The year that I graduated from Corpus Christi Grammar School in Chicago, my best friend, Jimmy, told me that he was going to attend high school at Hales Franciscan High School.
Yes. And there are a good number of such videos where a journalist will ask a passersby, in the streets, such questions. In another video, when a journalists asked a passerby, "Where is Ukraine," the passerby responded, "Isn't it in Texas?" 😊 I kid you not. Of course, it's not really funny. It's exactly as you said: shocking. And it helps explains how our government leaders are literally able to get away with murder.
They could not do that during the Vietnam era, because we citizens didn't stand for it. But, back then--and without the existence of The Internet--we discovered the crimes our government was committing in Vietnam, and we rebelled. These days, people are oblivious--only concerned about THEIR day to day survival. The times have changed.
You are so right, the US administration is exploiting the ignorance of many American citizens. I would say that people's struggle for survival does not fully explain this problem - plenty of them do find the time to read and watch all kinds of stupid things online... I have noticed that most of the people in the video seemed to be very young: these are not people struggling to feed their families (though of course I realize that there are very young Americans who live in poverty).
Lots of young people probably assume that they don't have to learn anything about the world and even about their own country because "one can Google everything". When I worked as an academic lecturer, I was shocked by how lazy many of my students were... The young women from the video must think that it is much more important to learn about make-up and fashion than to learn some basic geography.
There is a horrifying dumbing down of Western societies, not only the American one, though it seems to take an extreme form in the US!
Oh, yes, that is a good point. The Internet age has its pluses and minuses. I remember when Wikipedia first appeared. An educator would warn her students on the first day of class: "Do not use Wikipedia when you research for your reports in this class! I want you to use the library and perform independent research."
Another thing I've been thinking about is that America is a victim of its material success. I once worked at Sherwood Conservatory of Music. The receptionist described herself as "poor." We once got into a conversation, and she told me that she had a television in every single room of her apartment, including the bathroom. POOR??
We have become too comfortable. And that is a sign of success, yes. But, when observing how very little attention the average American pays to serious matters, it seems to be a valid conclusion that, since even "poor" people have all their basic needs met (and more), they do not possess the incentive to reach beyond the mundane.
I do not wish to sound morose. But, I think we are reaching the end of our civilization.
Yes, so many students seem to have forgotten that libraries exist and that even online one can find reliable sources of knowledge - academic articles etc. (many of them in open access).
I totally agree with you that material well-being seems to make many people unwilling to make any intellectual or other effort. It is striking that this receptionist claimed that she was "poor" - I think that plenty of Westerners don't even understand what real poverty is...
I personally think that the popularity of instant gratification - from fast food to Tinder hook-ups - speaks volumes about today's Western culture. As it seems, many people want to get everything immediately, without any effort. This can largely explain why so many don't seem to be able to control their own emotions. Of course it must also be linked to children's upbringing - it seems that many children are taught to be demanding and selfish by their parents.
By the way, I was watching this BBC video about a Ukrainian city under Russian shelling. One of the residents is saying: "Before the war, we were not very religious", but now "people start to believe in God". He was showing to the reporter sacred images in the corner of the cellar where a group of people was hiding. The video is here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63730419
This phenomenon of people who "start to believe in God" because of their experiences is fascinating and says so much about human beings! As it seems, in Western countries life has become so easy for many people that they don't have any spiritual or religious needs.
Whenever I visit my mum in Scotland, I am shocked by how easy, peaceful and well-ordered everyday life seems there - even the poor are used to getting their own council houses, bus tickets are free for people over 60 and under 22, medications prescribed by doctors are free for everyone etc. - and the locals seem to take everything for granted! People there don't seem to have any real fears apart from the fear of getting cancer or some other horrible disease.
Yes, like you I think that we are probably reaching the end of our civilization, but hopefully it is going to be replaced by something better. Other cultures have not turned their backs to religion and spirituality in the way Western Europe and many Americans have...
Once, I visited the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Dayton, along with other Ahmadi Muslims. We were there for a regional "Ijtima," like a regional convention.
At one point, a group of us, including the regional Ahmadi Missionary-in Charge, Mian Muhammad Ibrahim, were standing on the steps of the Mosque just talking and relaxing. At one point, Ibrahim decided to walk to the street intersection at the end of the block.
He stood there for about a half hour, just watching the passersby walking. Eventually, he came back to the porch, and said, "Excuse me, but you brothers were telling me that this neighborhood is a poor neighborhood. But, everybody that I saw walking down the streets was FAT." 😊
Then he said, "Let me tell you what REAL poverty is: In India, sometimes the government will begin a project to install a sewer system in part of a city. It will have huge pipes delivered to the area where the ground will be dug up and those huge sewer pipes will be lowered under the earth.
"But, sometimes, the government of India will run out of money for that project. So, those pipes will remain on the surface of the ground until more money for the project is raised.
