Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Pearls

Exactly sixty-nine years ago today, Japan launched its attack on Pearl Harbor. And yet you don't hear about it on the news (not that it's exactly new), you don't hear about it in history class, and you probably didn't know about it at all unless you, like me, are a frequenter of this.
It was sixty-nine years ago, and if you look at all of time, you could even say 69 short years ago, and yet already we are forgetting. If we forget, will we be forced to remember? I find it disgraceful that whenever I tried talking to people about this today, they changed the subject to the Beatles, and I think that if we don't confront history, it can only mean the worst.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

nations unies

I've written a lot on here - okay, three posts - about threats to peace, but this is going to be about peace.
The UN was founded after the second world war, with the hope that this alliance between many countries - all but 2 - could prevent any more gigantically huge wars. So far, it has. The United Nations has also declared numerous lists of rights for different groups, and with Canada having signed the Universal Declaration of Indigenous Rights last month, things are looking up.
So click here to find out more about the inspiring projects that the UN has, and while you're at it, check out UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that has planted the same threads of hope in children as the UN has in all beings.
There is hope.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Differences

"While there is no cure for their condition [Asperger's Syndrome]..." *
There is no known cure for neurotypicals, either. If it is not vital that someone change, leave them at who they are. Just because someone is different from you, even if someone is different from 99% of the world's population, it doesn't mean they are "wrong." If they want to change, or if it is life-threatening, only then does this "cure" actually mean something. Cures are meant to heal ails, not to force people away from who they truly are. And while people on the autism spectrum are in the minority, does this mean that we need to convince them that they are bad, wrong, and evil for being who they are? Even for being different? When you think of the world as a whole, everybody is unique. And nobody should be forced to suffocate under a mountain of  labels.


*http://www.suite101.com/content/20-facts-about-aspergers-syndrome-in-children-a105421

Sunday, November 28, 2010

north versus south

What was North Korea trying to do? Get attention? Show everybody that they can be tough? Because firing an attack was a little too... strong, guys.
Two South Korean marines and two South Korean civilians were killed in North Korea's most recent attack, which is claimed as a reaction to the South Korean militia drills. But they do this every day. They practice every day, and suddenly -
I don't know all the story; I highly doubt that anybody does, even the military on both sides. I do have to say, though, that I think that this was a little bit too extreme.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Why?

You've read about them in adventure novels, you've seen them on TV : people embarking on daring quests to cut the villains' lifelines. You've loved the thrill.
But when it comes right down to it, when you see people with the "real" equivalent of a lifeline - breathing or feeding tube - you're scared. Scared of what keeps them alive.
 People give these people wide berths and stare or make a point of looking away. Why? Because people with disabilities are The Unknown. The minorities.
Give them a chance. For all that they have been through, are going through, and will go through, they deserve it.

"A smile is the beginning of peace." - Mother Teresa