Category: Thought’s on World Issues

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Thoughts and ponderings on 10/28/2013


"I Got Mine"

Selfishness, Something we all suffer with and are affected by in one way or another. Being selfish is second nature to human beings, our self-awareness makes it so easy to focus on ourselves and less on those around us. We have to have some actions and thoughts focused solely on ourselves to survive and live  within this world, it  is the lack of selflessness  and love for others that is the main problem. The less we focus on the wellbeing of others the more self-centered and selfish we become. No matter how much we lie to ourselves and believe this world was made just for us alone and that things should be as we alone see as right, the fact that the world is and life is a shared experience can not be denied.

Simply put, we are all in this together and the more we see this truth and work together to have a peaceful existence the better off we all are. Regardless of our differences in culture,beliefs and personal opinions we all are basically the same. We all need food, shelter and decent standard of living to be happy and healthy. Unfortunately the balance of wealth and standards of living are out of whack, so few have far more than they need and so many are left wanting at the roadside of life.  Forcing the wealthy to give up what they have for the sake of others is not the answer, forcing something only causes resentment and leaves them seeking ways around doing so. The best method is trying to change their heart and mindset, help them see the benefits of being charitable and in being compassionate to their fellow humans. Either way you go more than likely the divide between the  haves and have not’s will remain quite large.

We should focus on helping one another and not on who has more to give and who don’t. If enough of us work together to make a change in the balance of wealth and living standards we can make a difference if not start to tip the scales towards a more equal distribution. Even in countries where the governments tend to stand in the way of an equal and balanced standard of living there is hope if the citizens work together. The bottom line is, To change the world we must first change the hearts and mindsets of those in power and those who have the resources. Without that, we still can achieve change but it will be a long and painful road to travel.

War is not an answer to any situation, Diplomacy only works if it is sincere and both sides are willing to sacrifice for the good of the many. Peace is not the result of war but the lack of war.

Raymond Barbier

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Helping those who are unable to help themselves


018 The welfare of ourselves and our fellow human beings is not the responsibility of  the government, we are responsible for our own welfare and the welfare of others. If a brother or sister be unable to care for themselves be due to physical limitations or mental dysfunctions we are to provide as a group help and support for them. Even those who have made poor life choices we are to help, for to be human is to be imperfect and no one can boast about being flawless in character.

One person may not be able to help all those in need, but one person can make a difference for one in need and inspire others to join in on helping those in need.  We were commanded to love one another, part of loving one another is accepting the responsibility of being each others care giver and/or helper. We all have our ways of being able to help each other and it isn’t all about money, sometimes its about fellowship and other times just a place to rest ones head.

To those whom look down upon the needy and less fortunate, just remember that person you passed by and/ or felt contempt for could have been you or one of your family. Many of the homeless were at one time wealthy, successful and even well-respected individuals before they fell to poverty and misfortune. We as a society need to not only help those in need but provide a way for them to help themselves. As an old proverb once said :

”if you give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime. ~ Confucius”

Though Governments can help in feeding the hungry and housing the homeless it is only a temporary and expensive solution. We need to find ways to help those able to provide for themselves to do so and find better and more efficient ways of helping those who are unable to help themselves.

God bless and may love guide us all

Ray Barbier

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The differences we have divide us only because we allow them to.


017Why cant the many religions of the world come to peace with one another? Why must we have hatred for those who either believe different or don’t have a belief? I never could understand how one person could hate another because of their religious beliefs, race or even nation origin. We are all human after all, we all are brought into this world in the same manner and we all leave it in the same state. We all want happiness for ourselves and those we love and we all have the same basic needs to survive. The differences we have divide us only because we allow them to. Our diversity as a species is what has since the dawn of humankind made us a resilient and thriving species. It gave us the ability to survive many climate changes and challenges.

I have had many friends of different religious beliefs and never judged them one way or another because of their beliefs. If I did judge them it was by how they treated me and others around them. We had many disagreements on religious ideals but we didn’t allow them to become a stumbling block in our friendship. Sad thing is even within a religion there can be division in belief and that sometimes even leads to violence within it. Is it the religion that causes this violence and division or is it caused by the darkness within some of those within the religion.

Either way, I will always be one who believes in every persons right to believe as they wish and I will respect what ever choice they make. I also will not turn away anyone as a friend nor anyone in need because of their beliefs.

I know how I believe and how I chose to be may not be popular and may be looked down on by some in my religion and in others as well, but It is how my heart tells me to be and that’s what I choose.

Ray Barbier

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The ravings of a wishful thinker.


006 (2)Sometime I Just sit and think about random things and events in history, sometimes I am brought to tears over the cruelty humanity has committed against each other. Other times I cry tears of joy over the amazing and wondrous things humanity has done together and for the common good. How a species so capable of such grand things such as love, compassion and fellowship could also do such horrible things as well. Even as individuals we do both amazing and horrible things within our life.

