Doing Something

This is an older story, but I came across it while searching for stories of ubuntu today. I put it on the back burner, thinking that it was a nice story, but not as current as I would have liked.

But I couldn't stop thinking about it. While it might be "yesterday's news," the idea behind it is just as relavent today.

One woman with one idea. Most great ideas that radically change the course of history begin with one great idea. A choice, really. Do I give this man money (or even a smile...), or do I drive by? Do I let the person with the screaming baby and ten items ahead of me in line, or do I save myself three minutes? Do I see suffering and do something, or do I do nothing?

Rachel O'Neill decided to do something, and that is powerful. We are confronted so many times during the course of a single day with the opportunity to "do something;" to make a choice that might have a significant impact. Her choice resulted in something far greater than she ever imagined.

What could be the results of the choices we make? What might they become?


Read about her here:
http://trenton.patch.com/articles/downriver-women-makes-national-news-with-little-dresses

And read about (and contribute to) her project here:
http://www.littledressesforafrica.org/blog/

Which side are you on?

 Ahh, an election year. Nothing brings out goodwill and charity more than campaigning...
While I've been letting this blog slip lately, the upcoming avalanche of mudslinging and uninformed political rhetoric bring me back. I have to attempt to balance out what is inescapable.
   
Campaigns always seem to bring out the worst in people. I'm not sure if it is due to the fierce "My guy will totally beat your guy" competitiveness we Americans seem to have, or if it is because of a genuine hatred, for lack of a better word, of "the other side." In either case, it is decidedly unproductive and disheartening.
   
Which is why, when I heard this story about a US Naval ship crew coming to the rescue of a group of Iranians held captive by Somali pirates, I felt a twinge of relief. In this political climate in particular, so consumed are we with the idea that "the other" is the enemy that we fail to notice that "the other" is not actually different from us. This story reminds us of that fact. And while many pundits, news anchors, and commentators used the actions by the Navy to embark in some other asinine rhetoric along the lines of "That'll show 'em how superior the US is," above all, it is a demonstration of one human saving another. Period.

Which is something that we all might need to keep in mind over the course of the next eleven months.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/06/144789163/u-s-navy-reports-rescuing-13-iranians-from-somali-pirates