GOOD OLD GREED

There's a lot of talk from our administration about greed, especially of the greedy big rich guys; the big greedy oil companies, mega-banks and insurance agencies and we could go on and on! Are these guys actually greedy? You bet!

We all know that wealthy big business tycoons don't give a damn about us as individuals, no love lost here ... however, corporately, 'we' represent profit so we do matter. "We" matter a lot.

What is Capitalism? Capitalism is simply greed under control! Ahh, the struggle of limiting unlimited power. The very energy essential to capitalism is 'greed', that's why it's been so successful! Capitalism utilizes the greed each of us has, and make no mistake we each have greed within us.

Greed is an obsession that's common to all of us. It's inherent in human nature, knows no bounds. Human Race? The energy of the race is greed!

The only thing that will satisfy greed is ... 'more!'
For some reason the greed most of us talk about is the greed for money. Let's take another look! What about greed for popularity, celebrity, control or power! Power being the ultimate greed!

I can't understand why our leadership is so blind. For some reason they don't see, or maybe won't see, that 'government' has just as much greed and corruption working in it's bureaucracy as the 'public sector' has in it's corporate structure. That's a given, look at history!

Where there are humans, rich or poor, there is the potential for greed.

The Administration believes that our greedy and corrupt Government bureaucracy should become, of all things, a 'watchdog' over the greedy and corrupt public sector?

Who's kidding who? Sounds like a power grab to many of us.

The one overlooked factor that swings in favor of the Public Sector, and the one thing we can't deny, is that in the Public Sector is where we find efficiency ... never do we find efficiency in the labyrinth of government bureaucracy.

Conclusion.

Government should stick to governing! The Government has no business getting in business.

FACES

As I study the faces of kids here in the U.S. and compare them to the faces of my many kids in the poorer areas of Tijuana. I find a very visible contrast; an unsettling contrast. The expression on the faces of American kids seem to read dull, sullen and unhappy ... almost like the adults they're trying to emulate.

Contrast that with the honest and animated face of boy-hood joy!

I guess I mean to say that our U.S. kids don't act like kids. Boyhood fun today is a kid quietly sitting scrunched up in a corner playing with his little joy stick, vicariously playing out his life using an electronic game. He can be a successful criminal, boxer, a soldier or sports hero ... just a few dollars more and he can enter a new and different world of challenge.

What happened?

That's a good question; a more important question is how long has this movement into the vicarious been happening? Weak chubby little American boys with that electronic stare already on their faces. Their fast moving little fingers bring them victory in fighting the unreal.

In my Mexico, where progress and technology are simply two words found in a Western dictionary somewhere, the kids show a youthful excitement, curiosity and joy of life. Happy-go-lucky bundles of boundless energy. You'll find them spinning tops or playing marbles. Kids happily pushing old four wheel carts, riding crippled tricycles. Wow! That's fun.



Even the poorest of kids in Mexico are a happy, energetic and noisy bunch. Why? They're normal kids; outdoor kids and as kids they are happy.

And they don't have our technology ... yet!

On the northern side of the border while our wealthy and sophisticated little American kids are busy staring into their addicting screens, our young teens are busy Googling out the forbidden fruits of 'Adulthood' ... Adult shows, books, magazines, toys, games, parties, language ... teens way too young to know that there is no meaningful purpose in hedonistic pleasure.

Where has the simple joy, freedom and happiness of youth gone?

Is anyone really paying attention as to the direction in which our technology is taking us? Our youth have got technology, or worse, maybe our ever addicting technology has them.

A bad scenario.

PEPE'S NEW FRIEND

Roberto's home tragically exploded the other day and he ended up as one of the flying pieces. He had two choices, the street or an orphanage. It's hard to explain to a sobbing twelve year old what happened and why it happened. I reminded him what happens to young kids who try to make it on the street. He, like most kids in the neighborhood, knows the facts of Tijuana life.

As we were settling him in an orphanage located near little crippled Pepe's house, I asked him if he would like to take a side trip and go with me to visit Pepe. I thought seeing Pepe and his condition might temporarily take the sting from Roberto's own world of problems.

He agreed and wanted to see him.

Pepe was excited to see us, especially me as I always give him a little Hotwheels car. The two new friends got along great, soon they were happily playing 'cars' together. Just two boys having fun.

Pepe became thirsty so I asked Roberto to give him a drink of water. Roberto looked at me puzzled and then realized the situation, Pepe can't feed himself. He found a glass, walked over to the bottle of water and poured some water in the glass, placing a straw in the glass he walked back to Pepe. Roberto had to hold up the glass of water so Pepe could drink. It was sort of neat to see this.

As we left Pepe's house I asked Roberto how he felt there with Pepe. "I like him, he's fun, I want to come back, he's my friend." "Roberto, did you forget about your problems while you were playing with him?"... He thought for a moment. "Yeah, I forgot all about my problems ..."

An interesting sight. Roberto the rejected, helping Pepe the cripple.



One way we can forget our own problems, is by getting involved helping others through their problems.

PTL POWER-ASSIST!

I stopped my car one night in Pana to leave one of the kids at his home. When I got back in and tried to start my car I found the battery dead; real dead!

The wrong time and the wrong place for an old Gringo to break down.

Seeing I had no battery, some men a few houses down opened a big steel door and motioned me in to their tire shop. I really had no options at that point so I went for it.

As I was on a down hill slope, I put my car in neutral and proceeded to coast into the shop. I was in for a surprise! No 'power-assist'. I forgot about the 'power-assist' and as rolled down I found it nearly impossible to brake! Hard to even slow down, then I tried the steering, wow! Surprise! I could hardly steer the car into the shop, and harder still to stop!

I put everything I had into it. I barely made it into the shop; I barely stopped.

There was a neat lesson in all of this.

In our every day driving, we're used to 'power-assist.' We simply expect it and never give it a second thought! However, when our power goes off, as it sometimes does, we end up on our own strength ... without 'power-assist.' The situation can become a dangerous moment, almost impossible to steer and brake. It turns to a physical issue. Our weakness is apparent.

Now that I'm older, I think of my body as a temporary vehicle used to haul me around. Actually, isn't that what our bodies are? My body is the temporary vehicle of my eternal soul, hard to manage, hard to steer in a good direction and harder still to break from passions.

Come to think of it, I was born with out 'power-assist'. Fortunately God makes it available.

Thank God, as a Christian I have God's Divine 'power-assist'! And if I lose that power, well ...

God help me to keep the power on!

See A BAD BATTERY.