Hi Gustl ;
> It is my sincere hope that given the internet and
> the possibility of
> communicating with others in other countries that
> we come to realize
> that people in general all want the same thing for
> themselves which is
> peace and enough. Enough food, shelter, work,
> friendship, safety.
> There are those few at the top who want it all and
> they are the ones
> who manipulate the rest for their own ends.
People get the government they deserve. You know here
in Thailand there is a king. The Thai people really
love their king. The winner of the first ever Olympic
gold medal for Thailand returned home and gave the
medal to the king! Now I understand why. Having
grown up in America, the concept of royalty was quite
foreign to me. I was brought up to believe separation
of powers, democracy, etc. OF COURSE was the best way.
Now I'm not so sure anymore. There is a parliament
here, but when I see all the machinations, the king
is by far the best of all of them.
> If we pay attention we can see this.
Yes, a big IF.
> If we don't then things will not
> change. The blame
> game is not the best thing for us to be
> playing.
I hope it never appeared like I was blaming anyone.
> It is better to
> recognize that every country has its good and bad
> points, its faults
> and its advantages. No country has the market
> cornered on good or
> evil.
Correct. Not only that, but you never really know the
real story anyway after the media spins it for you.
In the case we were discussing, there were huge
differences in the Chinese and US news accounts. It
is quite useless and counterproductive to form strong
opinions on bs. Normally I try to reject both sides
and just say "Stop fighting!".
> When I was in the military I was in Naples,
> Italy and there was a
> certain section of town which was off limits
> because it was a
> Communist stronghold and both the Italian and US
> authorities thought
> it would be "dangerous" for a US serviceman to go
> there. Of course I
> went there straight away. I sat down in a bar
> and ordered beer and
> the "commies" came up and started talking to me. At
> first they were a
> bit cautious and hostile and we certainly had
> different views of how
> the world should be run but we found common
> ground on what we all
> wanted which was peace and enough. When the
> Italian police and US
> military police found out there was a serviceman
> in the place they
> tried to come in and take me out and arrest me but
> my "enemies", the
> "commies" refused them admittance and hustled me
> out the back door to
> another place where we continued our
> conversation undisturbed. No
> minds were changed that day when it came to
> politics but a mutual
> understanding and respect was achieved without
> violence and without
> strife. It is possible.
What an excellent story!! Quite unusual for people to
buck the norm like you did. A Thai company has set up
a living area for some Cambodia migrant workers behind
my house. The Thai people near me are all alarmed. I
have a 6 year old daughter, and I routinely let her
stay at the poorest Cambodia house in the
neighborhood, a small one room wood shack with a tin
roof. The lady there has two daughters about the same
age as my daughter. The Thai people say it is
dangerous and think I am crazy and a bad father. Oh
well. I try to teach be example, but it ain't easy..
Are we all the same? Yes of course. Do we want the
same things, peace, enough to eat, decent work? Yes
of course. Is this enough to change the world? I
never miss an opportunity to try, but I don't bet on
it. This is only my opinion. Nothing personal.
>
> I have seen how far this list has come from a year
> ago and am amazed
> and impressed. We have had our disagreements and
> not everyone thinks
> the same but with reason and tolerance we have
> become a pretty good
> family unit I think. Those who have sought
> to disrupt the list
> because of their own self interests and beliefs are
> gone in the main.
> Those of us left are civil, tolerant and
> reasonable in the main. We
> still have a ways to go but then we are always going
> to have a ways to
> go. Perfection doesn't seem destined for this
> world but that doesn't
> mean we should stop trying. If our
> governments, militaries and
> economic entities want to play at division let the
> common people play
> at peace and cooperation. Much has been achieved
> with more to follow.
> There is always hope for change.
Yes there is!!
Best Regards and Happy New Year!!,
Peter G.
Thailand
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