"Well, a poor family will see those pipes and make those pipes their home. That's how big those pipes are. They will take what little furniture they have and move into a pipe. If the pipe is very long, they will divide the inner space of the pipe into two sections, using some kind of partition, so that another family can have a home, inside the pipe, on the other side of the partition that they used to divide the space inside the pipe into two parts.. Brothers, THAT is REAL poverty." 😁 True story.
Regarding belief in God and disbelief in God: My best friend--friends' since childhood--was an atheist. Once, someone we knew died. So he picked me up so that we could go to the funeral. He was also a smart-mouthed guy, but I was used to that because he was very funny.
Anyway, he knew that I believed in God. So, as we were driving to the funeral, he was being smart-mouthed, and saying things about God in a nasty way. It actually didn't bother me, because that's just how Ralph was. I'd known him since we both were 5 years old.
Anyway, he was driving and somehow wasn't paying proper attention. As such, when he came to an intersection, driving north to south, another car was crossing the intersection driving west to east. Somehow, neither one of us had seen the car coming.
Suddenly, Ralph hollered, "OH MY GOD!!!!" and slammed on the breaks. Luckily, we missed hitting that car by a hair. As we drove on, after the car passed, we both were quiet for a while. Then, after a while, he said, "Okay, go on and get your laugh out!!" 😊 And I did. And I RUBBED IT IN HIS FACE that he, this "atheist," had called on GOD in that moment of fear. I teased him all the way to the funeral.
It's like that Ukrainian you mentioned who suddenly found God. That definitely happens, sometimes, when people are frightened for their lives.
Your story about your atheist friend made me smile :) Yes, it is very true that even atheists often call on God when they are frightened! Of course many of them would say that shouting "Oh my God" does not mean anything - and it is true that it does not change a person's life... However, these Ukrainians seem to have truly returned to religion.
You are right, these poor Indians living inside pipes experience poverty unimaginable to most Americans. As to the fat people in poor American neighbourhoods - well, I have read so many times that many people in America have limited access to nutritious food because they live in so-called food deserts, but of course it does not fully explain the obesity problem... I am sure that many people have bad habits, like frequently eating fast food or drinking stuff with a huge amount of sugar inside. And there is clearly not enough knowledge about the importance of healthy food...
One does not have to be well-off to eat healthily - I find it frustrating that lots of "experts" imply that the poor in the West can't afford healthy food! Of course it is not surprising - such "experts" love portraying the poor as helpless victims instead of offering realistic solutions for those who don't have much money, but care about their and their families' health.
The video is shocking!
Yes. And there are a good number of such videos where a journalist will ask a passersby, in the streets, such questions. In another video, when a journalists asked a passerby, "Where is Ukraine," the passerby responded, "Isn't it in Texas?" 😊 I kid you not. Of course, it's not really funny. It's exactly as you said: shocking. And it helps explains how our government leaders are literally able to get away with murder.
They could not do that during the Vietnam era, because we citizens didn't stand for it. But, back then--and without the existence of The Internet--we discovered the crimes our government was committing in Vietnam, and we rebelled. These days, people are oblivious--only concerned about THEIR day to day survival. The times have changed.
You are so right, the US administration is exploiting the ignorance of many American citizens. I would say that people's struggle for survival does not fully explain this problem - plenty of them do find the time to read and watch all kinds of stupid things online... I have noticed that most of the people in the video seemed to be very young: these are not people struggling to feed their families (though of course I realize that there are very young Americans who live in poverty).
Lots of young people probably assume that they don't have to learn anything about the world and even about their own country because "one can Google everything". When I worked as an academic lecturer, I was shocked by how lazy many of my students were... The young women from the video must think that it is much more important to learn about make-up and fashion than to learn some basic geography.
There is a horrifying dumbing down of Western societies, not only the American one, though it seems to take an extreme form in the US!
Oh, yes, that is a good point. The Internet age has its pluses and minuses. I remember when Wikipedia first appeared. An educator would warn her students on the first day of class: "Do not use Wikipedia when you research for your reports in this class! I want you to use the library and perform independent research."
Another thing I've been thinking about is that America is a victim of its material success. I once worked at Sherwood Conservatory of Music. The receptionist described herself as "poor." We once got into a conversation, and she told me that she had a television in every single room of her apartment, including the bathroom. POOR??
We have become too comfortable. And that is a sign of success, yes. But, when observing how very little attention the average American pays to serious matters, it seems to be a valid conclusion that, since even "poor" people have all their basic needs met (and more), they do not possess the incentive to reach beyond the mundane.
I do not wish to sound morose. But, I think we are reaching the end of our civilization.
Yes, so many students seem to have forgotten that libraries exist and that even online one can find reliable sources of knowledge - academic articles etc. (many of them in open access).
I totally agree with you that material well-being seems to make many people unwilling to make any intellectual or other effort. It is striking that this receptionist claimed that she was "poor" - I think that plenty of Westerners don't even understand what real poverty is...