We could be such a wondrous and amazing species if we learn to put aside and control our darker natures. If we focus more on humanity as a whole instead of our individual wants and needs. We can have both individuality and be a part of the global community. We can find balance between personal wants and needs and the needs and wants of the whole of humanity. We don’t need one government, we need to be of one heart and of one mind. We need to see that we all want happiness, peace and love for ourselves and those within our family. Maybe if we realize we all are one great big family we could begin to work together for the good of humanity instead of against each other for the good of one part.

I am not speaking of Communism or Socialism, I am speaking of Humanitarianism and common sense. Freely helping one another to survive and live in peace and in happiness.  A pipe dream, a utopian idealism or just the ravings of a wishful thinker. Either way it could be a better world if we all worked together to make it so.

Ray Barbier

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Why is being right more important than doing the right thing?


IMG_1077Sometime we tend to be our own worst enemy, we get wrapped up in what we think we want and neglect what we truly need. This seems to be the dilemma of humanity.  We are social creatures for the most art but it seems we have become more focused on our individuality than the group, clan or community. We forgot how to care and be part of a community and to work together. It’s all about taking care of ourselves and our own instead of we are all a part of an extended family. It’s all good to be an individual and to express such, but not at the expense of  loosing our connection from the great family of humanity.

We allow politics, religion, race, culture and many other things get in the way of being the great creation God made us to be. We as a species are capable of doing such good and amazing things when we work together and put our differences aside. We are all basically the same, we all really want peace, love and happiness for ourselves, our family and especially for our children. Why cant that be enough of a motive for us to be civilized and mature enough to be at peace with one another and learn to work together to make this world a better place for everyone? Why is greed more important than your neighbor or the poor guy begging for his next meal? Why is being right more important than doing the right thing?

It is far better to be poor and have your next meal than to be rich and want for nothing, for without anything to aspire for there is little to enjoy. It is far more important to do the right thing than to worry about who is right or wrong. For doing the right thing is being in the right and worrying about who is right or not is such a waste of time and energy.

Raymond Barbier

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Put our minds and hearts together


English: Poverty Русский: Нищенство

Between Mass media and the world-wide web it seems we are becoming a global minded society. Nothing wrong with being global minded as long as we never forget we live in our own small community as well. If we keep our minds distracted with the news of overseas conflicts and international problems we tend to forget the problems we face in our home towns. We should start at home when it comes to helping the needy, impoverished and those who can not fend for themselves. Though I fully support helping the less fortunate on a global scale as well I believe our hometowns should be our first priority. There are hungry, homeless, handicapped and many who can not do for themselves in every town and city in our great nation. Food stamps, welfare are good as temporary solutions in helping those who are able to work and is the right idea for those who are truly physically or mentally incapable of working.

We need to focus on offering those able to work training to do jobs and also offer them state and/or federal jobs doing community service. At least they will be on the right track back to being independent and self efficient individual. Most of those who are on some kind of governmental assistance usually prefers to work for their living but find it hard to get a job which pays enough to support themselves or their family. So if we offered them training and/or a job with the government doing something constructive for their money they would gladly accept one if not both options.

In the Appalachian region a lot of coal miners are finding themselves unemployed due to the greener America movement and the lack of permits being issued for mining. The idea of greener technologies and alternative energies is a great idea, but if you get a greener America at the cost of the jobs of Americans then how will that be a better America? We need to bring in more industries and jobs into the region and retrain coal miners to do the new jobs before we start forcing coal mining to shut down.  It doesn’t only affect the coal miners and their families it affects the whole community and the communities surrounding it. Food stores, shopping malls, restaurants and many small business will get hit hard by the loss of coal mining jobs. They rely on the coal miners for their income and business.

This is just some of the issues happening here in our own back yard and for some their front yard as well. It is time for communities to start coming together as a community and start dealing with the problems here at home. Together we can overcome any challenge as long as we put our minds and hearts together . Turn off that television, radio, mp3 player and any  other time-consuming distraction device  and tune in to what is going on in your own town for a day. Take a little time to help out your neighbors and your fellow citizens and see how just a little help can go a long way.

Ray Barbier

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No matter who wins


Washington State Capitol - Olympia_1549a

It’s that time again, presidential election season. The time that all the major networks both on air and cable seem to be obsessed with the upcoming elections. So much spin, lies and words taken out of context it is hard to know what lie to believe next. I would love to see just one time a real campaign based on the issues and not on the misleading advertisements against the other candidate. Too little emphasis on fixing the problems and being truthful in modern politics and way too much mud-slinging and word bending. The last 20 years of politics has me sick to my stomach, not saying we didn’t have a few good presidents or even a congress that at one time would work for the good of the citizens, just that there is less reality in Washington politics than in a science fiction novel. They really need to get off of the mud-slinging and twisting of words and get down to the bare facts about the true issues at hand. No matter who wins this upcoming election, my hope is that the congress will get a grip and start working together on the problems our country faces and stops playing around with their party based agendas. Well God help us in 2013 and beyond, for I feel we will need all the help and blessings we can get if the congress continues to be like it has for the last 4+ years.

