Why avoid learning about the story?
I’m not at that “there” either. (The I don't want to go there, there.) I know you probably know I’m not a CNN news junkie jonesin’ for my fix. Or for that matter have morbid fixation on the massacre. I am interested in this affair not the psycho killer, (as the excellent story on NPR reminded me this morning), because if you don’t understand why people live in fear, I believe (among other reasons like mental disorders), then you can’t help them live in peace. That story was so good I sat in my car as my eyes welled up for those students who were murdered as they simply were trying to find some meaning in this weird world we live in.
It took me awhile to find this story; certainly worth a listen.
Nation: Families of Room 211 Survivors Tell Their Story: by David Greene
Then maybe you decide to take up Aikido. Take a look at these Yagyu bokkens.
"The Yagyu bokken is a sword of finesse and evasion. The techniques of the Yagyu Ryu involve moving into positions quickly and lightly. This wooden sword is very thin and fast and not oriented to influencing the path of another weapon through heavy contact. These weapons are shaped to the same specifications as the more expensive hand cut Yagyu bokken but are offered in wood grade levels 3 - 5 and have a more economical sanded finish."
The total cost is actually going to be 85.00 as we need a higher impact wood grade (5).
As we mount offensives on healthcare concerns, stabilizing economies, creating democratic or socialist or representative societies within African countries, the "digital divide" could be a subset of issues addressed to each of these. No longer would we have to wait for crucial medical data to travel weeks if not months to be processed, analyzed and solutions found. Working to decrease the digital divide in these African countries we could be equipping a whole region, nation, village, or the continent with the powerful ability to share vital information and connect people who may never have been connected before in their lifetime. This power: the access to and the sharing of information is the foundational element of success for today and the future. Humanity started it's travel from the African continent this way and it is fitting we return the favor our birth mother. Additionally, with the internet becoming another engine of commerce this could enable poor African countries to leap on the world stage into the era of information technology without having to go through pointless stages like industrialization.
"Insuring that we keep rural America prospering is an important goal for our country...(M)any of the solutions to the challenges we face as a nation can be found in our small towns and rural areas..It's time to create jobs...[and]...renew the promise of rural communities ..."
The Rural Investment to Strengthen our Economy Act (Rural RISE Act) and The School Food Fresh Act promise great actions. While I want to be skepitical saying, "we'll see what happens," this constricting belief coaxes would-be activists into the deadly sleep of apathy; once you are apathetic, you are dead. Easily recongnized those dejected souls, once supporters of these measures, become idle bystanders. Doing so these Acts fail. Then, those souls see the lies they tell themselves become true reality. It truly does not matter if this time around if these acts pass or make an impact. What truly matters is that we do something. The rural US is dying . We hemorrhage towards a slow death through the hearts of our small towns.