and by example, the true value of charity. To me, giving charity however desirable, is a very personal undertaking and reflects the true character of the individual and is much more related to intent rather than content. In this context, I am reminded of the comment of Jesus Christ, contained in the Holy Scripture in Luke 21:1-4:

“He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury;
and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins, and he said,
"Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them;
for they all contributed out of their abundance,
but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had."

Ask yourself, how much better this world would be if each one of us took the time to show love and caring to a fellow human being who needed that one-on-one contact. To quote Louis Armstrong's, one of the greatest entertainers the world has ever seen, conclusion:

“What a wonderful world this will be”.

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And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;
But the greatest of these is Charity.
……I Corinthians 13:13

Charity suffers long, and is kind; Charity envies not;
Charity vaults not itself, is not puffed up.
……. I Corinthians 13:4

Charity, well directed, should begin at home.
……Joaquin Miller

Charity and personal force are the only investments worth anything.
…… Walt Whitman

The practice of Charity will bind us;
It will bind all men in one great brotherhood.
……Conrad Hilton

Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands.
……Joseph Addison

The smallest act of charity shall stand us in great stead.
…..Francis Atterbury

True charity is spontaneous and finds its own occasion;
it is never the offspring of importunity, nor of emulation.
……Hosea Ballou

The Charities of life are scattered everywhere;
Enameling the vales of human beings as the flowers paint the meadows.
They are not the fruit of study, nor the privilege of refinement,
and need no trumpet in the receiver.
……Francis Beaumont

True Charity, a plant divinely nursed.
…..William Cowper
The highest exercise of Charity is charity towards the uncharitable.
…..Joseph Stevens Buckminster

He who receives Charity, should never forget it;
he who does one, should never remember it.
…….Pierre Charron

A rich man without charity is a rogue;
And it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool.
…..Henry Fielding

The man who cannot live with charity, sharing other men's pain,
is punished by feeling his own, with intolerable anguish.

…….Cesare Pavese