Ray Barbier

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Compassion, love , kindheartedness and fellowship are the keys


012Sometimes words flow like a waterfall from mind to fingertips and other times  they trickle or even stop flowing. Sometimes I know what to write other times I just wing it as I type out the words. I do not get any monetary gain from my writing but I get great satisfaction when someone reads my posts and/ or likes them. Writing is therapeutic and is a path to self discovery and has proven to help reduce stress. I am happy just to write a post from my heart for free . So if my post is incorrect or if you disagree with it I welcome your comments, criticisms and compliments as well. For it is all a learning process to me and one I pray will never end.

I am a Christian but I support the right for everyone to choose their own spiritual path in life. For we all must make our own choices when it comes to religion and I believe we all have the right to follow the religion and/or doctrine of our choice. I do not let the differences in beliefs sway me from making friends and sharing ideas. I support change but I do not support violence as a catalyst to change. I understand sometimes there is no other choice other than violence but I believe it should always be the very last option on the table. I believe we are here to learn how to live together in peace and also to learn how to love one another unconditionally. Compassion, love , kindheartedness and fellowship are the keys to a brighter and better world.

Sometimes Random thoughts contain facets of truth and wisdom if one can read between the lines.

Ray Barbier

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution By license.
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People relied on themselves and each other to survive


This image was selected as a picture of the we...

For the most of us the issue today is survival, how to survive on the income we have in an economy that is hostile to the working mans wallet. Food prices keep rising, the job market is pretty stagnant and business are cutting hours if not jobs. We can not rely on our government to save us or to fix the problems. Big business can only fix the employment issues and we are the only ones that will save our selves. We can learn how to make money stretch, grow our own food and trim the fat from our financial lives from our grandparents and great-grandparents. Some of them lived through the great depression and a world war, times were very tough back then and people relied on themselves and each other to survive.

Our economy is based on consumerism, yet the companies cut pay, jobs and send work over seas. How can Americans be consumers without money or a job? The corporations are cutting their nose off spite their face, they want to save money to make higher profits but they take away the consumers jobs and money that supply the profits. So I say lets start growing gardens, raising livestock and making due with less of the products from the companies that ship work across the oceans and who are cutting wages, benefits and jobs to Americans. I understand it is a global economy now days more so than just a national one, but if you neglect those whom helped you to get rich they will eventually wise up and stop supporting you and / or purchasing your products and services.

Maybe we need to start going back to a bartering system between us working folk and keep our unessential purchases to a minimum. Maybe then the big corporations will learn that the working class and the impoverished are not to be messed with or taken for granted.

Self-reliance, community and co-operation are the things that built the great cities and nations of our world.

Ray Barbier

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution By license.
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The transition between traditional and green energy tech


© Guerito 2005

It amazes me, with the technological level of present day that we are still using carbon based fuels. You would think by now solar, wind and hydropower technologies would have advanced enough to become our primary sources of energy. Though I believe a lot of the problem is the greed of the corporations that supply the carbon based fuels, they can not monopolize the sun, wind or water and can not make enough profit off of such abundant and renewable energy sources. Unfortunately greed and the lust of power still plagues our world in both the private and governmental sectors. I understand the need for profit, but not at the expense of the earth or the species that live on it.

English: PS20 and PS10 in Andalusia, Spain

If our president wants to make a change towards greener energies then let us invest in the current technologies and help advance them to the point of making them more efficient. Solar power is one of the most promising energy technologies we have, if we can improve the percentage of the sun’s power we can harvest with solar panels from approximately 7% to around 25% or 30% it could make solar the best choice for green energy. Combine solar, wind and hydropower and we could cut down or eliminate the need for less eco-friendly energy sources. One of the downsides of going green is it will eliminate the need for coal as a main fuel source in generating energy which in turn will put countless coal miners out of work along with many small businesses that rely on the coal industry and its workers for an income. So if we are going to move towards greener technologies we must remember to put the industries involved in green tech creation in the areas that rely on coal as an economical source in order to supply new jobs for those that will be lost.

Coal

In the end we will either have to go green tech or alternative energy tech of some sort because there is only so much coal, oil and natural gas on this planet.  I just hope we remember the people who will be negatively affected by the closing of coal mines and other industries during the transitional period. If we cause economical distress during the transition between traditional and green energy tech we will do more harm than good. Until solar, wind and hydropower technologies are advanced enough to replace our present power sources we need to at least invest in clean coal technologies in order to make our energy creation more earth friendly.

Just a few thoughts on the problems at hand..

Ray Barbier

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution By license.
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