I personally think that the popularity of instant gratification - from fast food to Tinder hook-ups - speaks volumes about today's Western culture. As it seems, many people want to get everything immediately, without any effort. This can largely explain why so many don't seem to be able to control their own emotions. Of course it must also be linked to children's upbringing - it seems that many children are taught to be demanding and selfish by their parents.
By the way, I was watching this BBC video about a Ukrainian city under Russian shelling. One of the residents is saying: "Before the war, we were not very religious", but now "people start to believe in God". He was showing to the reporter sacred images in the corner of the cellar where a group of people was hiding. The video is here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63730419
This phenomenon of people who "start to believe in God" because of their experiences is fascinating and says so much about human beings! As it seems, in Western countries life has become so easy for many people that they don't have any spiritual or religious needs.
Whenever I visit my mum in Scotland, I am shocked by how easy, peaceful and well-ordered everyday life seems there - even the poor are used to getting their own council houses, bus tickets are free for people over 60 and under 22, medications prescribed by doctors are free for everyone etc. - and the locals seem to take everything for granted! People there don't seem to have any real fears apart from the fear of getting cancer or some other horrible disease.
Yes, like you I think that we are probably reaching the end of our civilization, but hopefully it is going to be replaced by something better. Other cultures have not turned their backs to religion and spirituality in the way Western Europe and many Americans have...
Once, I visited the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Dayton, along with other Ahmadi Muslims. We were there for a regional "Ijtima," like a regional convention.
At one point, a group of us, including the regional Ahmadi Missionary-in Charge, Mian Muhammad Ibrahim, were standing on the steps of the Mosque just talking and relaxing. At one point, Ibrahim decided to walk to the street intersection at the end of the block.
He stood there for about a half hour, just watching the passersby walking. Eventually, he came back to the porch, and said, "Excuse me, but you brothers were telling me that this neighborhood is a poor neighborhood. But, everybody that I saw walking down the streets was FAT." 😊
Then he said, "Let me tell you what REAL poverty is: In India, sometimes the government will begin a project to install a sewer system in part of a city. It will have huge pipes delivered to the area where the ground will be dug up and those huge sewer pipes will be lowered under the earth.
"But, sometimes, the government of India will run out of money for that project. So, those pipes will remain on the surface of the ground until more money for the project is raised.
"Well, a poor family will see those pipes and make those pipes their home. That's how big those pipes are. They will take what little furniture they have and move into a pipe. If the pipe is very long, they will divide the inner space of the pipe into two sections, using some kind of partition, so that another family can have a home, inside the pipe, on the other side of the partition that they used to divide the space inside the pipe into two parts.. Brothers, THAT is REAL poverty." 😁 True story.
Regarding belief in God and disbelief in God: My best friend--friends' since childhood--was an atheist. Once, someone we knew died. So he picked me up so that we could go to the funeral. He was also a smart-mouthed guy, but I was used to that because he was very funny.
Anyway, he knew that I believed in God. So, as we were driving to the funeral, he was being smart-mouthed, and saying things about God in a nasty way. It actually didn't bother me, because that's just how Ralph was. I'd known him since we both were 5 years old.
Anyway, he was driving and somehow wasn't paying proper attention. As such, when he came to an intersection, driving north to south, another car was crossing the intersection driving west to east. Somehow, neither one of us had seen the car coming.
Suddenly, Ralph hollered, "OH MY GOD!!!!" and slammed on the breaks. Luckily, we missed hitting that car by a hair. As we drove on, after the car passed, we both were quiet for a while. Then, after a while, he said, "Okay, go on and get your laugh out!!" 😊 And I did. And I RUBBED IT IN HIS FACE that he, this "atheist," had called on GOD in that moment of fear. I teased him all the way to the funeral.
It's like that Ukrainian you mentioned who suddenly found God. That definitely happens, sometimes, when people are frightened for their lives.
Your story about your atheist friend made me smile :) Yes, it is very true that even atheists often call on God when they are frightened! Of course many of them would say that shouting "Oh my God" does not mean anything - and it is true that it does not change a person's life... However, these Ukrainians seem to have truly returned to religion.
You are right, these poor Indians living inside pipes experience poverty unimaginable to most Americans. As to the fat people in poor American neighbourhoods - well, I have read so many times that many people in America have limited access to nutritious food because they live in so-called food deserts, but of course it does not fully explain the obesity problem... I am sure that many people have bad habits, like frequently eating fast food or drinking stuff with a huge amount of sugar inside. And there is clearly not enough knowledge about the importance of healthy food...
One does not have to be well-off to eat healthily - I find it frustrating that lots of "experts" imply that the poor in the West can't afford healthy food! Of course it is not surprising - such "experts" love portraying the poor as helpless victims instead of offering realistic solutions for those who don't have much money, but care about their and their families' health.